The Fort Dodge Regional Airport is on the verge of some much needed improvements that will be done without spending local property tax dollars.

The airport is eligible for $1,585,761 from the Iowa Commercial Aviation Infrastructure Fund. That money will be spent to build new hangars to house planes.

The state fund has that money available for Fort Dodge, plus millions more for seven other commercial service airports in Iowa, because Gov. Kim Reynolds deposited $100 million of federal COVID relief money into it. The high dollar federal COVID relief programs have lots of detractors, but this is one instance in which residents of the area will see some results from that spending.

Most local residents don’t have airplanes that need hangar space, so they won’t benefit directly from this investment. But the planned new hangars will be one element in helping the community prosper, and that will help residents in the long term.

Here is how Rhonda Chambers, the airport’s director of aviation, explained it:

”New hangars can attract new businesses to our region who utilize aviation in their business plan. Aircraft hangars are also needed for transit business aircraft as those companies visit our region for new development opportunities or retainage of existing businesses.”

The airport has several hangars, but many were built in the 1960s and 1970s and are showing their age. One of them will have to be demolished.

The airport has a plan to build three 60-by-60 -foot hangars. A second phase of that plan includes four more 60-by-60-foot hangars.

We believe it is a sound plan, and spending nearly $1.6 million of COVID relief money is a good way to finance it.