Located southwest of the Twin Cities, the Glencoe Municipal Airport offers the benefits of a small local airport to metro-area pilots and aviation enthusiasts within an hour’s travel time.
The airport was founded by a group of airport enthusiasts, many of whom had flown in World War II and the Korean War, according to Mark Larson, the airport manager and Glencoe city administrator. Larson explains that the airport was established in 1967 after the town’s community voted on a referendum to build it, paying $35,000 for the land it sits on.
Glencoe Municipal had a single turf runway until 1994, when the first paved runway was constructed, Larson says. In 2014, a new 3,300-foot paved runway was constructed, with a parallel taxiway added on shortly after in 2015.
The latest improvement was construction of a new terminal building, the result of a grant from the FAA. The original terminal building, built in 1972, was not ADA compliant and needed major repairs. These conditions served as significant motivators for constructing a new facility, according to Larson. The project team consisted of the City of Glencoe, consultant SEH, and contractor Ebert Companies. The new terminal building includes accessible restrooms and energy efficient heating. “Everything is electric in the building, for heat and forced air,” Larson says. Additionally, the building features a waiting area with great views of the airfield that is open to pilots and airport users 24/7.
The project was nominated for a Project of the Year award, given by the Minnesota Council of Airports, in the intermediate small GA airport category. The awards are presented at the annual Minnesota Airports Conference in April.
See the conference poster for the project
Other airport services include self-service 100LL fuel, a courtesy car available for short trips, PAPI and REIL lighting, and six tie-down locations. The airport has eight hangars that currently house 35 aircraft, including corporate planes.
“Quite a few of our businesses in the community do have corporate aircraft. And we’re the home of Seneca Food’s aircraft,” Larson says. Housing corporate aircraft makes the airport an integral part of the Glencoe community, he adds.
—Rachel Hoppe is a CTS communications intern.
