[3][4] On November 11, 1957, an Ercoupe aircraft was stolen from the Kirsch Municipal Airport and crashed into the Indiana Dunes.
Two teenagers found the plane at the airport with the keys in the ignition, so they got in and flew it until it ran out of fuel over the Dunes.
The city applied for funding from the Federal Aviation Administration; due to stipulations under the CARES Act, a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, any federal grant received by the airport would completely cover the cost of the program instead of requiring the city to cover 5% of the project cost.
[9] The airport has a fixed-base operator, RAI Jets, that sells fuel – both avgas and jet fuel – and offers other amenities such as general maintenance, hangars, courtesy and rental cars, a conference room, a crew lounge, and more.
[12] The FBO dates back to the early 1980s and has since expanded to other locations, such as Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport, in addition to launching a Part 135 jet charter business.