(CNN) -- Graydon Grotberg remembers when his hometown of International Falls, Minnesota, had no commercial airport. Now, he can't imagine life without it. More than a half-century ago, Grotberg boarded a Greyhound bus for the 300-mile trip to Minneapolis-St. Paul where he enlisted in Marine Corps boot camp amid the Korean War. Two years later, he returned home to Minnesota and a bus brought him back to International Falls, safe and sound. But Greyhound doesn't service International Falls anymore. Neither does Amtrak. So Grotberg, now an 81-year-old retired widower, relies on a Delta Connection flight from the International Falls airport to the Twin Cities, where he receives medical treatment for his eye condition. When he can't make the flight, he shares a VA hospital van with several other travelers willing to endure the six-hour drive.
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Minnesota man relies on small airport for medical treatment
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House bill aims to kill subsidies to dozens of small airports
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Airport: Killing subsidies would hurt town's economy
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Opponent: Subsidies waste federal money
Some might suggest that Grotberg consider moving closer to his doctor and family in @placeholder.