Reader response to letter to the editor about "Why do people move to Decorah, then try to change it?"

Decorah resident Steven J. Olson has submitted this comment in response to a recent letter to the editor asking "Why do people move to Decorah, then try to change it?" Olson says he is proud to point out he received a B.S. from Iowa State in Animal Science and has been involved in FFA, 4-H and "Family Farming" since birth.

"I noticed that so far nobody has chimed in to respond to this "question". Perhaps it's because it is more of a ranting statement than an actual open minded question that is seeking to truly understand a point of view different then your own. But I will give it my best shot...

You claim that you "love Decorah and Winneshiek County for what it is and has always been". It's the "and has always been" part that confuses me. It is easy and convenient to forget that our white ancestors have lived on the land we call Winneshiek County for only the last 150 years. Ironically, we named both the town and the county after the last group that we forced west.

In the last 150 years our ancestors have done more to pollute and exploit the natural resources in Winneshiek County than the previous owners did in their 20,000 plus years of occupancy. Is this true? Show me where the Native American's landfill is that is leaching chemicals into our groundwater? I'm pretty sure Native Americans are not responsible for the high level of nitrogen in rural drinking water or the pesticide and herbicide residues.

When someone argues that pesticides and herbicides are completely safe, I like to ask at what levels? Would you really feel safe putting a drop of Atrazine into your child's glass of drinking water every day? Herbicides and pesticides don't simply disappear after serving their agricultural purpose.

Ironically Winneshiek County was completely "organic" prior to our great grandparents inheriting (some say stealing) it from the Native Americans. I too love the land we call "Winneshiek County," but not always for what it has become in the last 150 years, but for what is left of the original "organic" parts that we haven't managed to "change" in our very short term as mediocre stewards of its land.

Finally, I'm glad "someone greater" than me is "fixing" what our white ancestors have done to destroy the environment in Winneshiek County in the last 150 years, and even though "that being will not expect any recognition," forgive me if I offer a prayer of thanks."