DULUTH, MINN. – Brian Ryks, 49, executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority for the past 10 years, is departing Duluth International Airport June 22, 2012 to become airport director at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The Grand Rapids airport serves more than 1 million people, and the airport handles more than 2 million passengers each year, compared to 350,000 passengers in Duluth.
Ryks became airport director in Duluth in 2002 after serving as director at St. Cloud Regional Airport, and in airport management with the Metropolitan Airports Commission in the Twin Cities. Ryks also worked in management and on noise reduction at airports in Denver, Colo., and Aberdeen, S.D.
Ryks is a graduate of the aviation program at St. Cloud State University.