My Nonprofit Reviews

One mission of The Museum of North Idaho (MNI) is to serve as a repository of historical material of Kootenai County and two adjacent counties, for researchers and others to benefit from. In actuality its service area is not limited to just those counties as people from far and wide utilize its resources. A particular interest of mine is railroads in general, and in particular the railroads that served Coeur d’Alene and northern Idaho. The museum has worked with and provided historical details to authors writing railroad books published by the museum, covering the Spokane Coeur d’Alene & Palouse Ry., the CMStP&P RR, the Spokane International RR, and the Washington Idaho & Montana RR, among others. Their railroad books sell nationwide with some having multiple printings. Other reviews on this site have noted their extensive collection of photos and other material that provide valuable resource material for patrons. I agree.

Artifacts not displayed at the museum are stored in a separate building. A recent large MNI project was buying a storage building versus renting as had been done for years, and doing some prep work on it. Volunteers then spent many hours moving the shelving and artifacts from the former to the new storage building. Some local businesses contributed labor and machines needed to move items too large or heavy to move by manual labor. Local business support is another facet of the community support from members, volunteers, and other sources MNI cultivates. MNI operates with fiscal responsibility in all they do, but as is common to such organizations, they are always in need of additional members, volunteer labor, and financial support.

I am a member of the MNI and do volunteer work as well. Other reviews on this site have noted the importance of MNI to the community and the outreach efforts they are doing to increase awareness of MNI and its benefit to the community. I agree. In addition to those activities, they are working to raise funds for a new museum facility having outgrown the present one. MNI is an important asset to their local community, equally as important as arts and cultural activities; all of which contribute to the quality of life in a community.