Editing K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base (section)

===Legacy===
K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer was a favorite base among the SAC community. Although isolated and definitely northern, it was an attractive base for its pleasing [[Laurentian Mixed Forest Province|North Woods]] location and its proximity to outdoor activities off the base, including hunting, fishing, boating, and winter sports including [[Alpine skiing|skiing]] at [[Marquette Mountain]] (known as "Cliffs Ridge" before 1982), as well as the venues on site (base lake, ski hill, and others).

While the base was sometimes referred to as "K.&nbsp;I. [[Siberia]]" or "The Rock" and there was an abundance of [[lake-effect snow]],<ref name=sremflkp>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YhJQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zlUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5429%2C5617317 |newspaper=Ludington (MI) Daily News |agency=Associated Press |last=St. John |first=Paige |title=Snow removal fleet keeps Sawyer open|date=17 March 1989 |page=2}}</ref> it was not the bitter sub-zero temperatures and wind chills and hot summers of the tree-sparse [[North Dakota]] bases, or the confinement of the bases in the more established communities of the northeastern states. Locals maintained that the K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer runway was built over some of the best [[blueberry]] fields in the state. Berry patches remained on many other parts of the base, and families of aircrew members often picked them near the alert barracks and the family center.

A portion of the operational section of K.&nbsp;I. Sawyer AFB has been converted into [[Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport]], which opened its passenger terminal for service as Sawyer International Airport in September 1999. It&nbsp;replaced the smaller [[Marquette County Airport]], just southwest of Marquette, as the region's primary civilian airport.
[[File:Boeing B-52D Stratofortress at KI Sawyer AFB.jpg|thumb|A weathered, retired Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber stands outside on grass. It is part of a small collection of aircraft commemorating the former K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base.]]
In recent years, a group of local citizens interested in preserving the historical significance of the base have collected six aircraft of the types used actively at various times through the base's history to be displayed near the airport. The program is known as the "Sawyer 6" project. The aircraft are part of the K. I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum, which also has exhibits in the base's former Silver Wings Recreation Center.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bleck |first1=Christie |title=Museum keeps air heritage alive |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/105300128/lansing-state-journal/ |access-date=July 9, 2022 |work=[[Lansing State Journal]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=September 20, 2014 |page=7A |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>