Community News
America 250 Celebration
We don't just celebrate history in Idaho-we LIVE IT!
American Legion Post 14 members celebrated America 250 activities at the Idaho State Veterans Home Post Falls on Saturday, September 20th with Idaho State Treasurer Julie Ellsworth and JD Darakjy, Legislative and Communications Director for the Idaho State Treasurer.
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Veterans, Families and Friends Breakfast and Coffee Get-Togethers
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Breakfast at Denny's, 2300 N 4th St, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 Veterans meet every Monday and Thursday at 0700 in the back of the restaurant
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The Breakfast Nook, 1719 N 4th St, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814. Veterans meet every Wednesday and Friday at 0730; bring cash as the veterans pay the bill with one check. NOTE FOR FRIDAY ATTENDEES. Wear RED to " Remember Everyone Deployed (RED).
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Coffee time meet and greet every Tuesday at 1400 at the Kaffee Meister, 9212 N Government Wy, Hayden, ID 83835.
Attention Spokane VA Medical Center Patients-Effective Monday, August 25, 2025
Spokane VA is sharing new, important information related to ongoing construction – and yet another impact Veterans should be mindful of. Beginning Monday, Aug. 25th – two of the four elevators inside the main hospital building will be closed - until further notice. All elevators inside the hospital are scheduled for replacement. Patient elevator P-1 (one of two main elevators) and the Bldg-27 elevator between the basement and 1-2nd floors on the north-end of the hospital will close and have similar safety barriers in-place. We ask everyone to use caution while navigating through the campus parking lot and into the hospital during this construction – which aims to improve and expand access, care, and services upon completion. Meantime, we’re advising staff, patients, vendors, and guests to please plan for extra time and/or delays while at at the VA campus.
Idaho Women's Veterans Memorial Dedication Ceremony
Boise's State Veterans Cemetery is now the permanent home of the Idaho Women's Veterans Memorial. Please take 12 minutes and 51 seconds of your time and listen to Marisa McCarter’s deeply personal speech at today’s Dedication Ceremony for the Idaho Women Veterans Memorial. It is a reflection of friendship, trauma, healing, camaraderie, and acceptance. I promise your time will not be wasted.
Veterans....Need critical home repair/maintenance assistance?
If you're in need of assistance or know of a veteran who is in need of assistance for critical home repairs of the type described below, contact the email address at the bottom of the poster for assistance.
HONOR FLIGHT NETWORK-CELEBRATING OUR VETERANS
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A nation where all of America’s veterans experience the honor, gratitude, and community of support they deserve. Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit organization comprised of independent hubs working together to achieve the Honor Flight mission. In furtherance of this common goal, we have the enormous privilege of showing our nation’s veterans the appreciation and honor they deserve.
- Participation in an Honor Flight trip gives veterans the opportunity to share this momentous occasion with other comrades, remember the fallen, and share their stories and experiences with other veterans. Honored veterans always travel free of charge, thanks to generous donations to our organization.
- While initially focused solely on America’s World War II era veterans, Honor Flight Network has expanded its mission to include those who served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War eras. The Honor Flight TLC program also honors veterans of any service era who are critically ill. In order to maximize the number of American veterans served by our organization, each eligible veteran may only be honored on a single Honor Flight trip.
Newby-ginnings fundraising for new Veteran Center in North Idaho
Post Falls NEWBY-GINNINGS is looking to purchase a building and expand its Veteran Support Services.
POST FALLS, Idaho — A North Idaho nonprofit is hoping to expand and open a new community center to serve veterans in the area. “We aren’t just offering stuff—we are offering hope,” says Newby-ginnings Founder Theresa Hart. She says the group is working on raising $7.5 million to buy a building to expand the non-profit she founded more than a decade ago.
“It is definitely time to not only expand Newby-ginnings but incorporate my dream,” says Hart. A dream that was born out of loss. Hart lost her son, Nicholas Newby, when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2011. About a year after his death, Hart decided she needed to do something, and the idea of "Newby-ginnings," named after her son, began to take shape. “I thought that’s what I can do to help men and women who are struggling after deployment,” says Hart.
She launched Newby-ginnings out of her garage. Hart says people told her not to bother because no one would come. Turns out, they were wrong. “We have 175-200 people in there a day,” says Hart. Newby-ginnings has expanded and moved multiple times, but Hart says she wants to find a permanent place to land and grow. Hart says she wants to not only give out furniture, clothes, food and supplies but also be a hub for veteran services. “We wouldn’t have to have our families wait for hours on end,” says Hart.
She has her eye on a Post Falls building that’s for sale, but her dream comes with a hefty price tag of about $7.5 million. Hart believes the effort will change lives. She says by dramatically growing the square footage of the nonprofit, they can launch the Newby-ginnings Veteran Community Center.
“We will be a one-stop shop for veterans and their families,” says Hart. Newby-ginnings has launched a campaign to raise the funds necessary to buy the building. A community fundraiser will be held on November 1, and the organization is also taking donations online.
Fellowship among veterans: Coeur d'Alene American Legion seeks new members
By CAROLYN BOSTICK, Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls Press
Staff Writer | July 25, 2025 1:08 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — When Joe Deacon moved to Kootenai County, he the joined local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations. “It was to fill a void in my life,” Deacon said. “All of a sudden, this group of guys is there and they take care of each other. Sincere friendships are developed.”
Deacon said younger veterans might not realize how good it is to be looked out for by fellow former service members. “If someone doesn’t show up for coffee and doughnuts, they go call, just like you haven’t heard from a good friend. It's a feeling of being surrounded by a protective group of people,” Deacon said.
Although the organization has 131 members on paper, he said American Legion Post 14 Coeur d’Alene is looking for more active members to keep the veteran resource viable for future generations of veterans. Deacon and Jerry Staub of Post 14 hope to reignite American Legion traditions while keeping with the times. “We want to resurrect and enhance what better fits into the 21st century,” Deacon said.
Post 14 of Coeur d’Alene was established in 1919, the year the first American Legion was formed. Today, the group financially supports American Legion baseball, Boys State and Girls State events for youth, the Idaho State Veterans Home in Post Falls, St. Vincent de Paul, Kootenai County Veteran’s Service and college scholarships.
Post 14 members also volunteer for Newby-ginnings of North Idaho and at the North Idaho Veterans Stand Down. For Staub, it’s all about meeting veterans where they are. “We've been there. We’ve had some of the issues, we’ve had the injuries and the effects of warfare,” Staub said.
Staub said they are looking into forming Coeur d’Alene iterations of the American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion offshoot groups. Post 14 also wants to get more involved in teaching students patriotic lessons such as how to fold the flag to present to families after the death of a member of the military and bring back the oratorical contests they used to hold for high school students. “Things have changed a lot. They’re constantly changing, but we want to make sure the lesson isn’t lost,” Staub said.
On the veteran direct support side of the organization, they want to look into aiding with mental health crises veterans may experience by providing buddy check phone calls to members, benefits counseling and suicide prevention services. Post 14 also wants to be able to assist fellow veterans with rides to the doctor. “Some people are shut-ins and they don’t have family and we want to be able to help folks like that to a better degree of what we’ve been able to do," Staub said. “To do community service is what we’re all about. This is a community within a community.” To learn more about joining Post 14, call 208-699-6540 or email jsphdeacon@gmail.com.
Veteran Service Officers: Getting the benefits you earned.