The Facebook post said "Happy Easter from all of us at the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office" And then the controversy started.

"This has no business being on a government (Facebook) page," said one person.  He asked, "Did I see a post about Ramadan, Hanukkah or Passover?  No, I didn't, because it wasn't posted.  Be inclusive to all or post from your personal Facebook page."

Another person posted, "In these times of so much religious bigotry and death threats against Muslim legislators, this post creates a dangerous narrative and message about who we are as a county. It needs to be removed and a public apology is in order."

Those comments and many others brought responses, of course.  One person posted, ""Happy Easter to you all at the Sheriff's Department! Thank you for all you do and may God bless you and keep you safe!"  Another posted, ""Happy Easter to everyone!! Even if you don't celebrate it, I still wish you a happy Easter! You can proudly wish me any one of your holiday greetings as well, I promise I won't get offended....and happy Easter to y'all at the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Department!"

Some struck a more neutral tone: "I guess I can assume that everyone on staff at the Winneshiek County Sheriff's Office is a Christian; and though I am not, I would be happy to wish each of you a beautiful Easter, were I to run into you somewhere. You probably wouldn't wish me a Happy Passover, but I wouldn't take offense at that. By the same token, I do think this post is inappropriate coming from a public/governmental office."

Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx told decorahnews.com, "We simply offered a holiday greeting on a weekend that is recognized by Winneshiek County and, unfortunately, some people appeared to be offended by it."

Winneshiek County government has a list of official holidays it observes and those include Good Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day--all three of which are religious observances.  County employees are given the days as holidays or are paid overtime if they work during one of those holidays.