Citizen proposes name change for Moorhead Municipal Airport to honor female aviation pioneer

December 09, 2021 - 2:20pm | By Tom Tucker

(Moorhead, MN) -- A citizen in Moorhead is proposing renaming the city's airport to honor a woman who was the first licensed female pilot in North Dakota.

"Florence just didn't want to fly, she wanted to race. She was faster than Amelia Earhart and it was actually Florence who won the first ever Amelia Earhart Trophy Race in 1932," said Christy Leshovsky, Community Development Director for the City of Moorhead.

Leshovsky talked with WDAY Radio News about the citizen's suggestion to rename the airport "Moorhead Municipal Airport - Florence Klingensmith Field". Klingensmith was born in Oakport Township in 1904 and up grew up in Moorhead. She started her aviation career after watching Charles Lindbergh land at Hector Air Field in Fargo in 1927, and became the first licensed female pilot in North Dakota.

Her story was shared in the New York Times best-seller "Fly Girls". Anyone interested in providing input on the proposal can use contact information below to reach represenatives for the City of Moorhead:

Email: ArtCityofMoorhead [dot] com