ROCKVILLE  — Nearly 1,000 pounds of twisted steel from the World Trade Center is now a part of a monument honoring veterans and first responders in a small central Minnesota city. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has been distributing artifacts from the 9/11 attacks to communities and organizations across the country, as long as they are used in a public memorial.

After community funds were raised for more than a year in Rockville, the steel beam memorial was dedicated Sunday — the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Rockville resident Denise McNeal said after 15 years, the memorial brings community members closer to what changed everyone forever.