Pride of the Prairie

“Pride of the Prairie” is what they call their airport in Elbow Lake. There’s a lot of good reasons for the name, including a paved and lighted runway that’s 3400 feet long, full service FBO, and a great arrival departure building with meeting rooms plus a flight planning area. The official facility began operations in 1961, but the history of aviation in Elbow Lake starts before World War II. One day in 1940 an open cockpit airplane landed near Elbow Lake causing a stir around town, but especially with the local high school boys. One of them was Orvin Amundson. He got an airplane ride and caught the disease. After graduation, Amundson joined the United States Navy, was trained as a pilot and flew dive bombers in the south Pacific. “Orv” came home but stayed in the Naval Reserve and flew some jets while starting a career in banking. Eventually he became part owner of the First National Bank of Elbow Lake and worked there for 30 years, but aviation was never far from his mind. Mr. Amundson owned several airplanes and flew for busi- ness and pleasure. He also farmed and did crop spraying. One of the “artifacts” at the Elbow Lake airport is a propeller from his spray plane bent in both directions. Normally an accident would only bend the prop one way, but Amundson’s aircraft ended up flipping over and skidding backwards with the engine running bending it both ways. He also survived a midair collision with a duck. Meanwhile local business owner William Emil Nelson was getting interested in flying. With Amundson and some other pilots, they started agitating for an airport at Elbow Lake. Billy Nelson also had some bad experiences with flying from informal airports, once catching a power line during takeoff. Safer flying required a real airport. By 1960 Amundson, Nelson and their colleagues had suc- ceeded. The city began buying land. A grass strip opened the next year, and Elbow Lake Municipal Airport was a reali- ty. When Dairy Queen opened a new store, the old building was moved to the airport to become the first Arrival/ Departure building. Hangars and fueling followed. Then in the next decade the parking apron was paved. Formation of the “Lake Area Pilots Association” led to more improvements. Lights and a rotating beacon were added in 1998. The old Dairy Queen building lacked basic amenities including toilets and was replaced the next year. By the beginning of the 21st century aircraft using Elbow Lake’s air- port were more numerous and increasingly sophisticated. Additional demand for hangar space prompted construction of a publicly owned “Tee” hangar. The FBO arrived and a hangar was built to house their operation. It was clear that something more than turf was needed. In 2006 the runway was paved and medium intensity lights installed. An automated weather station and instrument approaches soon followed then another “Tee” hangar. Next to the airport was an informal seaplane base on the unfortunately named “Worm Lake.” Early settlers around Elbow Lake were predominantly from Scandinavia and that ethnicity persisted as reflected by the names Amundson and Nelson associated with the airport. A sister city connection was established with Flekkefjiord, Norway which had the positive effect of changing Worm Lake’s name. Now called Flekkefjiord Lake, the seaplane base became official in 2012. All the activity caused congestion. A multiplane storage han- gar was built in 2016; the aircraft parking apron was expand- Old Dairy Queen Building FBO Hangar and Sea Plane Base ed, and a partial parallel taxiway was constructed in 2025. Both projects were designed by Bollig Engineering. Pride of the Prairie Airport has a lot more to boast about these days. The runway will accommodate 95% of General Aviation airplanes. Fuel is available 24/7, there are tiedowns and hangar space for transient aircraft. A courtesy car is available for ground transportation. Elbow Lake celebrates its heritage with “Flekkefest” every year during the first week in August. Pride of the Prairie Airport hosts a special event on the last Saturday in April called “Wheels, Tracks and Wings.” The “tracks” are on everything from farm machinery to military tanks and half- tracks. Appropriately “Prairie Air” is the Fixed Base Operator at Elbow Lake. They’ll do an excellent job of maintaining your aircraft, but this is not your typical rural airport FBO. Among other things Prairie Air is the upper Midwest dealer for Robinson Helicopters. It’s owned by a family who have roots in Elbow Lake but the very un-Nordic name of LaRue. It’s a story all by itself so don’t miss next month’s issue.