After a year of no additional routes being added as the airline upgraded its fleet from the Lockheed 10A to the Douglas DC-3, 1952 brought with it an expansion to ten new cities. The first change took place on February 10 with the inaugural of a non-stop Minneapolis/St Paul - Duluth/Superior with two daily roundtrips followed by a third added in the summer. Then on April 27, a route connecting Minneapolis/St Paul to Chicago was initiated with stops in Winona, Minnesota, and LaCrosse, Madison, and Beloit/Janesville, Wisconsin. The summer schedule brought about service into North Dakota with routes to Fargo and Grand Forks. St Cloud, Minnesota was added back to the system as one daily round trip was flown between Minneapolis/St Paul and Fargo via St Cloud, Alexandria and Fergus Falls, Minnesota and between Minneapolis/St Paul and Grand Forks via St Cloud, Brainerd, Bemidji, and Thief River Falls, Minnesota. A second round trip was added to each of these routes on September 1.

Another major change took place for the airline when the lease expired for the headquarters/hanger facility at Madison owned by the Air Force. A fairly quick search for a new facility culminated in a move to Wold-Chamberlain Field at Minneapolis/St Paul in November. With the headquarters of the company no longer in Wisconsin and the continued expansion of routes in the upper midwest region, the board of directors voted in December to change the name of the airline from Wisconsin Central to North Central.