The newly opened lodge for Healing at English River Outfitters (HERO) has three floors with a full kitchen, multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, a pond for fishing, and various surrounding nature trails that can be used for exercise and hunting. The lodge started being constructed in 2019 due to a grant HERO received from The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) of Iowa, which gave HERO approximately $171,000.

The lodge was open to the public on July 2nd, and HERO will now have the ability to start furnishing its new building thanks to the Wellman American Legion. The Wellman Branch of the American Legion, Post 427, is closing this year due to a lack of membership and was charged with dispersing their remaining funds. As part of the dispersing process, American Legion Post 427 gave $20,000 to HERO to go towards the furnishing of the lodge.

Rod Courtney, the Executive Director of HERO, talked to KCII about how much this donation meant to the group.

“I had no idea that the donation was going to be $20,000 and that money is going to serve our veterans and their families. It took me a moment to catch my breath to even say thank you to the Wellman American Legion for their generosity.”

More information about the new lodge can be found on the Healing at English River Outfitters website.