Becker County appoints Mike Moe to airport commission; Mark Hagen outlines runway, hangar and fuel gains
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Summary
Commissioners appointed Mike Moe to fill a vacated Becker County Airport commission seat and heard from Mark Hagen on recent airport upgrades: runway extended to 5,200 feet, new helipad/medical hangar partnership, 12 new hangars and jet fuel sales rising from about 40,000 to roughly 95,000 gallons annually. Mike Moe will fill a term through September.
The Becker County Board of Commissioners voted to appoint Mike Moe to the airport commission and received a detailed update on airport improvements and activity from Mark Hagen.
Mark Hagen told commissioners the airport commission — a joint city‑county board with Detroit Lakes as operating agent — completed a long program of improvements including a full‑length runway extension to 5,200 feet, taxiway work and obstruction removal, upgraded lighting and navigational aids and land acquisition. He said a medical helicopter building was constructed with county and city support and will be owned by the commission after a multi‑year payback arrangement.
Hagen described a marked increase in fuel sales and business activity: “Prior to the expansion we were doing about 40,000 gallons of Jet A a year… We now are gonna do about 95,000 gallons,” he said, citing increased business use from local companies and fractional operators. The commission also built a dozen hangars in the last year and has a grant‑funded apron and a potential 95% grant to remodel the arrival/departure building under consideration.
On appointments, commissioners moved to accept Mike Moe to fill the remainder of a vacated commission term through September. Moe, who said his family has seasonal ties to the area dating to 1936 and that he and his wife moved to Detroit Lakes partly because of the airport, spoke about his aviation background (private pilot training at UND, Air Force and airline experience) and volunteering interests. A motion to appoint Moe passed by voice vote.
Commissioners praised airport staff and the commission’s success in securing grants that reduced county funding needs. No additional county funding requests were made at the meeting; commissioners asked staff to continue tracking metrics that show airport economic activity and to report on grant outcomes as projects advance.