Ask Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person: Your Nordic Fest Parade float questions answered

Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person is going to attempt his most difficult feat ever--setting the record straight for people who have posted on Facebook!  Normally Mr. Answer Person answers questions e-mailed to him and uses the first name of the person e-mailing.  THIS TIME ONLY Mr. Answer Person will respond to comments made on Facebook about the "Clinton for Prison 2016" float in the Nordic Fest parade:

Post #1: "I will never believe it just "slipped" in...I view this as a CONSCIOUS choice to look the other way."

Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person says: "Nordic Fest Parade chairman Gary Rustad has a simple explanation for what happened Saturday: "I missed it."  He says the float in question was near the end of the parade and he did not catch it.  He's adamant that "This was not a political choice."

Post #2: "Exclude one political float then you must exclude all. Make it simple--keep all politics out of the parade!"

Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person says: "This is the procedure the Nordic Fest Board currently follows.  No political messages of any kind are allowed.  Political candidates can participate in the parade, but they're told to keep politics out of their appearances.

Post #3: "Thank you (Nordic Fest Board) for the apology, but couldn't someone have intervened when discovered?"  Post #4: "How was this allowed to travel the entire length of the parade route unchecked?" 

Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person says: "The checking is done before parade entries leave the Fairgrounds.  Once they head down Water Street, no checking is done.  Normally the checking at the Fairgrounds catches the problems, but Gary Rustad says he made a mistake and missed this one.

Post #5: "Politics have never been what the parade is about. It is not about (opinions) on either side-- it's about what we expect of the parade."

Mr. (Nordic Fest) Answer Person says: "Exactly!"