Rices Airpark

The specific reason is not publicly documented. However, as Rices Airpark was a small, privately owned airfield, the closure was most likely due to personal reasons concerning the owner. Common factors for such closures include retirement from flying, the owner passing away, prohibitive costs of maintenance and insurance, or a decision to repurpose the land.

The site at coordinates 47.957531, -99.536602 is now fully integrated into a private farmstead. Satellite imagery shows that the faint outline of the grass runway is still visible, but it is no longer maintained as an aviation facility. The land is used for agricultural purposes, and the buildings on site, including one that was likely a hangar, appear to be used for farm storage and operations.

Rices Airpark was a private general aviation airfield that served its owner and likely the local community of Maddock, North Dakota. It was owned and managed by Larry Rice. The facility consisted of a single 2,600-foot turf runway (designated 13/31). Its operations would have been typical for a small, rural airpark: personal and recreational flying, and potentially agricultural aviation support (such as for crop dusting planes), which is a vital industry in the region. It was a local asset for general aviation rather than a facility of national or commercial significance.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Rices Airpark. Having been officially closed for over a decade and reverted to private agricultural use, the likelihood of it being re-certified and reopened as an airfield is extremely low.