Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Is this racist?"

Sarah e-mails: "What's up with the racist Indian logo on the Winneshiek County Highway trucks? It seems like we can do better than this."

Mr. Answer Person says, "First, some background.  Winneshiek County is named after the chief of the Winnebago Indians. Chief Winneshiek was the adviser to the War Chief Black Hawk."

Now to the issue itself.  It's surprising this issue hasn't come up before—because Indian logos have certainly been the focus in Washington, D.C., Cleveland, the University of Illinois and the University of North Dakota.  Interestingly, the majority of people surveyed in the Washington, D.C. area said the Redskin logo should NOT be changed—but also said using the word "Redskin" to describe Native Americans was racist.  So you can see how this isn't a cut and dried issue.

So let's take a survey instead!  E-mail news@decorahnews.com with your opinion.  Put "keep it" in the subject line if you think the logo should be kept or "drop it" in the subject line if you think the county should stop using the logo. 

Yes, this will be an UNSCIENTIFIC survey!  However, we'll get a sense of where the community is about this logo.  So keep reading--we'll post results by the end of the week.