The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
City council will name the Flin Flon Municipal Airport terminal after a man who helped make the airport a reality. An invitation-only ceremony is scheduled for noonhour on August 9 to officially name the terminal the "Joe Van Nes Airport Terminal Building." A plaque will be placed in the lobby in honour of the late Van Nes, a longtime resident who passed away in 1999 in his early 80s. J.C. "Joe" Van Nes, a decorated veteran of the Second World War, served as chairman of the Flin Flon Air Board, which oversaw the airport, from 1962-1982. Van Nes also helped draft the by-law creating the air board and applied to Ottawa for the $2.3 million grant to build the airport. A framed black and white photo of Van Nes still hangs on a wall at the airport. Last January, city council reviewed a letter from former air board member Bob Tanner asking that the airport be renamed the "Joe Van Nes Regional Airport." "Joe first saw the opportunity for a safe, modern airport in the Flin Flon area," wrote Tanner. City council initially discussed christening the entire airport in Van Nes' memory, but as Municipal Administrator Larry Fancy said, renaming an airport is an extremely arduous task. The compromise was to name the terminal building only, which council agreed is a fitting tribute to a distinguished citizen.
