RICHMOND – There is plenty to unpack regarding the release of U.S. Census Bureau numbers, including… • If the numbers are accurate, then Excelsior Springs’ population fell quickly and dramatically, but there are reasons for doubt; • Richmond’s population cleared the 6,000 hurdle; • Clay County gained more people in the past decade than the entire population of neighboring Ray County; and • Ray County lost population. EXCELSIOR SPRINGS Excelsior Springs Economic Development Director Melinda Mehaffy cast doubt on the idea that the city’s population took a one-year nosedive, falling from 11,081 in 2010 to 10,553 after the 2020 count. If accurate, then the city lost 531 people. More incredibly, if the numbers hold up, the population fell from a 2019 projection of 11,731 – a decline of 1,178 people, or 10.6% “I did a bit of digging and agree that it looks like, according to the censu...