From left to right: AOPA Central Regional Representative Bill Hamilton; FAA Great Lakes Region Administrator Barry Cooper; North Dakota Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple; Aeronautics Commission Chairman Bob Miller; Aeronautics Director Larry Taborsky; and NASAO President Henry Ogrodzinski. Photo credit: Amy Taborsky.
Aviation contributes $1.25 billion each year to the North Dakota economy and provides important services such as emergency ambulance flights. Gov. John Hoeven and Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple recognized the importance of aviation to their state by proclaiming March 7 through 13 North Dakota Aviation Week.
Dalrymple presented Hoeven’s proclamation March 8 at the Upper Midwest Aviation Symposium; the documents cites the critically important role that GA plays in the overall state economy and its value as a tool for transportation, emergency services, aerial application, wildlife control, and law enforcement. AOPA Central Regional Representative Bill Hamilton was on hand throughout the symposium.
“[A]viation impacts many sectors of our economy and state; last year, air travel tourism contributed $500 million to the state’s economy, aerial applicators sprayed more than three million acres of crops, two million packages were delivered as a result of air delivery service and 500 air emergency ambulance flights were deployed,” the proclamation reads.
Proclamations like the one in North Dakota illustrate that political leaders are aware of the many benefits of their state’s aviation industry. AOPA continually promotes the benefits of general aviation to lawmakers in each state and monitors all legislative actions that could affect GA.
