Celebrating expansion at airport

When Bill Stone started Venture North Aviation at the Cloquet Airport in 2009, it was just Stone and one airplane in a one-room office at the airport.

As of last week, Stone announced Venture North now boasts nine aircraft and 15 employees and taught accelerated flight courses to more than 200 customers last year. This year they expect more than 360 customers.

Stone made the announcement at an open house event held to celebrate the grand opening of a multi use hangar that houses airplanes as well as offices and training classrooms for Venture North Aviation.

"This new facility has allowed us to double the size of our staff, increase the number of aircraft and service, and reduce the wait time for customers seeking advanced training courses here," Stone told the crowd gathered at the May 3 open house.

While the business benefits from customers - who stay an average of 10 to 12 days - so does the community. Stone pointed out that its customers stay in local hotels on average over 300 nights a month, also impacting restaurants and other businesses during their stay.

The president and general manager described the different ways Venture North Aviation is growing its business and opportunities at the Cloquet airport.

First of all, he said, VNA offers accelerated flight training for pilots across the U.S., including commercial pilot certificates, instrument rating courses, seaplane ratings and more.

VNA also offers aircraft maintenance services, including annual inspections of aircraft and engine overhaul and airframe repair, and can supply on-demand passenger charter, cargo and freight services within 600 miles of the Cloquet airport. Venture North also serves as a way for professional pilots to get the hours they need to become commercial pilots by working as flight instructors.

The new hangar wouldn't have been possible without the collaboration of government at the local, state and national levels, Stone stressed.

The new building was paid for with a $1.2 million federal economic development administration grant plus $291,718 in state and $14,464 in county funds. The EDA grant, from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone program, targeted "opportunity zones" and public-private investments.

The private part of the public-private partnership in this case is Venture North, which has invested $1.7 million into new aircraft maintenance equipment to support its growth at the Cloquet Airport.

Stone also pointed to three brand-new 2022 Piper Archer aircraft added to their fleet since January.

"That brings our fleet to nine, and next year we plan on adding more aircraft," he said.

Economic Development Administration representative Thomas Baron, who works out of the EDA Chicago Regional office, told the crowd their mission is to facilitate projects that increase economic development across the United States.

"This project is right in our wheelhouse," Baron said. "There's a lot of economic activity coming out of this. It's a job creator, it helps create a more diverse local and regional economy and it builds resilience for this region, so it can greater withstand future economic shocks to the area. That's why this project was funded."

Carlton County Economic Development Authority secretary Kevin McGrath recently retired after 40 years as a pilot and other roles in aviation.

"I really can appreciate aviation infrastructure and what it does for our region," McGrath said. He pointed out the immediate benefits of the new hangar - revenue for business and taxes - and more far-reaching benefits such as producing new pilots.

"We're looking for this facility to be a magnet as well. Hoping that the facility heralds more aviation, aerospace business here in Carlton County," he said, pointing to the unique location of Carlton County at a crossroads to the Twin Cities, the industrial east, the northern plains to the west and north to Canada.

Carlton County board chair Dick Brenner said he hopes the expansion will be the "first of many" at the airport.

"This is a home run," said Mike Schultz, chair of the Carlton County Airport Commission.

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Did you know?

• There are 47 aircraft based out of Cloquet.

• The Cloquet Airport handles approximately 16,000 operations annually.

• There are 28 individuals on the hangar waiting list.

• The county took over the Cloquet Airport from the city in 1968 for $10.

• Former governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura and singer Bret Michaels have flown into the Cloquet Airport