8-K

               SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                     WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549





                            FORM 8-K

                         CURRENT REPORT




             Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                Securities Exchange Act of 1934




Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  June 29, 1999.



                     MESABA HOLDINGS, INC.
     (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

     Minnesota              0-17895               41-1616499
 (State or other        (Commission File       (I.R.S. Employer
 Jurisdiction of            Number)             Identification
  incorporation)                                     No.)

                     7501 26th Avenue South
                  Minneapolis, Minnesota 55450
            (Address of principal executive offices)


Registrant's telephone no., including area code:  (612) 726-5151

                         Not Applicable
 (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

 

 ITEM 5.  Other Events.

      On June 29, 1999, Bryan K. Bedford resigned from his position as
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its subsidiary,
Mesaba Aviation, Inc.  He intends to continue as a director during a
transition period while the company seeks his successor.

      John S. Fredericksen has been appointed interim Chief Executive
Officer of the Company and Mesaba.  Mr. Fredericksen has served as Vice
President, Administration; General Counsel and Secretary of the Company
and Mesaba since 1995.  He joined the Company as Vice President, General
Counsel in 1992.  The Company will be actively seeking a permanent
replacement for Mr. Bedford.


      Additional information is contained in the Company's press
release dated June 29, 1999, which is attached to this filing as Exhibit
99.1

ITEM 7.  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

     The following are exhibits to this Current Report:

          99.1 Press release of the Company dated June 29, 1999


                           SIGNATURE

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.




Date:  June 29, 1999

MESABA HOLDINGS, INC.



By: /s/ John S. Fredericksen
    ------------------------
    John S. Fredericksen
    Interim Chief Executive Officer
    Vice President and General Counsel


                         EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number    Description

99.1           Press release of the Company dated June 29, 1999.

EX-99

For Immediate Release:

Mesaba Holdings, Inc. Announces the Resignation of Bryan K. Bedford as
                 President and Chief Executive Officer;

Mesaba Appoints John S. Fredericksen as Interim Chief Executive Officer

MINNEAPOLIS, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesaba Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAIR -
news) announced today the resignation of its President and Chief Executive
Officer, Bryan K. Bedford, effective immediately. Bedford has served as
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since August 7, 1995.
Today, the Mesaba Board of Directors appointed John S. Fredericksen, the
Company's Vice President, General Counsel and Administration, as Interim
Chief Executive Officer.

"On behalf of the Mesaba Board of Directors and shareholders, I want to
thank Bryan for his outstanding service at Mesaba," said Carl R. Pohlad,
Chairman of Mesaba. "We are fortunate to have one of the best management
teams in the regional airline industry and a very strong interim CEO in
John Fredericksen, who during his 7 years with Mesaba has had
responsibility in every major area of the Company's operation," said
Pohlad.

"We thank Bryan for the leadership and guidance he brought to Mesaba. We
want to assure everyone that Northwest's commitment to Mesaba and its
people remains as strong as ever," said Tim Griffin, Executive Vice
President of Marketing & Distribution of Northwest Airlines. "We all wish
Bryan well in his new endeavor."

"I am very proud of the many awards and accomplishments the airline and its
people were able to achieve over the past four years. I am very confident
that Mesaba will continue in its tradition of exemplary safety and
service," said Bryan K. Bedford.

Mesaba Holdings, Inc. is the parent company of Mesaba Airlines, which
operates as a Northwest Airlink affiliate out of Northwest Airlines' three
hubs in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, and Memphis. The airline offers
over 900 daily departures to 98 cities in 23 states and three Canadian
provinces. The airline operates a fleet of 100 jet-prop and pure jet
aircraft including the 34-passenger Saab 340 and 69-passenger Avro RJ85.

For more information visit the airline's website at http://www.mesaba.com