For Immediate Release

July 24, 2019

Business and Airport/Industrial Park tenant input sought in the development of a planning strategy for the Chippewa County Air and Industrial Park. Please refer to the attached letter of invitation for your opportunity to participate in this process.

Chippewa County EDC is seeking input from the local business community, airport and industrial park tenants as part of a process to support the planning strategy. The planning strategy will allow the county to access various opportunities to ensure that it reflects the reality of the region and the assets and activities for the park and airport. 

Specific feedback requested from the business community, airport and industrial park tenants will help guide and influence the county’s current and future infrastructure requirements along with recommendations on aviation and non-aviation related developments and services.

“The process of developing the planning strategy will help the county achieve its goals detailed in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and its strategic plan,” stated Chippewa County EDC President Chris Olson. “We’re very interested in what our business community wants to see at our Chippewa County Air and Industrial Park, so we are really encouraging the business community at large to take …

College students, mark your calendars! If you’re looking for the opportunity to get real work experience while gaining school credit, come join us at the EUP Internship Fair. You don’t want to miss out!

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Chippewa County EDA Technical Assistance and Planning Grant RFP…

The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation applied for and received an Economic Development Administration Technical Assistance and Planning grant. This grant will allow the EDC to hire a professional firm to devise a planning strategy for its Air and Industrial Park in order to attract firms, generate jobs, and help identify key areas of infrastructure investment. “These grants are highly competitive and a key tool to assist the EDC in positioning itself for business attraction”, stated EDC President Chris Olson. “This project will also directly tie into the recent efforts between the City of Sault Ste. Marie EDC and the Chippewa County EDC on expansion of the existing Foreign Trade Zone, to encompass all of Chippewa County”. The recommendations provided will help identify key areas of infrastructure investment and provide professionally-prepared evidence describing the business case for the EUP.

The EDC was successful in obtaining this grant with the assistance of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning. “This EDA planning investment is integral for economic growth in Chippewa County, as evidenced by the Transportation Logistics Strategy that the Commission recently completed, which identified a need vertical assets (buildings) for prospective development”, said CEO Jeff Hagan of the Regional Planning Commission.…

The Chippewa County Board of Commissioners during its Regular session on Thursday, February 14th appointed Dr. Kimberly Muller as a Board of Director of the Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation. Dr. Muller will serve the remaining term of Mr. Kevin White who resigned from the Board in December 2018. Dr. Muller’s appointment is effective immediately and will expire on March 31, 2022.

Dr. Muller is currently the dean of Lake Superior State Universities College of Innovation and Solutions, comprised of LSSU’s School of Engineering & Technology, the School of Mathematics & Computer Science, and the Lukenda School of Business. Muller began her career at LSSU as an assistant professor of mathematics in 2004, receiving tenure and a promotion to associate professor in Aug. 2009 with elevation to full professor in 2016. She has also served as the chair of the School of Mathematics and Computer Science.

“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Muller to the Chippewa County EDC”, stated EDC Chairman Don Mclean. “With her background and work at LSSU I believe she brings considerable depth to the EDC and I look forward to working with her to improve the economy of Chippewa County and the EUP region”.
Muller …

The addition of the Minneapolis flight in November of 2017 has really paid off for the entire EUP and Algoma region. Total passengers at Chippewa County Int’l Airport increased 5.5% in 2018. 46,343 passengers flew to/from the Chippewa County Airport in 2018. “The new flight to Minneapolis had never been tried and we weren’t sure how it would be received by the flying public”, stated Airport Manager Tami Beseau.

The thought process behind the additional hub change was that CIU passengers would have more flight options, competitive pricing, greater international flight options, and we would also eliminate the 5:00 a.m. departure which was an inconvenience to our customers. After one full year of the new route, it appears passengers have found it beneficial.
“The fact that an airport our size is providing service to both Detroit and Minneapolis is a huge economic tool for our entire area, and the benefits for leisure and business travelers to compare schedules, routes and prices makes air travel out of the local airport an option, and that wasn’t always the case”, said Beseau.

We are expecting the upward trend to continue in 2019, as CIU ticket prices continue to be competitive; the airport will …

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state grant will help Chippewa County find new uses for vacant buildings at a former Air Force base in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $45,000 in brownfield funding to the Chippewa County International Airport.

It will help the county’s Economic Development Corporation evaluate under-used buildings on the airport grounds and determine what types of cleanups and asbestos treatments are needed.

The airport was formerly the Kincheloe Air Force Base. It was closed as a military installation in the late 1970s.

The state DEQ uses brownfield grants to help communities make new uses of contaminated parcels while protecting public health and the environment.…

Chippewa County International Airport (CIU) recently completed a runway lighting modernization project. New airfield lighting on Runway 10/28, the 5,000 foot crosswind runway, was upgraded to LED lights. This upgrade will replace the current 19 year old lighting, reduce energy costs, and minimize future maintenance. J.R. Ranck was the contractor on this project which totaled $800,000.00. In addition to lighting, all runway and taxiway surfaces were crack sealed to maintain the integrity of all pavements that were improved several years ago.

“Infrastructure improvements increase safety and benefit the airport for many years”, stated Tami Beseau, Airport Manager. “Public use of our facility continues to grow, with May 2018, surpassing all previous Mays total passengers”. “Upgraded, and well maintained infrastructure plays a large part in the public’s increased confidence in our facility”, stated Beseau.

Both projects were funded through USDOT- Airport Improvement Program (AIP), State of Michigan, Chippewa County, and the Chippewa County EDC.
The Chippewa County EDC manages CIU and the Chippewa County Air/Industrial Park. Department of Transportation studies indicate that CIU provides more than 11 million dollars in direct income to residents in the county. Sales to suppliers and the “ripple effects” of income re-spending bring the total impact …