The census has often been called a portrait of America, and it will be arriving in our mailboxes soon.

Demographer Barbara Ronningen said most people can expect to receive their census questionnaire in the mail the week of March 15.

Some people may have already received their questionnaires. To make sure everyone is counted, the Census Bureau hand-delivered packets to some homes.

Inside the envelope there are 10 questions for every person in the household to answer. The questionnaires need to be sent back as soon as possible in a prepaid postage envelope no later than April 1.

To avoid any attempts of fraud, Ronningen said not to answer any personal financial questions.

"The census is not asking for money or private information such as social security numbers of bank accounts. We are looking for more general information about the citizens of our nation," Ronningen said.

The census asks questions like age, race, gender and other administrative questions.

While it is important to answer the census questions every 10 years because it is the law, it is especially important that every Minnesotan be counted this year.

Minnesota is in danger of losing a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives because representation in the House is based on population, and it is suspected that Minnesota has lost population.

Losing a seat in the House would have many different implications.

The biggest impact would be in funding the state receives from the federal government. Represen-tatives and senators work to help attain federal funds for their states for projects and programs.

If Minnesota loses a seat in the House, the state will have one less representative in Congress lobbying for Minnesota.

Besides losing a seat, a decrease in population would also mean a loss in funding that is allocated based on population.

"There is lots of money, billions of dollars, that is allocated purely on population counts. If Minnesota's population is seen as decreasing, then the money that is automatically allocated to us under various programs will be decreased as well," Ronningen said.

Besides saving money from being cut to an area, answering the census by mail actually saves the public money.

It costs the government, and by extension the taxpayer, around $75 per house to track down people who do not answer the census.

If a census questionnaire is not mailed back by April 1, workers from the Census Bureau are required to visit the household in person.

The last time the census was taken in 2000, around 72 percent of the population mailed back the form. Ronningen said every percentage point of increase in the population that mails back questionnaires saves the government, and the taxpayers, about $85 million in operational costs.

The Census Bureau reports that census numbers are used for much more than just governmental purposes.

Businesses study the census before opening a store in a new location to help determine whether that particular store would be a success in that area. For example, a potential business owner can see the average age of the population living in an area, which might determine whether he builds a nursing home there.

For all of the reasons mentioned above and many more, it is very important for every person to fill out their census form.