Palo Alto County Freedom Rock

In September of 2013, Ruthven was selected as the Palo Alto County Freedom Rock Site. our freedom rock is located in "Freedom Park" on Gowrie Street across from City Hall. 

The artist, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen II, was inspired by the movie Saving Private Ryan, as well as, wanting to give Veterans a unique recognition on Memorial Day.  While painting murals across the country Sorensen had the idea of spreading the message of The Freedom Rock to other small communities across Iowa.  The idea in part came from the 99 county tours that both Sen. Grassley and journalist Kyle Munson took part in, and so the Freedom Rock Tour was born.