Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 76 - 93 of 93
William Alexander Aitkin was quite a guy. A native of Scotland who immigrated to the United States in the early 19th century, Aitkin became chief trader for the American Fur Company which was owned by John Jacob Astor. From his headquarters on Big Sandy Lake, Aitkin supervised a territory that included much of Northern Minnesota and North Dakota. After a falling out with Astor, he went in business for himself and operated a series of independent trading posts. He was reported to be one of the...
In 1879 John Cummings was farming in what's now the City of Eden Prairie. He built a house just north of today's Pioneer Trail. The "Cummings" house is still there. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and owned by the Eden Prairie Historical Society. Around 1933 the Cummings farm was purchased by two prodigious agriculturalists, Harriet and Edwin Sprague Phipps. Harriet had a huge Peony garden next to the house and you can see that too when you visit. Edwin was known as the...
One way to get to Grand Rapids might be to "follow the yellow brick road". Judy Garland was born there and became famous for portraying Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz". Her fully restored birth place is a museum that's opened to the public, and part of a city street is actually paved with yellow bricks. Scare Crow, Lion and Tin Man were good company for Dorothy and Toto, but flying to the Grand Rapids-Itasca County Airport would sure be an easier way to travel. Airport facilities include a...
Maybe Paynesville should be called "Phoenix." Not because it's anything like the big city in Arizona, but because it might have some things in common with the bird from Greek mythology. The mythical Phoenix supposedly dies in flames then rises from its own ashes to live again. Both the City of Paynesville, and the Paynesville Municipal Airport have experienced a "rebirth," sort of like the bird. Paynesville was founded in 1857 on land owned by Edwin Payne. Things were taking off in the new town...
From its source at Big Stone Lake on the South Dakota border, the Minnesota River flows 332 miles to its confluence with the Mississippi just below Fort Snelling and the sprawling Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. It's a scenic river for the whole way, but arguably the best part is at the beginning and the pretty little lakeside town of Ortonville. You can use the Airspace System at the upstream end too, thanks to the Ortonville Municipal Airport. Also known as Martinson Field, the...
Isedor Iverson wasn't a famous aviator. He might be best known as a politician, but leadership was his real talent. Iverson was Mayor of McGregor and also represented the area in the State Legislature. He started the city's electrical utility and the volunteer fire Department, all this while the Swedish immigrant was operating the local automobile dealership for 42 years. The mayor (and car salesman) knew the value of a good airport. His contribution to aviation was establishing the McGregor...
In Canby, they breed wrestlers and aviators. Sometimes both talents end up in the same person. Since 1976 the Canby High School Lancers have won 8 state titles in wrestling. Matt Wagner was on the teams that won the titles in 1994 and 1995. Now he's the Canby Airport Manager, with a "day" job flying Boeing 737s for a major airline. When a member of the 2006 wrestling team got the aviation bug, Matt told him he'd teach him to fly at no charge if they won the title. His team won the title and Tad...
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its...
Olivia claims it's the "Corn Capital of the World". Not just Minnesota or the United States, but the entire world. When you fly into the Olivia Regional Airport in the summer you'll see a lot of corn growing, so the reason for the claim might appear obvious. However, the amount of corn growing isn't the only reason Olivia is the world capital. Olivia is home to no less than nine research facilities dedicated to improving production of the cash crop that's essential to the farm economy in the...
There's lots of fun to be had in Alexandria. That's Minnesota not Egypt, although the Midwest town was named after the one in the Mideast. There's enough water in the area to keep any boater happy, plenty of fishing, lots of camping spots, and all kinds of good eating places. PGA Champion Tom Lehman's from the area, so naturally there's a lot of golf too. Seven public courses are within 15 minutes of downtown. Besides that, there's "Big Ole" and the Rune Stone Museum. Best of all you can fly to...
In Warroad they do windows. That's glass and wood, not computer software. Warroad is the home of the Marvin Companies. They make the gold standard for windows and know how to use general aviation to make a really good business even better. Marvin operates two Beech 1900s, a Beech King Air 200 and a Cessna Citation XLS. In 2013 they carried about 12,000 passengers and made 630 trips to and from Warroad. In effect, it's a small airline which started in 1976 with one pilot and a Piper Aztec....
Winter flying up here in the north country can be a challenge. It was even more interesting back in the "good old days" when engine preheating was accomplished using everything from "torpedo heaters" with flexible duct work, to charcoal grills and trouble lights. To hold in the heat, cowling was covered with old quilts, blankets, tarps, and moving mats. These days you just plug in the engine heater and soon it's warm enough to fire right up. Fitted cowl covers go on in minutes thanks to the...
Wadena means "Round Hill" in Ojibwa. It's also the name of a well know leader of that Native American tribe who's band lived along the Crow Wing River in Central Minnesota. The first community named Wadena was a trading post located where a ferry on the Otter Tail Trail crossed the river. In 1873 Wadena County was incorporated and the name was transferred to the platted town and court house site on the Northern Pacific Railroad about sevem miles west of the original settlement. Wadena, both the...
Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea was a member of the First U.S. Dragoons based at Fort Des Moines. He was also an engineer and the cartographer for Zebulon Pike. In 1835 Lt. Lea mapped much of southern Minnesota. Pike told him to "name something after yourself". He picked a large lake next to a town site which was originally called "Paradise Prairie" and is now the City of Albert Lea. A native of Tennessee, Lea fought with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. His son, Lt. Commander...
Tower is one cool place. The city is located near the east end of Lake Vermilion, arguably the most scenic lake in Minnesota. The fishing is great and there's plenty of room for boating. With good reason Tower advertises itself as "Your Gateway to Beautiful Lake Vermillion". The City has a harbor and marina, as well as a boat launch next to the city-owned campground at "Hoodoo" point. Tower is cool in every sense of the word. It's the coldest place in the United States that's not in Alaska. The...
How places get named can be interesting. Cambridge, Minnesota boasts a higher percentage of Swedish Americans in its population than any city in the U.S. Yet it was named for the Cambridge in Massachusetts which in turn was named for the university town in England. That's because before the Swedes arrived, fur traders from New England settled in the area. They got to Cambridge by way of the river which connects Mille Lacs to the Mississippi. The Dakota name is "Spirit" or "Mystic" River. The...
Staples is a railroad town. It's named after a lumber family and that's how it got started. But, by 1900 railroading was the mainstay of the local economy. Staples had a round house, locomotive maintenance shop, and an extensive marshalling yard. The round house and maintenance are gone, but the yard is still a major facility. There's so much rail traffic that the city recently built an $11.5 million overpass to connect the parts of town on either side of the tracks. Folks still can and do ride...
Local sports teams are known as the “Bison,” but to be technically correct they should be called the “Ictiobus.” That’s because Buffalo was named after the fish species prevalent in the local lakes, not the shaggy animal that once dominated the Great Plains. A rough fish for a mascot probably wouldn’t be a great imagine maker and in Buffalo, they know how to make a good impression. Downtown is pristine, the lakes are wonderful, the city has a great system of parks, and the new arrival/departure...
