RICHMOND – U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt noticed community improvement last week during his visit to Richmond. “Richmond is looking good,” Blunt said, and elaborated. “The Edward Jones Office looked good, the courthouse looked good.” The Ray County Commission authorized upkeep that has improved the outside and inside of the courthouse. Improvements continue. “There are new houses coming in from the north that haven’t been there – the duplexes or whatever,” Blunt said. Additional housing helped Richmond increase its population between the 2010 and 2020 censuses. Richmond in the past decade added 215 residents, or 3.7%. The population increased from 5,797 in 2010 to 6,013 in 2020.