Dear Neighbors, As of September 18, 2020, only 43 percent of Sanders County residents have responded to the Census. But it’s not too late to be counted! It only takes five minutes and the staff at your library can help. The census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers, and many others use to provide daily services, products, and support for you and your community. Every year, billions of dollars in federal funding go to hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other resources based on census data. The results of the census also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. With a complete count, Montana stands to gain back the 2 nd seat in Congress that was lost a few decades ago. It's also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandates that the country conduct a count of its population once every 1