Locally, our flags are at half staff most of the time. Anyone considered "important" or anything that moves them on a village, county, state or national level, our flags are half staff. Firemen, policemen, politicians, a well known family - always at half staff. Nobody ever knows what it's for. I only know because I've stopped and asked a few times. This started about 4 years ago. It used to strike fear in me because I'd say "Oh, I must have missed something on the news and something terrible must have happened. A national tragedy or something." I just started ignoring it now. I complained twice and they blew me off.