Master plan for Grand Marais/Cook County Airport underway, public encouraged to weigh in
Over the past couple of years, the Grand Marais/Cook County Airport has been engaged in a master planning process to help guide proposed upgrades and changes to the airport for the decades ahead.
The master plan is a required document by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for all airports that receive federal funds.
“What it is is a brainstorming plan that we would envision for the next 25 to 50 years,” said Airport Manager Rodney Roy.
For the past year, the airport advisory commission has worked with RS&H, an engineering firm and aviation planner, to identify proposed projects and improvements to include in the master plan.
“We are now in the process where the engineering firm is pretty comfortable being able to draw up a set of plans that fit everybody’s ideas,” Roy said.
Some examples of proposed upgrades or improvements include relocating the automatic weather collection equipment, upgrading storage facilities, improving the seaplane dock, identifying the location of a new taxiway, adding hangar space, and more.
Roy said the top priority for the airport right now is to relocate the automatic weather observation system (AWOS), given the continued growth of trees and brush surrounding the equipment.
As part of the master planning process, the airport advisory commission will host an open house to collect public input and feedback on the proposed improvement projects.
The open house will be Monday, May 12, from 5-7 p.m. in the Commissioner’s Room at the Cook County Courthouse.
The open house will be an informal meeting with several boards displaying drawings of future airport project ideas, Roy said. “Then there will be several of us and some commission members there that can answer questions.”
Roy said the master plan process is a “normal course of events for any and all airports,” but will help guide the airport for the next two decades.
He said the primary objective of the airport is to “facilitate tourism,” and the proposed upgrades included in the master plan will help do that. For the next 20 years, Roy said he expects the Grand Marais/Cook County Airport to see steady growth, but not an alarming amount of growth.
Learn more about the Grand Marais/Cook County Airport here.
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Airport Manager Rodney Roy about the upcoming open house on Monday, May 12, the proposed master plan projects, aviation trends at the airport, and more. Audio from the interview is below.
Kalli Hawkins May 12, 2025
