TIPTON (AP) - Cedar County is in violation of the First Amendment despite a disclaimer saying a Nativity scene on the courthouse lawn isn't sponsored by the county, a state civil rights group says.

The Nativity scene has been part of Tipton's Christmas decor for more than 30 years, but this year the Iowa Civil Liberties Union sent the county a letter saying the group has received complaints about the display.

The county responded by putting up a disclaimer that reads "Not sponsored or endorsed by Cedar County, Iowa."

Daisy Wingert, Tipton Chamber of Commerce president, said people in the town, about 20 miles east of Iowa City, support keeping the Nativity, or crGeche, on the courthouse lawn.

"I think it was really an outcry from the public …" that got the job done, Wingert said.

She said that support was evident after the controversy threatened to move the Nativity elsewhere.

"This year, the night we put it up, Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, 100 or more people were there," Wingert said.

County officials and local residents said they didn't know about any complaints over the display until the ICLU sent it's letter Nov. 4.

"We have received numerous complaints concerning this display over the years and are now writing to ask the county to discontinue the practice of displaying the crGeche on public grounds beginning with this holiday season," ICLU legal director Randall C. Wilson said in the letter.

Assistant Cedar County Attorney Sterling Benz believes the disclaimer complies with constitutional law and allows the display to stay on the courthouse lawn.

Wingert said the ICLU's letter upset some residents because no one could recall any complaints about the Nativity in the past.

"Many were dismayed that somebody wrote a letter that there had been numerous complaints," she said.