It took a long time to produce it, but the U.S. Census Bureau has released demographic data and statistics that tell us a lot about what’s happening in America.

Primarily, the Census data will be used to set congressional district and legislative boundaries across the country. Redistricting legislation will be argued, appealed and in many cases decided by judicial orders.

That is most likely what will happen in Minnesota, where Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate.

Minnesota was able to hang on to its eight congressional districts in this census, but they may be shaping up differently. Minnesota’s population, like the nation’s, has been migrating to urban areas. More voters in the metro area will mean more legislative clout for those voters.

The Census data also draws a picture of the U.S. population. According to the figures released on Thursday, the U.S. population is becoming more diverse. The non-hispanic white population, while still the largest portion of the population, has shrunk from 63.7% in 2010 to 57.8% in 2020.

Americans are moving from the Midwest and Northeast to the South and Southwest, data shows.

These are trends that should be no surprise to anyone. Our population has been changing and will continue to change. We should take the information the Census is providing and use it to understand where we are going, and how to best adapt to that change.