Is the Rune Stone based on a real story?
Yes. The Kensington Rune Stone, as it came to be known, was "found" in 1898 by a man named Olof Ohman in Kensington, Minnesota. Olof claimed that the stone had been tangled up in the roots of a tree that he had dug up. Olof asked a neighbor, Nils Flaten, to look at the stone and possibly decipher the message written on it. Nils was not able to read it, so Olof took the stone to a bank for safe keeping. In 1899 the existence of the stone was advertised in a newspaper. Soon it was discovered that the writing on the stone was of runic origins. The stone was then translated.

What is inscribed on the Kensington Rune Stone?
This is the message inscribed on the stone: "8 Goths and 22 Norwegians on exploration journey from Vinland over the West We had camp by 2 skerries one days journey north from this stone We were and fished on day After we came home found 10 men red with blood and dead Ave Maria Save from evil. Have 10 of our party by the sea to look after our ships 14 days journey from this island Year 1362"

Was the Kensington Rune Stone a fake?
For various reason, most experts believe the stone to be a fake. More information can be found here .

But, what was the big deal? Why would someone fake a rune stone?
If it were real, it would mean that Vikings had made it to Minnesota in the 14th century. His would/did give a sense of pride to the large communities of Scandinavian people loving in the area. But, I guess the real answer is: who knows?

What does the Kensington Rune Stone look like?
The stone is 202 pounds and 2 1/2 feet high. Some pictures can be found here .

The above information was gathered from a number of different sources. Among them are the following web pages, some of which were linked above as well:

The Runestone Museum
The Kensington Rune Stone

Also, see the links section for more links relating to the Kensington Rune Stone.