Schmidt Private Airport

While no official reason is cited, the closure is almost certainly due to the cessation of private use by its owner. This is the most common reason for the closure of small, private-use airstrips. Potential factors include the owner retiring from flying, selling the aircraft or property, passing away, or the prohibitive cost of maintaining an aircraft. There is no evidence to suggest the closure was due to an accident, military conversion, or broader economic pressures.

The site is currently part of a private farmstead. Satellite imagery shows the former grass runway is still visible as a well-maintained, mowed strip of land adjacent to the farm's buildings. However, it shows no signs of active aviation use. The land has been fully reintegrated into the surrounding agricultural property and is likely used as a large lawn, for hay production, or for equipment movement and storage.

Schmidt Private Airport was a small, private-use grass airstrip typical of many found in rural America. Its significance was primarily personal to its owner and the local general aviation community. It would have supported recreational flying and potentially agricultural activities for the farm on which it was located. Operations would have been limited to light, single-engine general aviation aircraft, such as Pipers or Cessnas. It represents a part of America's grassroots aviation history, where individuals could operate aircraft directly from their own property.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Schmidt Private Airport. As a privately owned strip, any reopening would be solely at the discretion of the current landowner and would require them to be an active pilot with a desire to re-establish an airfield. Given the proximity of public-use airports like Redwood Falls Municipal Airport (KRWF), there is no public or commercial need for this airstrip to be reactivated. The prospects for reopening are considered virtually zero.