[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO GORDY NEWSTROM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2005

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Gordon 
(Gordy) Newstrom, who was a true pioneer and visionary in commercial 
aviation. A long-time resident of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Gordy 
Newstrom passed away yesterday, December 12, 2005, at the age of 93.
  After training Naval Air Cadets during World War II, Gordy Newstrom 
returned to Coleraine, Minnesota to establish a flight school in 1944. 
That same year, Gordy Newstrom founded a charter airline service which 
he named Mesaba Airlines, to reflect its Minnesota roots. ``Mesaba'' is 
a Chippewa Indian word meaning ``soaring eagle.'' For several years, 
Gordy Newstrom operated Mesaba Airlines as a Fixed Base Operator, while 
sharing his love of aviation by teaching aspiring pilots to fly. In 
1950, Gordy Newstrom moved Mesaba's operations from Coleraine to Grand 
Rapids, Minnesota. Gordy Newstrom owned the company for its first 26 
years of operation; in 1970 he sold it to the Halverson family of 
Duluth, who began the airline's first scheduled service in 1973.
  Over the years, Mesaba Airlines has evolved into the eighth largest 
regional airline in the United States, with the distinction of being 
the nation's oldest regional airline. Although many operators in the 
aviation industry have come and gone, the airline founded by Gordy 
Newstrom celebrated 61 years of continuous service earlier this year. 
Today, Mesaba Airlines flies to 100 destinations throughout the United 
States and Canada, through a cooperative agreement with Northwest 
Airlines.
  To honor the many remarkable contributions Gordy Newstrom made to 
aviation and Northern Minnesota, the region's airport was renamed the 
Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport-Gordon Newstrom Field. It was a 
well-deserved tribute to the founding father of Mesaba Airlines to 
honor his vision, dedication and determination.
  An avid pilot throughout his life, Gordon Newstrom logged more than 
40,000 hours in the cockpit, until piloting his last flight five years 
ago at the age of 87.
  I am proud and honored to share with my colleagues this brief, but 
deserved tribute to Gordy Newstrom, who gave so much of himself to 
enrich the lives of others and to serve his community and his country.

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