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Northern Minn. helicopter program seeking recruits
HIBBING, Minn. (AP)
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Those behind a helicopter training program here don’t want people to overlook their Iron Range city of about 16,000—even if they’re coming from as far away as Europe.
Hibbing is home to the largest helicopter training center in the state, two years after Northern Helicopters and Hibbing Community College joined forces to offer a rare program.
Students are taught how to fly helicopters as they earn an associate of applied sciences degree in aviation. There are no other similar programs in Minnesota and only a handful in the Midwest.
Students from throughout the region are already looking to Hibbing, said Brian Johnson, Northern Helicopters’ founder and owner.
The program hopes it can even bring students in from as far away as Europe. “There’s a huge market to tap, and we’re trying to figure out the best way to reach out to it,” Johnson said. Not many foreign students have attended Hibbing Community College in the past.
“It could bring a new dimension to our college,” said Michael Raich, the school’s dean of academics.
