The airport received an $876,150 award to help pay for the new, larger hangar.

“We are ecstatic,” said Rhonda Chambers, the airport’s director of aviation.

That structure will be in addition to three new ones that are already under construction.

Chambers and the airport commission are working to replace a number of the oldest and most deteriorated hangars at the airport which house private planes. All of the hangars are south of the terminal and parking lot.

-Submitted image
The new hangar to be built at Fort Dodge Regional Airport will look like this when it is completed.

She said the hangar to be replaced with the help of grant money is a wooden structure built in the 1960s. A 2022 structural assessment found the building to be “unsatisfactory,” she said. After that assessment was received, all of the planes were moved out and the hangar now sits empty.

According to Chambers, that hangar is old enough that a historical evaluation had to be done before permission was received to demolish and replace it.

The project is estimated to cost $973,500. The city government will provide a local match of $97,350 for the grant.

Chambers said getting the old hangar demolished and the new one built by the end of this year is the goal.

The three new hangars already under construction are expected to be finished this spring. Jensen Builders Ltd., of Fort Dodge, has the contract for that job.

U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican, touted the grant award.

“It’s critical that we keep our aging airport infrastructure up to date to maintain a healthy economy and ensure safety and efficiency for aircraft and passengers,” he said. “I supported the bipartisan infrastructure law to invest in Iowans and Iowa’s economy, and I’m glad to see our state is continuing to benefit from this investment.”