Winneshiek County Fair Board is having Confederate Railroad as musical entertainment this summer. Under the First Amendment this band has every right to use this name however the band is being paid for by the tax payers of our county. Meaning the entertainment should represent what the people living here want. 

As students at Luther College we represent a portion of this community, we believe that the Confederate Railroad is a harmful and dangerous image to bring into Winneshiek County. As Luther students many of us stay over the summers and enjoy the county fair, by having this harmful imagery students will feel unsafe attending the fair and participating in Decorah Community. 

Continuing, during the Civil War Iowa sent the most soldier per capita to fight for the Union. Iowa was also a key player in the Underground Railroad, in freeing enslaved people. As a state we should be proud of this heritage and work to uphold it rather than turn our backs to it. 

We, the undersigned, urge you to remove the Confederate Railroad from the entertainment of Winneshiek County Fair.