Idaho
Warhawk Air Museum receives $500K grant honoring fallen Idaho soldier
NAMPA, Idaho — Nearly 20 years after Idaho soldier John Borbonus was killed in Iraq, his legacy is continuing to serve fellow veterans.
The Borbonus Family Foundation, created in his honor, announced a $500,000 grant Tuesday to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa.
WATCH: One Idaho soldier’s legacy continues to serve fellow veterans
Warhawk Air Museum receives $500K grant honoring Idaho soldier John Borbonus
The museum says the unrestricted gift is its largest ever and will help cover operating costs as it continues to grow.
Executive Director Carson Spear says grants of this size often come with requirements to fund a specific project, but the Borbonus Family Foundation instead asked to use the funds where they are most needed.
Warhawk leaders say the funding will help preserve veterans’ stories and continue programs like the Kilroy Coffee Klatch, which brings together veterans from different generations each month.
RELATED | Kilroy Coffee Klatch brings veterans together at the Warhawk Air Museum
Vietnam veteran Emil Berry says the museum is more than a place to display history.
“It brings back memories, and also it helps the veteran, helps the military personnel. It’s just a special, very special establishment,” Berry said.
Borbonus’ sister, Alexa Borbonus, says Warhawk already preserves part of her brother’s story through a display dedicated to his service.
“The Warhawk Museum, they have a special place in our hearts,” Alexa Borbonus said. “They have John’s case on display now, and they provide a safe space for all our veterans in Idaho.”
RELATED | Skydivers honor fallen Boise soldier John Borbonus at annual memorial golf tournament
Sen. Jim Risch, who attended Tuesday’s announcement, said museums like Warhawk remind people that “freedom isn’t free” and help future generations appreciate the sacrifices made by those who served.
Following the announcement, the Borbonus family also donated John Borbonus’ challenge coin and the KIA bracelet worn by his family to Warhawk’s bar display, adding another piece of his legacy to the museum.
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Idaho
Idaho’s Most Unusual Listing: A Pair of Medieval Castles Complete With a Dungeon and Drawbridge
Idaho is not a place that’s often associated with Medieval castles, but a pair have just hit the market for $6.25 million.
The imposing stone structures have towers, turrets, ramparts, arrow-slit windows and even a drawbridge, and might just be the most authentic-looking castles this side of the Atlantic.
“Who expects to see a castle like this in Idaho?” said listing agent Brenda Burk of Coldwell Banker Schneidmiller Realty, who brought the property to the market last week. They are, she said, “extremely unusual.”
MORE: Late PBS Anchor Jim Lehrer’s Historic Washington, D.C., Home Lists for $5 Million
Schweitzer Castle and Château de Melusine, as they’re known, stand within Schweitzer Mountain Resort in the Selkirk Mountains and overlook the nearby mountain resort town of Sandpoint. They take in panoramic views of Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho’s largest lake.
The pair of ski-in/ski-out homes each have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and three stories, Burk explained. They are “so authentic,” she said. “Every single stone was handlaid.”
Schweitzer Castle, she said, wasn’t built for “functionality,” but has been modernized and adapted and now has everything a 21st-century residence requires, along with a dungeon, which for some buyers may also be a requisite.
MORE: Arizona’s Most Expensive House—With an Indoor Go-Kart Track and Shooting Range—Sells for a Record $40.2 Million
The chateau, meanwhile, has a hot tub room with mountain views, as well as a garage.
The property is being sold furnished, and will come complete with the hand-carved statues, armor, mounted swords, stained-glass windows and a host of antiques dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.
The owner, an antique collector who couldn’t be reached for comment, “is always looking for that hidden jewel and he found that here,” Burk said.
The next custodian is likely to stem from a varied pool of buyers, Burk said, that would include “the trophy-home buyer, someone who can say ‘I own a castle.’”
The property could also appeal to someone looking for a vacation home, or a multi-generational estate, and beyond that “there’s the dreamers,” she said. “We definitely try to market to people who like Medieval history or maybe do Renaissance fairs.”
The seller “really wants it to go to someone with the same passion.”
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