What were the 10 best "ask Mr. Answer Person" questions of 2013?

(Mr. Answer Person can be grumpy, can be slow to get to work and can drink entirely too much coffee.  But we keep him around because our readers ask the most interesting questions--questions that deserve answers.  To prove that Mr. Answer Person occasionally gets to work, here is our list of the Top Ten Ask Mr. Answer Person questions of 2013):

#10: Why do you post stories about some drug busts and drunk driving arrests, but not others?  Actually, decorahnews.com's Paul Scott handled that question here:

#9: "What is that artwork on the old weigh building at the Bruening Quarry Hill quarry?"  A question that stumped Mr. Answer Person here

#8: Can you explain the unusual formation the Decorah Viking football team uses on extra points?"  Yes, Mr. Answer Person could--here.

#7: "Why didn't your 'Winneshiek County school district election results' include results from Turkey Valley?"  Because for location elections, Turkey Valley is not considered a Winneshiek County school district!  Here

#6: "Is it legal to do U-turns on Water Street?"  As it turns out, the answer is "yes."  Here

#5.  Sometimes it's not the question, but the answer to the question we like--such as when Mr. Answer Person was asked, "Who is in charge of deer crossings in Decorah?"  Here

#4.  Mr. Answer Person described it as the toughest question he's ever been asked--so much so that he had to create a video to answer the question "How do you get a pig to go where YOU want it to go, instead of where the PIG wants to go?"  Here.

#3.  Sometimes Mr. Answer Person's answers BECOME the news, instead of explaining the news.  That was the case when he was asked, "Why were there races in Decorah Sunday night?"  Here.

#2.  One by-product of the controversy over racetrack noise was this fascinating question: "Why do cars at the Upper Iowa Speedway--like cars at all racetracks--go counterclockwise?"  Here.

#1.  This might be our all-time favorite question to Mr. Answer Person because of what was learned about the answer.  The question was "Is it legal to hunt on the Trout Run Trail?"  Here.

The mystery artwork remains a mystery

There are times when you might want to wear blaze orange near the Trout Run Trail