​Buchanan County is one of the last 12 counties in Iowa to have a Freedom Rock erected. Bubba Sorenson, the artist, will be here to complete the project sometime during the summer of 2020. The Buchanan County Freedom Rock will reside on the Heartland Acres Campus and will be free for the public to visit. The lucky 34-ton field stone that will become Buchanan County’s Freedom Rock was recently moved from its rural location to the Heartland Campus. Sorensen will spend about a week on-site painting the Buchanan County specific mural on the rock late this summer. The county wide support of the project has been amazing, many local businesses and individuals have stepped up to help fund and make donations toward this project.  ​

The Rock Is in Place
January 3 was rock moving day! A huge thank you to Larson Construction Co. Inc. for helping move the rock to its new location.Heartland Acres Agribition Center, Independence Area Chamber of Commerce, Buchanan County Tourism , VFW Post 2440 and the American Legion Post # 30 Independence, IA - Sheehan-Tidball are excited to come together on this project. We look forward to sharing updates on construction of the display, and painting to commence this summer.
For information on how to get involved in this community project please reach out to Heartland Acres at (319) 332-0123. ​

The Story Behind Freedom Rock
Iowa artist, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, has painted his way through 87 of Iowa’s counties as he creates a series of commemorative veteran inspired murals on boulders across Iowa. Collectively, Sorensen’s project has become known as the Iowa Freedom Rock Tour. The tour will soon include one Freedom Rock in each Iowa county with a special 100th boulder for our State. While Sorensen is not a veteran himself, in a previous interview he told the Sioux City Journal, “I feel like my family and I owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women that have served and are serving and standing at the ready to defend this country..."