Ask Mr. Answer Person: Is Dunning's Springs really 200 feet tall, as the Smithsonian Magazine says?

Photo courtesy of Randy Uhl

Timothy Martinson, a Decorah native who is now living in Ithaca, New York, e-mails the best Mr. Answer Person question of 2014 so far: "I enjoyed the article about the Smithsonian Magazine choosing Decorah as one of the 20 best small cities in the US.  But I seriously doubt that Dunnings' Springs is a '200 foot waterfall'.  40 foot maybe?"

Mr. Answer Person says: "So far I have half an answer to your question.  How did "Smithsonian Magazine" come up with the figure of a "200 foot waterfall?"  By lifting the figure from the Winneshiek County Convention and Visitors Bureau website, www.visitdecorah.com.  This is a sign that it's wonderful to have Decorah named in another "Top 20..." lists, but these magazines are NOT doing weeks and weeks of research!

The other half of the question is, "Just how tall is Dunning's Springs--really?"  Mr. Answer Person is trying to track down a topographic map of Decorah to get you an official answer.

But in the meantime, this seems like just the kind of question our readers would like to weigh in on:  "OK--how tall do YOU think Dunning's Springs is?"  E-mail your estimate to news@decorahnews.com