United for Veterans Retreat

United Way of Northeastern Minnesota (UWNEMN) is organizing a retreat for local veterans and their family members January 30-February 1, 2026, at Sugar Lake Lodge in Cohasset, MN, through our United for Veterans initiative. 

This weekend winter retreat will feature speakers, including American author and former Amy Ranger Kris Paronto. Kris was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the US Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya on September 11th, 2012, helping to save over 20 lives while fighting off terrorists from the CIA Annex for over 13 hours. Kris and his fellow brothers-in-arms story is told in the book 13 Hours written by Mitchell Zuckoff. 

The retreat will also include indoor and outdoor activities as well as opportunities for veterans and their families to spend quality time together while connecting with other military families from across our region.  

Your support will connect more than 100 individuals from across our service area in northeastern Minnesota, from the Iron Range to Koochiching County and Lake of the Woods County, to share common experiences, make memories, heal, learn, and grow. Past United for Veterans retreats have had profound and lifechanging impact on those in attendance, and we expect the same in 2025.