Ten News EXTRA: 2020 Census Results! 🇺🇸
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Description
📋 How does the Census work, and why does it matter? 🏡 We get an update on the winner and loser states from the 2020 Census results! 🇺🇸 Then, get an update on Washington D.C.'s path to statehood. 🐨 Plus! The Trivia Question of the Day!
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Sources for this episode
https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/989119412/house-democrats-pass-bill-to-make-d-c-the-51st-state&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1620147699778000&usg=AOvVaw0dfHrtGMccXImPsG0Sf4rx
https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/world/australia/great-koala-count.html%23:~:text%3DEstimates%2520of%2520koala%2520populations%2520have,be%2520as%2520low%2520as%252043%252C000&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1620147699779000&usg=AOvVaw1-fbvEGo7X1bwQRmEISdVD
TRANSCRIPT:
Various voices 0:01
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Bethany Van Delft 0:09
I'm Bethany Van Delft. And this is no ordinary episode of The Ten News. This is The Ten News gets extra. The US Census results are in and changes are coming to Congress. In today's episode, we will get caught up on this important count. Let's dive in.
Last summer we spoke with Yasmine Naboa from Count the Nation, an organization dedicated to educating Generation Z about the importance of the census, and her 12 year old daughter, Alex. Here's what Alex had to say about it.
Alex Naboa 0:50
The census data matters for kids and families because this is how the government gives money to our communities base off the number of people who live in a city or state, also called our population. The money pays for funding for our schools and teachers, libraries, parks, health clinics, breakfast and lunch programs at some schools, and college scholarship money for some students. The Census money pays for a lot, which is why it's important for our family to participate and for all of us to be counted. On the census numbers also determine how many rappers representatives go to Washington DC to represent us in our needs. So I live in California and there are almost 40 million people who live in the state, which is the largest population in the country. And California has 53 representatives out of the 435. But this may change based off of the 2020 census numbers
Bethany Van Delft 1:47
And change it has, the 2020 data is in and California will lose one house seat for the first time in 170 years.
A Kid 1:59
No way.
Bethany Van Delft 2:00
So which states are the winners and which are the losers? Let's break it down.
The winners, a number of southern states are adding representatives, Texas, which is already the second most populated state behind California, will be adding two seats to give them a total of 38 reps in Congress. Florida is not only adding a seat in the house, the state is also able to add one Electoral College vote. The lands of sunshine and oranges has been a key state in the last few presidential elections. And now this will only increase its importance. North Carolina has also increased by one, adding to the southern state tally. Not to be outdone, Midwestern states, Colorado and Montana have each gained an extra seat. And for Montana. This marks a return back to having two seats in Congress instead of a lonely one. And we can't leave Oregon out. That state saw its first increase in seats and 40 years going from five members to six, and which states last seats this year? Some of the biggest. We already talked about California. New York State's loss came from a difference in 89 people since the last census count Yep. 89 people, two states that have been losing seats for decades, and each lost the seat this time around are Illinois and Ohio. They're joined by Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, all losing a seat this time. That's a lot of ups and downs. So what is next with the 2020 census results? The final tallies of the US demographic information will be released this August and with see changes hinges on small counts. Looking at you New York. We can expect lots of questions about how much the pandemic and political changes impacted the census totals. You can count on us to keep an eye on this story. The Census wasn't the only story that had an update this week. The path to statehood for Washington DC just got a little shorter. The US House of Representatives voted last week to make the Federal District a state. The bill, HR 51, would result in two senators and one representative added to Congress. Our correspondent Bridget Tide a washington dc resident broke it down for us last fall. Check out what she had to say about it in our October 27 episode. What do you think about DC becoming a state? If it happens, what should it be called? We already have a Washington State. Email us at hello@thetennews.com with your thoughts and any stories you'd like an update on. Up next, it's time for fact attack. It's always fun to have our attendees show guests share their favorite random facts. This past week we talked with Emma Soetanyo and her mom Macy about autism acceptance. Check out the episode if you missed it. It is amazing. Aside from being a super cool teen, Emma had this interesting tidbit to share about koalas.
Emma Soetanyo 5:33
Koalas are actually, for a long time, a lot of people did not believe that you could keep calls in captivity because they wouldn't eat they would feed the koalas like leaves in a bowl, and they just wouldn't eat the leaves. And so it wasn't till a long time after that they thought that, that they realized that it was the only reason that they weren't eating is because they wouldn't recognize leaves in a bowl as the same as leaves on a tree. Because koalas, as sweet as they are not the most intelligent features because their brains are completely smooth and are abnormally small for their size. But they're very cute. So it's it makes up for it. It's okay.
Sound Bit 6:21
What, what, what's the big idea?
Bethany Van Delft 6:25
Trivia on The Ten.
What do koalas and the census have to do with each other? After the devastating impact of brushfires on the koala population, the Australian Government announced a new plan to count its koalas. What methods will the government use to audit the furry marsupial's? Is it A) heat seeking drones? B) poop sniffing dogs C) special recording devices? Or D) koala spotting hikers?
Did you guess it? The answer is all of the above! Koalas sleep 20 hours a day and like to hang out in trees, making them very hard to spot. The hard work of figuring out how many live in the country will help the Australian Government with its conservation efforts for the species. Want to know how you can help these communities? Check out savethekoala.com or the World Wildlife Foundation. Time's up. But before we go, here's a quick note for the grownups. Want even more great content from The Ten News? Sign up for The Ten News newsletter, aka The Ten News-letter. It's a free bi weekly email with even more stories to enjoy together, and we made it easy for you. The link to join is in the show notes and on our website thetennews.com. Thanks for listening to The Ten News. Look out for our new episodes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and extras on Saturdays. The Ten News is a co production of Small But Mighty Media and Next Chapter Podcasts and is distributed by iHeartRadio. The production and editorial team counts on each other and includes Tracey Crooks, Andrew Hall, Pete Musto, Jenner Pascua, Stephen Tompkins, and Sarah Olender. Our production director is Jeremiah Tittle and The Ten News is executive produced by Donald Albright and show creator Tracy Leeds Kaplan. Do you want to be part of the show? Have a grown up help you record a question, a joke, or fun fact you want to share and email it to us at hello@thetennews.com. And show your love for The Ten News by going to your favorite podcast app and submitting a rating and review because it really helps others find the show. The more the merrier. I'm Bethany Van Delft, and thanks for listening to The Ten News. Hey, why isn't the koala bear a real bear? Because he doesn't have the right koala-fication. Bye!
