The Ashley Municipal Airport receives the 2023 General Aviation Airport of the Year award during the North Dakota Aviation Association's FLY-ND Conference awards banquet on March 5th, 2024. Pictured from left to right is Ryan Riesinger (President of the North Dakota Airport Association), Erich Schock (Ashley Airport Board Member), and Kyle Wanner (Executive Director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission)

In 2023, Ashley Municipal Airport (KASY) received a highly competitive Airport Terminal Program (ATP) grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to construct a new terminal building. This terminal will be a public building and will provide pilots and passengers with restrooms and a convenient space to rest and prepare for flights. Ashley Municipal joined the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems in 2017, making them eligible for federal funding. Since then, Ashley has made significant improvements to the airport which includes rehabilitation of all airfield pavements and the installation of a new lighting system. This past year, Ashley also became the first airport in North Dakota to install and join the FAA’s Weather Camera program. These four cameras are pointed in separate directions, and constantly update with new photos every few minutes, giving pilots an excellent live view of the current weather conditions at the airport.

Ashley Municipal also excelled over the past years in community outreach. The airport consistently works with the Ashley Medical Center and assists in coordinating flights for passengers to ensure both flights and ambulances work to make transportation as quick and efficient as possible. The airport is also currently developing instrument approach procedures, which guide and allow medical flights to land at the airport during inclement weather. The airport also regularly meets with city and county officials to educate and inform the public on the impacts and value that the airport brings to the Ashley area.