Grantsburg, Wisconsin Municipal Airport (KGTG)
by Rod Kleiss
Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine June/July 2024 Digital Issue
I moved my gear business from Minnesota to Grantsburg, Wisconsin in 2004 because I needed more space, and at the time Wisconsin offered a greater incentive for small businesses to relocate in the state. A failed business in Grantsburg left a relatively new 14,000 square foot factory available for a very good price, making my decision to relocate there an easy one.
As the years went by, I decided that I really should get involved in the community, so I joined the village board in 2013 and received a warm welcome.
The first two years were fairly uneventful, but as time went on, the board no longer wanted to support the library, the swimming pool, and were happy to leave the tennis court in poor condition.
Some of us supported those services as necessary for the well-being of our children and convinced the village to at least support some of them.
During my second term on the board, the issue of its airport – Grantsburg Municipal Airport (KGTG) – came up. There seemed to be a consensus that it was virtually unused and should probably be closed, suggesting that Burnett County Airport (KRZN) in Siren, Wisconsin, located
12 miles away, could serve both communities. I was not a pilot at the time, but my dad had been a dive-bomber pilot off the “USS Enterprise” during World War II, so I felt somewhat connected and offered to see what might be done to preserve our airport.
The first thing I did was to go out to the airport and assess its condition. There was no doubt it had deteriorated. Some of the hangars were well maintained, but the runway and tarmac looked the worse for wear, and the airport administration building was marginal at best.
The next time I went out there, one of the hangar owners was working on his airplane and I spoke with him. He loved the airport and was disappointed with the lack of support from the village. He introduced me to some of the other pilots and offered to take me up for a ride which I accepted. It didn’t take long for me to realize that general aviation was very, very cool, and I started to think about getting my pilot’s license. At the same time, I started looking into how airports were funded. I learned about “entitlement funds” – and fuel sales and hangar rentals – and the state and federal support available to airports.
I spoke with officials at the Wisconsin DOT Bureau of Aeronautics about its support and started learning how our airport had been neglected and abandoned by the village years ago. I started to learn how other airports were an integral part of their communities and considered necessary and beneficial economically. Airports around us – Rush City, Siren, Osceola, Cumberland, Rice Lake – are all supported by their local communities and considered tremendous assets. I was confused as to why the Village of Grantsburg did not recognize the inherent value of its airport.
First things first… We needed to improve the appearance of the airport. With the help of concerned citizens, we repainted the terminal building and replaced the windsock. The cooperation we received was very encouraging and everyone seemed fond of the airport. We then held a fly-in with Young Eagles flights and a pancake breakfast. Again, lots of local interest and a big turnout! The villages lack of support became more and more confusing to me, so I spoke with the manager at Burnett County Airport (KRZN) about supporting us as well. He seemed to think that all the county needs is one airport. That was when I began to understand the underpinnings of Grantsburgs stance.
From 2013 to 2020, our pilots approached the village board and explained how their airport could once again be vital to the community for a very small initial investment and could become self-supporting. We answered all sorts of questions, such as the cost of resurfacing the runway, and the actual use of the airport. About this time, I learned to fly and bought my first airplane, a Cessna 152, and leased a hangar at the airport. That’s when I noticed the lease stated the village could close the airport at any time and hangar owners would have no recourse. We brought that to the villages attention, but board members refused to budge. This went on for some time, but we did get public support for our position.
I then learned that the hangar owners at Burnett County Airport recently had a contract dispute with their leases, hired a lawyer, and managed to get a new lease agreement. Their agreement had different language than ours, so we asked the village to allow us to have the same lease agreement, since both airports were in Burnett County. To my surprise, they agreed, and with the new lease we easily filled up our unused hangar spaces and began to thrive! But the board still wouldnt consider using FAA entitlement money to refurbish the runways because they were misled in thinking that their cost would be in the millions of dollars, and the airport would have to comply with federal standards for 20 years, which in their view was excessive government oversight.
As I was no longer on the village board, I offered to become the airport manager, so I could figure out a way to make this all happen with limited local dollars. Once again, I was surprised they appointed me manager.
As airport manager, I was able to talk with a lot of people and began to put together a plan for resurfacing the runway that would run the village around $50,000, not $3 million as naysayers claimed it would cost.
Around this time the COVID virus surfaced, and lots of things shut down. Then I received an email from the Wisconsin DOT Bureau of Aeronautics indicating that COVID funds were available to airports in the amount of $20,000. The letter asked for us to respond by the end of the week or we wouldnt be considered. I figured it was a non-issue. Certainly, we would love to accept money to improve our airport, but I knew that the village board would never respond in the time required. As airport manager, I responded to their letter that we welcomed the support and informed our village clerk. The next thing I knew the board removed me from the airport manager’s position because they felt I exceeded my authority. In retrospect, I believe I was making too much headway in improving our airport, and they just wanted me gone!
Finally, after 7 years of trying to get the village to recognize the value of the airport, we decided that we only had one avenue left. In our new lease contract, the village stated that they were solely responsible for airport management and maintenance. Well then, they were not maintaining the airport, so they had violated our contract. Two years ago, we brought a lawsuit against the village for their contractual failure. We passed through a required mediation period without them ever offering to come to the table. They simply delay and delay. We finally have a court date set in December and that is where we are today.
Meanwhile, the tenants of the airport will proceed to sponsor a “Save Our Airport Fly-In” and continue to rally local support.
Pilots and aviation officials reading this article can email me to express their support and make suggestions: kleissrod@gmail.com.
Thank you!
