Earlier this month, the Dallas County “Freedom Rock” was knocked over when a motorist ran into it early in the morning, but it is now standing once again.

On Saturday, December 7th at 4:30 a.m., a vehicle driven by 21-year-old Kevin Villa of Perry left the roadway while travelling north on Highway 169 through Minburn. He collided with and toppled the monument. The 3,200 pound rock lay on its north side for around a week as the Minburn American Legion made preparations to re-erect it. That came to pass this week, with the help of several volunteers, an excavator, and a flatbed truck.

Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard, himself a member of a local American Legion, said it was an odd incident, though he pointed out they were lucky it wasn’t worse. “It was very unfortunate that it got hit. I mean in over 20 years that I’ve been doing law enforcement in this county, I’ve never seen anybody go off that curve like that. I’m just glad that there’s not a lot of damage to the rock and that it was able to get set back up. And there’s some landscaping damage and stuff, but hopefully we’ll be able to take care of that.”

Leonard adds, the investigation into the incident is ongoing. The damage to the rock and the lighting was estimated at $8,100, and the artist Ray Sorensen will assess if any touch-ups are needed. Raccoon Valley Radio will bring you more information as it becomes official.