Chatting with Duane DuRay, Airport Manager at Sawyer International Airport

09/14/22 • 26 min

In this episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down with Duane DuRay, Airport Manager for Sawyer International Airport--the Upper Peninsula's largest airport. DuRay has served as the Airport Manager since 2012, following his position at Gogebic Iron County Airport.
Topics discussed include the challenges presented by the reduction in flights by American Airlines and Delta Airlines, the pilot shortage, the changes to the Essential Air Service, and how the Sawyer and Marquette County are dealing with these challenges.

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Catching Up With Brian Chapman, Sault Ste. Marie City Manager

David Haynes sits down with Brian Chapman, City Manager for Sault Ste. Marie to catch up on the latest issues surrounding municipal finance and rural government, including the issue of "dark stores" and the importance of intergovernmental work in rural communities.
Sault Ste. Marie is one of Michigan's international cities, bordering Canada, and home to a large federal workforce involved with the Soo Locks, a major hospital (War Memorial) and Lake Superior State University.

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A Conversation with Steve Young, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at NMU

In this episode of the Rural Insights Podcast, David Haynes sits down to chat with Steve Young, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Northern Michigan University. Topics covered include NMU's search for a new President, and the various challenges facing higher education and how the board and NMU is addressing those challenges.
In addition to Chairman of the Board of Trustees at NMU, Steve is the recently-retired owner and officer of the Lansing-based lobby firm Governmental Consultant Services Inc. Steve previously served as a Manager of Tax and Regulatory Affairs for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He was a political science major and Payne Hall resident at NMU in the mid-seventies, and left NMU to work at the State Capitol as Chief of Staff to a Saginaw area State Senator. Steve completed his bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Michigan State University.
Mr. Young was appointed to the Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees by Governor Rick Snyder for a term beginning January 1, 2019 and continuing until December 31, 2026. Steve lives in Lansing with his wife Tricia, and has two daughters, Jennifer and Stephanie.

The Rural Insights Podcast - Chatting with Duane DuRay, Airport Manager at Sawyer International Airport

Transcript

David Haynes:

Good afternoon to all of our listeners. If you are one of our thousands of readers and listeners, you know who Duane Duray is. He's the head of the Sawyer Air Force Base... Excuse me, airport. You could tell how old I am when I call Sawyer Air Force Base, in Marquette County. And he's what we've all come to know is our expert in this region about rural air service issues and certainly about the UP. So we wanted to talk to him about the bigger picture than j