Bemidji Regional Airport to receive $261,250 to improve terminal, security checkpoint

Feb. 16—BEMIDJI — The Bemidji Regional Airport will receive $261,250 in federal funding to improve its passenger terminal, with the grant announced by the offices of U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

The money will help pay for an improvement of the terminal meant to address concerns with security and congestion. A portion of the funding was provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed in 2021.

"We've been working on this for years," Klobuchar said. "This funding builds on the other federal grants we secured to improve the security checkpoint and extend the life of the runway so that the airport can continue to serve the area for years to come."

In July 2022, the senators announced that the

Federal Aviation Administration was awarding $95,000 to the Bemidji Regional Airport

to reconfigure and expand the security checkpoint.

In June 2023, the airport received a

$6.5 million grant to rehabilitate the surface of the airport's main runway

and extend its lifespan for another 10 years.

"We had the initial grant for $6.5 million that was put to such good use and that helped us make the case that we should get this grant," Klobuchar said. "This is directly focused on passengers and congestion because it's such a small airport. This is improvements to the actual terminal to make sure (passengers) can have a good experience."

Karen Weller, the executive director of the Bemidji Regional Airport Authority, expressed her gratitude for the funding and outlined some of the plans for the terminal and security checkpoint.

"We're hoping to clear up some congestion and create more of an area for recomposure, which is once you get through the checkpoint and are putting your shoes back on and things like that," she said. "We're also looking for a way to separate incoming traffic from outgoing traffic."

Preliminary plans for the project are already in development, with Weller sharing that construction could begin later this year.

"We anticipate that we could begin construction in late summer, which would be really good because it would avoid impacting our heavy summer traffic," Weller said. "We're just very excited and very appreciative of the FAA and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that got us this money."

The senators also highlighted the investment in the Bemidji Regional Airport as an important step in supporting rural airports.

"Our small and regional airports have been in desperate need of upgrades for too long, and this funding will go directly toward the Bemidji Regional Airport's passenger terminal so travelers aren't held up by unnecessarily long security lines and can focus on getting to their final destination," Smith said.

Klobuchar expanded on this point, sharing that many smaller airports are struggling to survive and that she's committed to supporting Bemidji's airport to keep it up and running and competitive.

"Part of this is keeping the airport up to snuff," she said. "Some areas are losing airports and are losing air traffic, and we want to actually keep expanding Bemidji's airport because of the expanding Bemidji and regional economy."