Say what? Do we have an airport in Cloquet? A very common response from community residents. The Cloquet Carlton County Airport “(COQ)” located at 125 Wheaton Rd, Cloquet, MN 55720, is a county-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Cloquet. The airport was opened in the 1930’s and ownership was conveyed to the County in 1968. In the past major industry has held a strong aircraft presence owning planes that have shifted to being served by private carriers. While commercial aircraft cannot land here, the demand for private aircraft is growing. Carlton County owns two airports – one in Moose Lake and another in Cloquet, both with similar-sized runways. At the Cloquet Airport, the facility has two runways #1836 is 4,000 feet and #725 is 3,100 feet.
Quinten Anderson has managed the airport for the past 23 years. In the last few years, three private hangars have been constructed. Private hangars are under individual ownership, while the County retains land ownership via a land lease. By grant assurances, the County can’t sell off airport land, so they maintain ownership via land leases structured for 30 years and available for renewal. The County maintains a waiting list of 35 people interested in hangar space. The Cloquet Airport has very little turnover annually. Perhaps one to two clients leave and gain two to three new clients annually.
At the Cloquet Airport, there are 40 hangar spaces, not including the burgeoning business of Venture North, which recently received a Federal EDA Grant for the Cloquet Airport to construct another hangar to assist in expanding their aviation business at the airport.
The Cloquet Carlton County Airport is already a tremendous asset for the region, as local businesses frequently rely on it to engage in commerce,” Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Hermantown) said in the release. “Given the popularity of this key transportation hub, increased hangar space has become necessary, and these funds will help address this growing need while creating valuable opportunities for the local workforce.”
Venture North Aviation will lease a new hangar and office space and plans to invest an additional $600,000 into aircraft and maintenance equipment and "many, many good-paying jobs" to support its growth at the airport.
That project is expected to wrap up this fall, and then the Airport headquarters building will be available again to rent for community meetings; in the meantime, it's full with Venture North staff.
125 Wheaton Road
Cloquet MN 55720
(218) 879-4911