T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY

On what would’ve been his 32nd birthday, a group of local residents including Rep. David Blom (R-Marshalltown) gathered at the Anson Park shelter house to honor the late conservative activist, who was assassinated during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. President Donald Trump has proclaimed Oct. 14 a “National Day of Remembrance” for Kirk, the founder of the nonprofit organization Turning Point USA, and Trump posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on Tuesday.