Bill would allow new tenants in NWA facility

ST. PAUL - An empty Duluth airplane repair facility could see the bustle of workers as early as this summer, Rep. Mary Murphy said, if her bill continues gaining support in the Minnesota House.

Requirements keeping the Duluth International Airport's aircraft maintenance facility under control of Northwest Airlines would be lifted in the Hermantown, Minn., Democrat's bill.

"We would like to have that as a place where people are working once again," Murphy said Wednesday before the House local government committee.

The city-owned facility has been vacant since 2005, when Northwest declared bankruptcy and its workers went on strike.

Provisions in Murphy's bill would clear the way for another entity to take over the facility.

A 1991 law providing a state subsidy to build the facility requires that the tenant company be headquartered in Minnesota and that 300 jobs be maintained at the facility.

Things have changed.

"The prospect that a new tenant would have corporate headquarters (in Minnesota) is not so good," city of Duluth lobbyist Kevin Walli said.

Both statutory requirements would be lifted under Murphy's bill. Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon, DFL-Duluth, is carrying a similar bill in the Senate.

Possible tenants have expressed interest in the facility, Murphy said. She wouldn't disclose who, but said the Duluth Economic Authority and U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., have been in talks "with a couple different leads."

Northwest is expected to reject a lease extension, Assistant State Finance Commissioner Peter Sausen told the legislative panel. A Northwest spokesman said the airline is reviewing the lease.

The bill also eliminates terms calling for the state Metropolitan Airports Commission - which generally is associated with Twin Cities airports - to take ownership of the Duluth facility.

Murphy's bill has two more stops before reaching the House floor. Barring unforeseen obstacles, the bill has a smooth path on its way to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk, she said.

Longaecker works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Herald.