CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — A Freedom Rock completed last fall in Cedar Falls has been vandalized days before Memorial Day. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the vandalism occurred Saturday night at the Freedom Rock in Cedar Falls Veterans Park. Spray paint was used to damage the rock, along with a fence and utility box.

Tom Hagarty, commander of the Cedar Falls American Legion No. 237, said a Memorial Day ceremony planned for Sunday night was going ahead. Greenfield artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II painted the rock, which includes images of the Five Sullivan Brothers killed in World War II and Taylor Morris, a Navy explosive ordnance disposal expert who lost portions of all four limbs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.

Sorensen wants to paint Freedom Rocks in all of Iowa’s 99 counties.

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One person was injured during a single-vehicle accident northwest of Atlantic, Sunday afternoon. According to Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Ayers, a motorcycle with a single male occupant was rounding a curve eastbound on Highway 83 just east of the intersection with Highway 173 at around 3-p.m, when the cycle left the road and entered a ditch. The cycle flipped end-over-end, ejecting the driver, identified by the State Patrol, as 63-year old Joseph McFarland, of Iowa City. McFarland came to rest under a small tree.

The man was transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. His injuries were described as serious but non-life threatening. Authorities say McFarland was wearing a helmet.

Photos courtesy Cass Co. Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Ayers

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Council Bluffs officials and resident have spent nearly $10,000 on a 3-D image of a historic statue to ensure the artwork can be restored if it’s ever damaged. The Daily Nonpareil reports residents and officials teamed for the scan of the Ruth Anne Dodge Memorial.

The 96-year-old statue was sculpted by Daniel Chester French, who created the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. The bronze sculpture had fallen into disrepair but was restored in 1984 and now is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Residents wanted to be sure the statue could be restored if it was damaged, so they worked with the city to raise $9,750 for a California company that scanned the sculpture over several weeks, giving officials an exact replica of the artwork.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Once again, the end of a school year means the end of several school districts in Iowa, continuing a trend seen for decades but one that doesn’t get easier for the communities involved. Because of the closure of the Farragut Community School District and merging of two others, classes won’t resume after summer vacation at three schools in southwest Iowa.

Since Iowa school funding is based on student enrollment, many rural districts have struggled to keep their student numbers up amid declining populations. Staci Hupp, spokeswoman for the state’s education department, says it’s typical to see a few districts merge each school year, usually because of declining enrollment. This fall the Prescott and Creston school districts will merge, along with A-H-S-T and Walnut schools.

HAWARDEN, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say about 5,000 pigs died in a fire at a northwest Iowa hog confinement operation. The Sioux City Journal reports two buildings housing the hogs caught fire Saturday morning near Hawarden. The Sioux County sheriff’s office says the fire apparently began when a pig dislodged a heat lamp, which fell into straw bedding.

When Hawarden firefighters arrived, one building was engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to an adjacent building. Both structures were destroyed. No employees were injured, but the estimated 5,000 pigs died.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds will be traveling to southwest Iowa this week. Reynolds will attend a Memorial Day Service in Adel at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery, beginning at 8-a.m., Monday.

On Tuesday, Branstad and Reynolds will be in Creston at 9:30-a.m. for a tour of Vanmark Equipment. At 11-a.m., they’ll be in Corning at the Memorial Rock Park, for a Home Base Iowa announcement. Monday afternoon, the Governor and Lt. Governor will be in Red Oak at 1 o’clock, for a tour of Johnson Controls (JCI). Afterward, they’ll travel to Glenwood, for a 2:30-p.m. stop at the Glenwood Resource Center. Their afternoon concludes with a tour of the Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg, at 4:15-p.m.

On Wednesday, the Governor and Lt. Governor will be at the Clarinda Correctional facility for a tour of the Dept. of Corrections’ Apprenticeship Program, at 8-a.m. Then at 9:30, they’ll be in Bedford for a visit to a Bedford Chamber of Commerce. And, they’ll be in Mt. Ayr at 11:15, for a tour of the Ringgold County Courthouse.