Tanner Overland, Chairman North Dakota Aviation Association chairman@fly-nd.com
Happy Spring! I’m writing this on my journey home from the warm and sunny Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland, FL. It was an incredible few days filled with awesome airshow performances, an impressive array of static aircraft displays, and even a surprise tour of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Hurricane Hunters Aircraft Operations Center, including a close-up look at a P-3 Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
After Saturday night’s airshow, we struck up a conversation with someone standing outside the NOAA hangar—turns out, he was an aircraft mechanic named David McGee and a fellow University of North Dakota (UND) alumni. That connection led to an unexpected invite inside the hangar and onboard one of the iconic P-3 Orion Hurricane Hunter aircraft!
Back home, another successful Fly-ND Conference is in the books! A sincere thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Fly-ND Conference such a success. From the Ice Breaker Social at Fargo Jet Center’s stunning new facility to insightful discussions during the UND Mental Health and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) panels, it was a meaningful and informative few days.
We were proud to welcome nearly 300 attendees, 37 exhibitors, and over 60 students—our highest student turnout ever! Seeing so many young, passionate aviation professionals in the making is a powerful reminder of why we do this work.
The conference concluded on a high note as we honored Cindy Schreiber-Beck as the 50th inductee into the North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame. Her lifelong dedication to aviation—from agriculture advocacy to legislative leadership— has made a lasting impact on our industry. Thank you, Cindy, for everything you’ve done.
To continue her legacy, please consider donating to the Cindy Schreiber-Beck North Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame Scholarship. We aim to award a $5,000 scholarship in Cindy’s name at next year’s Fly-ND Conference in Minot, ND. Donations to Cindy’s scholarship, as well as all other donation opportunities, can be made at https://fly-nd.com. Since revitalizing our scholarship program in 2020, the North Dakota Aviation Association has proudly awarded nearly $70,000 in scholarships—empowering the next generation of aviation professionals!
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CHAIRMAN ’S COMMENTS
Looking Ahead: We’re excited to announce that a brandnew Fly-ND website is launching June 1, 2025! Expect a modern, fresh look, easier event registration, improved member connectivity, and streamlined membership renewals. Please note that members must create profiles and enter their payment details into their new member profiles on the new website.
Mark your calendars for the Fly-ND Summit (formerly Fly-ND Summerfest), happening August 5–6, 2025, at Woodland Resort in Devils Lake, ND. Join us for two days of camaraderie, networking, business meetings, and updates from the Association. Stay tuned to https://fly-nd.com for additional details and registration.
And don’t miss out on the exciting fly-ins and events happening across the state this summer—check out the full calendar at https://aero.nd.gov/events/ I hope to see many of you out and about this summer! On behalf of the North Dakota Aviation Association, thank you for your continued support. It’s your passion, participation, and commitment to our aviation community that makes everything we do possible. Together, we’re shaping the future of aviation in North Dakota—one event, one connection, and one student at a time.
Blue skies, Tanner Overland Chairman, North Dakota Aviation Association
Murrish, Manager
701-226-1640 / manager@fly-nd.com
It’s Time for Takeoff
The first quarter of the year is already behind us, and the North Dakota Aviation Association (NDAA) has already had a great productive year! The 2025 Fly-ND Conference was full of great networking opportunities, insightful breakout sessions, and amazing camaraderie. Planning has already started for the 2026 Fly-ND Conference in Minot, ND, on March 8-10, 2026; you will NOT want to miss it, so mark your calendars and do take note of the date change as it is a week later than previous years.
I believe the opportunities to exchange ideas, questions, goals, and success stories with other individuals is crucial to growth. The NDAA has our annual board meeting and another collaborating opportunity coming up at the Fly-ND Summit. The Summit will be held at Devils Lake on August 5-6, 2025; be on the lookout for details coming soon.
The NDAA will be embarking on a new website, inhouse
data, and financial system change that will be beneficial to all of us. It will be a challenge and a welcome change, so please be patient with us as we set the NDAA on a better road to success.
Lastly, I would like to leave you with encouragement. In aviation, every flight begins with the takeoff—a moment of trust, power, and commitment. The engines roar to life, the aircraft gains speed, and then, the ground is left behind. This mirrors the risks we take in life when we embrace change, pursue new opportunities, or step beyond our comfort zones (oof, that is the hard one.) It can be daunting, but just as a pilot trusts their training and aircraft, we must trust in our abilities and the potential of what lies ahead. Keep pursuing your dreams, your goals, and your mission on this earth…you are worth it!
Let’s kick the tires and light the fires! Reneé
2025 ND Aviation Hall of Fame recipient Cindy Schreiber-Beck
2025 ND PAMA aviation scholarship recipients
The NDAA Leadership Team
General Aviation Airport of the Year: Stanley Airport
Rare winter weather allows planes to land on Lake Metigoshe
Aviators had the perfect weather to fly to Lake Metigoshe this weekend and enjoy something they seldom get to do as pilots, which is to land and take-off on natural ice, but on Saturday a good number of pilots did just that by landing their planes in front of the former Twin Oaks Resort where they had a get-together for about five hours before they took off and returned back to their homes.
“We have been working on this for about a month,” said Mark Brekke of Lake Metigoshe who made the decision to have a fly-in on the ice at Metigoshe. “They do this all the time in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and they’ve actually have sanctioned ones like in New Hampshire and other places.
“I have flew into Warroad, Minn., several times where the Lions Club sponsor it and where we would land on the river, and they put on a nice meal and fun social,” Brekke said. “They don’t do fly-ins here in North Dakota in the winter time because of our snow and cold temperatures, so the weather has to work, but in North Dakota we could have planned this thing for a whole month and have the event be just a disaster because of the weather.
“So, with the weather we have this winter we just took our chances, and it turned out nice.”
Brekke stated that heavy snow and cold temperatures in the state makes it difficult to have fly-ins on ice.
“I’ve been trying to do this for years,” Brekke said. “I lived up here for 17 years and I’ve been a pilot and involved in aviation for 45 years, but to be involved in something like this is difficult because the weather has to work.
“This year, we were lucky. Number one, the ice froze nice and clear, we didn’t have rough ice. Number two, we had good thick ice before we got snow on it. Number three, we didn’t have a pile of snow on the ice this year, we didn’t have to move three feet of snow, we only had to remove 10, 11, or 12 inches.
Brekke added that there is also the issue of water overflow on the ice which can happen at Lake Metigoshe.
“There’s no overflow on the ice this year,” Brekke said.
“We’ve had three consecutive years of overflow on this lake, which means you could not have done this.
“By overflow that means you get too much snow on the ice, too much weight and the snow pushes down, the water comes up through the cracks and you’ve got water underneath the snow on top of the ice and an event like this can’t happen then. The weather this year was the perfect scenario, the perfect year, so it worked out great.”
Fly-In
With good winter conditions this year in the state, plans were made and Brekke and some of his friends started clearing the snow off the ice and making a runway for the pilots to land on for the fly-in.
The fly-in at Lake Metigoshe was from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday with pilots coming from around North Dakota.
Sixteen planes landed on Lake Metigoshe with a couple from Fargo who flew farthest in an Aeronca Champ. Of the 16 planes, five of them landed with skis on. One Jet Ranger helicopter landed on the lake from Minot.
As pilots started landing at Lake Metigoshe they were greeted by other pilots, onlookers and snowmobilers who came to the events and people enjoying ice fishing in and around the landing area.
For those who attended, there was free hot chocolate and candy that was given out, track vehicles were used to transport people and pilots from the lake to the Metigoshe Coffee House or the A-Frame to enjoy. All of the pilots were given free tickets when they landed and received a free meal and coffee at the Metigoshe Coffee House. Overall, it was a fun day for everyone to enjoy.
For Brekke, and the other pilots, one can only hope for the perfect winter again next year to continue the fly-in on ice at Lake Metigoshe. For now, as most North Dakotans do, they enjoy the moment, and Saturday was the perfect moment for aviation in the state.
By Scott Wagar
Reprinted with permission from the Bottineau Courant.
FLIGHT DEPARTMENT
• 7 Aircraft Rentals
• Flight Instruction
• Multi-Engine Instruction/Rental
• Tailwheel Instruction/Rental
• Pilot Services
TESTING CENTER • FAA Regulated Testing
Meet our NDAA Leadership
Tanner Overland Overland Aviation NDAA Chairman
Jake Werner Experimental Aircraft Association NDAA Board Member
Devin Cole Cole Aviation NDAA Vice-Chairman
Shae Helling Bismarck Aero Center NDAA Board Member
Justin Weninger Air Fleet Capital NDAA Past Chairman
Zoe Graham UND Student NDAA Board Member
Kyle Wanner NDAC Director Non-Board Leadership
Renee Murrish Signature Events NDAA Manager
Ryan O’Rear Williston Basin International Airport NDAA Board Member
Mike McHugh NDAC Education Coordinator Non-Board Leadership
Passport Program Awards
Multiple pilots were recently presented with awards for participating in the “Fly North Dakota Airports” Passport Program. This program began in North Dakota in 2011 and it rewards pilots who fly to North Dakota’s publicly owned airports, attend FAA safety seminars, and visit North Dakota’s aviation museums. This program promotes safety, continuing education, and encourages pilots to practice approaches and landings in many different environments. This program also offers an opportunity to promote and support North Dakota’s airports and their community businesses and tourism opportunities.
There currently are three award levels within the North Dakota passport program and the highest and most prestigious award level of Gold is achieved by flying to all 89 ND public airports, visiting the Fargo and Minot Air Museums, and attending three FAA safety Seminars.
The gold award was achieved by twelve pilots during the past year and these individuals received a leather flight jacket embroidered with the North Dakota Flying Legacy logo. These pilots join the 102 others who have completed the passport program in previous years, making a grand total of 114 pilots who have achieved the gold award since the program’s inception.
The following is a list of the individuals achieving the gold level in 2025:
Josh Axt – Hatton, ND
Steve Bodin – Grand Forks, ND
Jonathan DeLone – Rochester, MN
Baily Hoff – Hazen, ND
Kyle Hoffman – Edmon, OK
Greg Johnson – Stanley, ND
Charlie Kalvoda – Mandan, ND
Thomas Sando – Williston, ND
John Seyler – Urbana, IL
Ryan Starkey – Grand Forks, ND
Noah Stevens – Minot, ND
Jeff Zarling – Williston, ND
So, You’ve Been Appointed To An Airport Board or Commission… Now What?
At this year’s National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) fall convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kim Kenville, Ph.D. C.M., presented an eye-opening workshop on the duties and expectations of being an effective airport board or commission member.
As you may be aware, it’s fairly typical for a mayor, city council or a county board to appoint people with various backgrounds to those boards to provide innovative ideas and their expertise in various disciplines to establish a well-rounded and informed board. However, in most cases, the appointees may not be totally prepared to take on the responsibilities associated with the functions of an airport. For that matter, the same could occur with any board or commission that is charged with making effective decisions.
Dr. Kenville notes that rarely do new members arrive at their first board meeting ready to jump into the fray with most just having some familiarity with the organization and no formal board training. She states that there are some essential elements necessary to orient and train board members. Giving those members a clear understanding of their role on the board, their level of authority, expectations of the members, meetings and meeting etiquette and a basic understanding of the specialized nature of the industry, which in this case is aviation, is essential.
To help, it is essential for new board members to understand their roles and responsibilities, by familiarizing them with the ownership or type of board on which they are serving and what state regulations must be followed.
Most public airports are owned and operated by some local level of government such as a city, county or a statecreated authority. In Illinois, the state-created authorities include Port Districts, Park Districts, Airport and Bi-State Airport Authorities. Although many are similar, it’s necessary to check the individual state laws to determine the board members’ real authority and if there are certain rules that must be followed.
Secondly, the function of the board may either be advisory or authority based. Simply stated, advisory means that your only responsibility is to “advise” the airport executive or management without any decision-making authority. In short, the board acts as a liaison between the airport and elected officials. Advisory boards are usually found at the city or county airport ownership level.
Where the airport ownership has been established by legislation, such as an “authority,” the board is the owner and responsible for the safety, operation, development, etc. of the airport. In effect, the board has the same powers as a city or county. As such, the board members should acquaint themselves with their governing documents including bylaws, resolutions and policies.
Obviously, being appointed to an airport board that has “authority” as established by legislation requires more responsibility and awareness than one that is only advisory in function. For that reason, our discussion will concentrate on those with authority.
The Board of Directors role should include:
• Setting organizational policy, direction and goals for employees to execute.
• Supporting and encouraging the airport executive.
• Function as a sounding board for innovative ideas.
• Providing guidance to assist airport management to reach set goals, while balancing the notion of acting as a business and public asset.
• Focusing on promoting the airport and economic growth.
• Ensuring fiscal responsibility and executing contracts. But should not include:
• Micromanaging the executive director and staff by failing to understand their roles and responsibilities.
• Participating in personal and professional conflicts of interest.
• Ignorance of governing documents and laws.
• Tolerating members who carry on business outside of specified meeting times.
Like a board member, the airport manager’s or director’s role should include:
• Ensure a safe, secure, and efficient airport.
• Implementing policies and procedures codified by the board.
• Research and recommend policies, projects, and a strategic direction for the board’s consideration.
• Promote and ensure fiscal responsibility.
• Ensure compliance with federal regulations.
• Engaging the public through various outreach activities.
Even though there are specific duties and responsibilities of board members, management and staff, there are other stakeholders that should be included in the direction and management of an airport. As you can see in the figure below, there are at least four (4) diverse groups that can usually be found in the mix. Understanding the interrelationships of the board, manager/executive director, tenants and the public is important.
Effective board members should thoroughly understand the fiduciary responsibilities of their position by ensuring they always act in good faith in promoting the airport’s mission. Failure to do so could result in liabilities that can be damaging to the airport and its reputation. Remember,
all board members are responsible for the decisions of the board, whether they voice an opinion or not. Each decision must be vetted carefully by asking questions and considering all sides of a topic of discussion. Simply expressing the lack of understanding of their fiduciary duties does not relieve any board member of the ensuing consequences.
Expanding on the liability issue, the board may want to consider the need for director’s and officer’s insurance to cover those liability issues should they arise. To assist in the decision, it is important to consult a legal representative to determine whether or not the board member’s liability is effectively covered by existing state laws or the 1997 Volunteer Protection Act. The Act is specifically designed to protect volunteers from liability that may arise while serving a nonprofit organization or governmental entity.
To ensure effective meetings:
• They should be held on a regular schedule.
• Be open to the public with pre-published agendas and meeting minutes.
• Follow meeting etiquette or parliamentary procedures and relevant state open meetings laws. Some states are far stricter on what constitutes a meeting and specifically on how email and virtual meetings are to be handled. Many state government offices offer open meetings and board orientation training sessions.
• Consult the board’s lawyer prior to any “closed” session on subject appropriateness.
Continued on page 18
Source: Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 58: Airport Industry Familiarization for Part-time Policy makers (2011)
North Dakotan Selected to Co-Chair NBAA Leadership Conference
Mark Scheele, CAM has been selected to co-chair the 2026 and 2027 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Leadership Conference. Mark is the Chief Pilot and UAS Program Manager for Basin Electric Power Cooperative based in Bismarck, North Dakota. He is a member of the NBAA Business Aviation Management Committee and previously served as the chair of the Career Development subcommittee.
The NBAA Leadership Conference is the premier gathering of leaders and aspiring leaders in the aviation industry. Each year, hundreds of industry professionals gather to learn new skills and improve their leadership styles. As co-chair, Mark will be responsible for developing the conference content, selecting speakers, and acting as emcee of the event. The 2026 NBAA Leadership Conference will be held February 2-4, 2026 in San Antonio, TX.
More information about the conference can be found at https://nbaa.org/events/2026-nbaa-leadershipconference/
From the Field Campaign
2nd Battalion, 285th Assault Aviation Regiment
U.S. Army Spc. Emma Rouse, a UH-60 Blackhawk crew chief with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 285th Assault Aviation Regiment, performs sling load training at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Bismarck, March 12. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Staff Sgt. Leif Anderson, Detachment 2, Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 285th Aviation Regiment, Maintenance)
