Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Is Menards being courted by neighboring towns?"

Mr. Answer Person says: "You know how rumors get started in small towns--someone at a coffee shop or tavern says, 'If Decorah doesn't watch out, Menards will move to another town.'  Then, the next thing you know, someone is repeating what they heard, only saying, 'Menards has been approached by other towns in the area.'

There are two problems with this statement.  First of all, Menards is notoriously tight-lipped about its business dealings, so you'd never hear a statement from Menards about where one of their projects stands.  Secondly, Menards has turned down an alternate site which is two miles away from its preferred location--so now it's going to move 37 miles to New Hampton instead?  No, Menards has done its homework--it knows that Decorah is a small regional shopping hub for seven counties with a combined population of 100,000 people.

That's why you can ignore all those rumors that Menards is going to build its new store in Highlandville!"