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Ride to remember

Hometown Heroes Memorial Ride will honor fallen Rockwell City first responders

ROCKWELL CITY — An ride honoring three deceased first responders from Rockwell City will be held today.

The Hometown Heroes Memorial Ride leaves Rockwell City at 11 a.m. and will travel around north central Iowa.

Jarid Kuchenreuther, a committee member for the Hometown Heroes Memorial Ride, said the event was established in 2014 as a way of honoring Rockwell City Police Officer Jamie Buenting, who was killed in the line of duty in September 2013.

But a few days before the inaugural ride, Rockwell City firefighter Nick Hildreth died in an accident.

After Hildreth died, Kuchenreuther said it was decided to rename the event the Hometown Heroes Memorial Ride.

The ride also honors Urbandale Police Officer Justin Martin, who was killed in the line of duty in November 2016. Martin was originally from Rockwell City.

“We just wanted an event that everybody could come and support to keep everybody’s name alive,” Kuchenreuther said. “We’ve established a memorial scholarship with the South Central Calhoun School District to give a scholarship for a graduating senior to go to college to pursue public service.”

The ride begins with registration at 10 a.m. at the Rockwell City Fire Station and departs from town around 11 a.m.

“We go to the Sac City Fire Department in Sac City,” Kuchenreuther said. “From there, we are going to Breda and they’re going to Toyne Manufacturing, which is the place that they make fire trucks.”

The UnityPoint Health — Life Flight Air Ambulance will also be in Breda, which is also where lunch will be served.

“After that, we go to Templeton, Iowa, to the Templeton Fire Department, and Guthrie Center,” Kuchenreuther said.

On the way back, the ride will stop in Churdan before returning to Rockwell City for supper as well as live and silent auctions.

This year’s ride will also feature Tour de Force, a group of bicyclists that ride to raise money for the families of fallen officers.

They had previously come to Rockwell City in 2014 to support the Buenting family.

“They’re here to support the Martin family,” Kuchenreuther said. “They’re riding bicycles on a part of the route this year.”

Pretty much any type of vehicle can participate in the ride, including motorcycles and classic cars.

Kuchenreuther said, typically, about 150 vehicles have participated in the ride, but he said this year may be a record-breaking one. About 500 people have responded to the event on Facebook.

“It could be very big,” he said.

This year’s ride will also feature about six to eight police motorcycles from Aurora, Colorado.

Anyone is welcome to participate, Kuchenreuther said.

“The weather’s supposed to be great,” he said. “It’s supposed to be hot, but we provide free bottled water to take along with you.”

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