Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Why not conduct a poll about the Menards proposal?"

Mr. Answer Person says: "Great idea!  Maybe there's a political science class at Luther College which would want to tackle this project.

Unfortunately, a poll where our readers sent in their answers wouldn't necessarily be accurate.  That's because we wouldn't be able to guarantee that the people responding to our poll were representative of everyone living within city limits.  The poll might just attract supporters or opponents of the Menards proposal.  There might even be the possibility of people answering more than once.

A scientific poll would require a big enough sample of phone calls--probably around 400 responses--in order to be reasonably accurate.  That's a little more work than decorahnews.com can tackle, but it's perfect for a political science class wanting to get some good practice.  Any takers???"