The headline was taken from a paragraph in the Strib text, which stated:
Elk River is the seat of Sherburne County, home to 6,000 veterans. Ramsey is in Anoka County, home to 26,500 veterans -- more than the totals in Sherburne, Wright, Isanti and northwestern Hennepin counties, all of which will be served by the new clinic.
The problem is of an inexact antecedent. Does "home to 6,000 veterans" relate back to Sherburne County, or to Elk River, a town in Sherburne County? Also, does "home to 26,000 veterans" relate back to Ramsey, or Anoka County?
Ramsey has 26,000 veterans, residing there? Yes? No?
The last paragraph's question is easy to answer, the 26,000 number relates back to Anoka County, given this probably accurate Wikipedia entry for the town, Ramsey,
Ramsey is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 18,510 at the 2000 census. The city's population has exceeded 23,000 as of 2007. Ramsey is a northern suburb of the Twin Cities.
U.S. Highways 10 / 169 (co-signed) and State Highway 47 are two of the main arterial routes in the city.
In comparison, another Wikipedia entry, here, notes:
Anoka County is the fourth most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is bordered by the counties of Isanti on the north, Chisago and Washington on the east, Hennepin and Ramsey on the south, Sherburne on the west, and the Mississippi River on the southwest. Anoka County comprises the north portion of seven-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States with about 3.2 million residents. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of Anoka County at 327,005 in 2006. The county seat is Anoka[3]. The largest city is Coon Rapids.
One of the state's early settlements, the Rum River which cuts through the county, was a common route to Lake Mille Lacs, the spiritual homeland of the Mdewakanton Dakota.
There is more ambiguity on the Elk River - Sherburne County dichotomy, Wikipedia stating:
Elk River is a city in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, about 34 miles northwest of Minneapolis. It is situated at the confluence of the Mississippi and Elk Rivers. The population was 16,447 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sherburne County[3]. The city's population exceeded 20,000 as of 2005[4]. Elk River is an outer-ring suburb of the Twin Cities.
U.S. Highways 10 and 169 and State Highway 101 are three of the main arterial routes, and a station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line to downtown Minneapolis is located in the city.
So Ramsey and Elk River do not differ greatly in size [although there is substantially more shopping opportunity in Elk River]. A final Wikipedia quote, from here:
Sherburne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2000, the population was 64,417. Its county seat is Elk River.
That would mean the percentage of veterans in Anoka County would be 26,000/327,000 or eight percent; while in Sherburne it would be 6,000/64,000 or 9-1/3%.
However, it looks as if Elk River and Ramsey, each having roughly equal total populations and roughly equal percentages of those being veterans, are equally positioned; with the relevance of the greater number of veterans elsewhere in Anoka County being uncertain, given the Strib article also stated:
The letters listed five criteria that the new clinic must meet, including being in a delineated area. Until November, that area included Anoka and Coon Rapids. But those cities were wiped off the clinic map when Wiech determined they were within 30 miles or 30 minutes of the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis or the community-based outpatient clinic in Maplewood.
So it looks as if the VA has a toss-up situation, and could arguably justify a decision to site its new clinic in either locale; (even while it is not legally obligated to explain its decision making to anyone).
While many might say, "Who cares," it is a situation where an impression that some numerical weight might favor Ramsey over Elk River might be read from the Strib reporting; while clearly, the article does not say that - but gives ambiguous numbers, as explored above.
I am a bit disappointed that nobody cared enough to separately raise that
"statistical" question over the time I had the beginning post up without adding this follow-up ---- while I was waiting to see if any reader noted the question or even cared to read and comment on the post.