IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Five people from Eastern Idaho have received the 2025 Spirit of Freedom: Idaho Veteran Service award.

Idaho Senator Mike Crapo created the award in 2002 to recognize the invaluable contributions of Idaho veterans, as well as to those who volunteer in service to veterans.

The five East Idaho recipients include: 

• From Pocatello:
  • Eva Ackerman
  • Cheri Honas
  • Lynn Leggat
• From Idaho Falls

These five make up a total of 10 veterans and 14 volunteers who were honored in local ceremonies across the state.  

“I am honored to recognize these remarkable individuals for their extraordinary service to our nation and Idaho’s veterans,” Crapo wrote in a press release. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the veterans who bravely served our nation with honor and to the volunteers who continue to serve them with unwavering dedication. Their spirit of service inspires us and upholds the values our nation’s veterans fought to protect.” 

About the Recipients

Larry Auman – Idaho Falls

Larry Auman served our country in the Navy during the Vietnam War.  After six years in the Navy, Larry worked for more than 40 years in the nuclear industry as a health physicist in nuclear power operations at U.S. Department of Energy facilities across the United States, including the Idaho National Laboratory. 

Since retiring, Larry has dedicated considerable time to supporting veterans and various veterans service organizations. An example of his service includes his extensive work to make sure veterans are honored through service recognition on their graves. 

Eva Ackerman – Pocatello

Eva Ackerman volunteers with a number of organizations including the Run to Remember with the Field of Heroes and Bannock County Veterans Memorial Association. She also helps coordinate lunches and dinners held at the Pocatello Memorial Building.

She shared, “I’ve met several veterans who are very good. I love to find the good in people.”

Allen Arnold – Idaho Falls

Allen Arnold has been involved in area veterans activities for more than 20 years.  Al, a U.S. Navy retiree, has participated in more than 1,700 graveside honors for veterans, and served in many capacities in veterans service organizations. He is a leader of the Bonneville Memorial Team and the War Bonnet Round Up American Legion fundraising effort.  He and his late wife were honored as Rodeo Volunteers of the Year. 

 Arnold retired as a Lieutenant in 1990 after more than 25 years and earning many honors for his distinguished service.  He served on a guided missile destroyer, fleet ballistic missile submarine and fast attack submarine and as an instructor and supervisor for training of Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operators at the Naval Reactors Facility in Idaho.

Cheri Honas – Pocatello

Cheri Honas’s military family inspired her to offer six years of service to veterans through the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1.  She helps with immediate, short-term needs and helps coordinate the luncheons and dinners held at the Veterans Memorial Building.

She said, “God looks down on all of us and smiles when he sees us making someone happy.  He especially loves his veterans.”

Lynn Leggat – Pocatello

Lynn Leggat has volunteered helping veterans for the past three years.  Lynn’s husband, William Leggat, served in the U.S. Air Force.  After her husband passed away, Leggat says was guided through prayer to serve veterans.  She started out helping with steak dinners at the American Legion after hearing about a dinner on the radio and showing up to help.

She primarily assists veterans through the American Legion Auxiliary, but also she assists with Amvets and other organizations.  The list of projects Lynn assists with is lengthy and includes assisting with the Field of Heroes Information Booth, 9/11 Commemoration, Pearl Harbor Remembrance, Veterans Day Luncheon and Veterans Day Parade. 

Nominating for 2026

To nominate someone for the 2026 Spirit of Freedom: Idaho Veteran Service award, contact Courtney Lehosit in Crapo’s Boise office at 208-334-1776.

Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, must pay for the urns for two of the slain students as a part of restitution, a judge ruled.

Kohberger killed four students — Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20 — at an off-campus house on Nov. 13, 2022. He took a plea deal over the summer and was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences for four counts of first-degree murder and 10 years in prison for a burglary charge.

On Thursday, the anniversary of the slayings, an Ada County judge said Kohberger would be financially responsible for the urns for two of his victims — Goncalves and Mogen.

The total of the two urns is $3075.58. Additionally, Kohberger has also been ordered to pay $251,227.50 in criminal fines and fees, a civil judgment of $20,000 to each family, and $31,964.67 in restitution orders to the families of Kernodle and Chapin.

A public defender listed for Kohberger did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

The ruling follows the already agreed-upon restitution that Kohberger would pay to the families of his victims, and after his defense team argued he should not be responsible for the urns because Kohberger will be in prison for the rest of his life and therefore does not have an opportunity to earn more money to cover extra expenses.

District Judge Steven Hippler wrote that the cost of the urns is considered a funeral expense, something Kohberger had already agreed to pay for under the plea agreement.

He also said that the additional cost for the urn “represents minimal additional burden on Defendant’s financial obligations in connection with this case” and that Kohberger has already received enough donations to cover the agreed-upon restitution.

Hippler added that he believes Kohberger will receive more donations over the course of his life that can cover the cost of the urns, and that he can also get a job in prison to earn more funds.

Also on Thursday, the third anniversary of the students’ deaths, tributes poured in remembering them.

Dr. Greg McElwain, Professor and Chair of Philosophy and Religious Studies at The College of Idaho, has been awarded a Barker Fellowship from Durham University in the United Kingdom. The fellowship is a prestigious, one-month residential award that supports scholars at all career stages in conducting original research using Durham’s libraries and archives.

During his fellowship next summer, Dr. McElwain will work in Durham’s historic Palace Green Library, where he will access the Mary and Geoff Midgley Papers collection. Using correspondence, publication manuscripts, research notes, and other materials, he will advance his forthcoming book, Mary Midgley on What Matters: Conversations on Science, Ethics, and Nature (Bloomsbury, 2026), and develop a high-quality companion website to complement the work.

The Barker Fellowship recognizes scholars who are expanding the frontiers of knowledge through archival research and intellectual collaboration. Dr. McElwain’s work at Durham continues his longstanding commitment to exploring the intersections of science, ethics, and the natural world.

Learn more about the fellowship here.