Poverty Levels Jump in 2010

ST. CLOUD -- New figures from the Census show the number of Americans in poverty grew to a 27-year high in 2010.

The poverty rate is now at 15.1%. It translates unto nearly 1-in-6 Americans. Minnesota's poverty rate is at 10.8% or 544,000 people in poverty.

Noreen Dunnells is the President and CEO of the Central Minnesota United Way. She says the poverty rates in Stearns and Benton counties are actually higher than the statewide average at about 12.1%.

That's a figure that Dunnells says has doubled in the last decade. It's a concerning trend that has non-profits like the United Way scrambling to find news ways to help.

The Census also revealed the number of people lacking health insurance reached a new high at just under 50 million Americans.