We love a story with a happy ending, and this one really delivers. During the restoration process on the historic Root Cellar this summer, a stray kitten was found alone living in the construction area. Staff, unable to find the mom or siblings, attempted to find her a new home. However, in the process, Ranger Midori fell in love and decided to adopt the kitten, now named Jiji, herself! Congratulations to Ranger Midori on the new addition and to Jiji for finding herself a won

The Visitor Center at Minidoka National Historic Site officially closed Sunday, September 27, bringing the 2026 summer Visitor Center season to a close. But while the seasonal doors have closed, the work of connecting people with Minidoka’s history continues. This year, Minidoka’s education programs reached 1,527 students and teachers from across the country through school tours, classroom visits, teacher trainings, and virtual learning programs. The park’s education team led

While National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center team (HPTC) was excavating the historic Root Cellar at Minidoka, a South Idaho Parks archeologist was on site to identify, recover, and inventory any artifacts uncovered. Archeologists for South Idaho Parks Tara McClure-Cannon, Tatiana Perrotte, and Heather Alvarado shared a few of the artifacts with Friends of Minidoka. All photos courtesy of NPS. Children’s Marbles The marbles and shooter marbles uncovered

What if you could explore the stories of Minidoka National Historic Site year-round, even when the Visitor Center is closed or you are unable to make it to the site in person? A new digital tour from Friends of Minidoka will make that possible. Friends of Minidoka has received a $50,000 supplemental grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to develop a third tour in Beyond the Barbed Wire: Japanese American Stories of the Pacific Northwest, our growing series of digital tou

The National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center crew and Conservation Legacy interns have been hard at work at Minidoka National Historic Site this summer. Thanks to funding from the Great American Outdoors Act’s Legacy Restoration Funds, four projects are underway at the site: restoration of the Historic Root Cellar, Barracks, and Mess Hall, as well as the construction of a new modern maintenance and staff facility. View of Historic Root Cellar as of Septem

Friends of Minidoka held an online presentation about Education and Freedom at Minidoka: The Diary of the Superintendent Arthur Kleinkopf. Published for the first time in its entirety, Kleinkopf's diary offers a rare, firsthand account of life within a World War II concentration camp. Staff shared stories and context alongside Kleinkopf’s observations about the daily realities, contradictions, and moral tensions of living and working inside the walls of the Minidoka concentra

Friends of Minidoka seeks to employ a part-time Philanthropy/Administrative Assistant to support philanthropic and administrative efforts and reports to the Executive Director. This hybrid position will allow the Philanthropy/Administrative Assistant to work in-person at the Boise office and remotely, and travel will be required for in-person meetings and events. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Use the Bloomerang database program to generate thank you acknowledgements f

On a couple of Saturdays each summer, the breezeway at the Minidoka National Historic Site visitor’s center buzzes with color and life - flowers, leaves, and branches in all shapes and sizes fill a table by the doors, alongside an assortment of empty vases and jars. All are welcome to come and look. Visitors of all ages and abilities are invited to step up and try their hand at selecting stems, trimming them down, and assembling them into their own unique ikebana creations. I