Senators would stop 'micropolitan' label for 144 US cities
By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Some lawmakers are trying to stop 144 U.S. cities from losing their designations as "metropolitan areas" as the federal government updates its standards, doubling the minimum number of residents required in a city's urban core to 100,000 people. Sens. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, and Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, introduced legislation Tuesday