Good news for Duluth air base

Here’s part of a story from today’s Duluth News-Tribune. The Air National Guard’s 148th Fighter Wing has been in limbo for awhile as the government decides whether it would be part of the military’s plans for future bases or put on the list of those that might close. It would appear that the Air Force is planning to keep the base.

Regardless of your opinion about the military, the 148th is one of the most overlooked employers and economic drivers of Northeastern Minnesota. As a community college teacher I meet students all the time who work their way through school serving in the 148th. So it’s good for everyone that the base may have a new lease on life.

Duluth’s 148th Fighter Wing on list for new planes
Eric Ludy, Duluth News Tribune

The future just got a little brighter for the Air National Guard base in Duluth.

The Air Force, in a long-term plan released Wednesday, announced that it’s considering Duluth and 32 other bases as potential new homes for the F-35A Lightning II — good news for base employees and city officials who may have
feared for the base’s future after it was announced that the F-16, its main aircraft, would be phased out in a decade or so.

“This is obviously great news for the 148th Fighter Wing, its members, as well as Duluth,” Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said in a statement.

Civic and business leaders, who have been trying to secure a long-term flying mission for the base since the 2005 base realignment and closure round, have said that getting F-35s could ensure the 148th’s existence in Duluth beyond 2040.

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