Arrowhead Eagles to announce aviation scholarships at airport meeting

A $3,000 aviation scholarship will be announced at the Arrowhead Eagles Aviation Organization’s annual meeting at the Grand Marais/Cook County airport, where the public is invited to hear about flight training and airport careers. The winner will be named Saturday, May 16, at noon.

The scholarship is open to Minnesota residents, including students from Cook County and Lake County, who are at least 15 years old and enrolled within a year in aviation training with a certified flight instructor or an accredited aviation curriculum. Applications closed May 1.

The higher award comes after a local pilot’s in memoriam gift helped lift the scholarship from the group’s usual $2,500 amount. The Arrowhead Eagles said the money is raised through private donations and the annual Eagles Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast, which has typically drawn about 100 to 125 people.

The annual meeting is more than a business session. Along with the scholarship announcement, the program will include a social hour with brats on the grill and a roundtable discussion about aviation career paths, including pilots, air traffic controllers, maintenance technicians, mechanics, airport management, airline scheduling and dispatch, and aeronautical and avionics engineering.

That focus gives the meeting local weight in a region where workforce pathways often shape whether young people can stay close to home while building a career. Aviation can offer that route, especially for students in the North Shore and Arrowhead region who may not want to leave immediately after high school.

The Arrowhead Eagles, formed in 2018, has built its mission around that idea. The nonprofit says it promotes flight training, aviation career options, charitable gift support for scholarships, fly-in events, aviation history in Cook County, airport enhancements, and community use of the airport.

The Grand Marais/Cook County airport itself is a working public facility owned by Cook County and managed by Rodney Roy. Airport data listings show one runway, 10/28, with a longest runway of roughly 5,001 to 5,002 feet, underscoring the site’s role as both a community gathering place and an active transportation asset.

The scholarship program has become a steady part of that local aviation pipeline. In 2023, Vaughn Swindlehurst received $2,500 and Jordan Ekroot received a continuation grant. In 2024, Jack Haussner received $2,500 and Larry Hickman received $500. In 2025, Ekroot and Haussner each received $2,500, marking the fifth year the organization had awarded aviation scholarships.