This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, May 5, 2011 - The village of Plato, Mo., in Texas County, will be holding a celebration next Monday in honor of its selection as the "2010 Census Center of Population."
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Plato represents "the mean center of population ... the point at which an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if all 308.7 million residents are counted where they live and all weigh exactly the same."
Plato -- with a population of 109 -- plans to celebrate with "music, food, remarks and the unveiling of a commemorative survey mark," the bureau says.
On hand will be U.S. Census Bureau director Robert M. Groves and Juliana Blackwell, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey. The two will join village chairman Bob Biram and Texas County Presiding Commissioner Fred Stenger.
For those in the vicinity, the public ceremony will be held next to the village's post office.
