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Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Aviation program recommends Marion Airport grant
The state's aviation program recommended Monday that the Iowa Department of Transportation's Transportation Commission approve a grant that would allow the Marion Airport to widen its runway.
The Marion Airport is run through a public-private partnership between the city and LuxAir Aviation. Though the airport was privately owned previously, the city bought land including the runway and fixed-base operating building in 2015. LuxAir owns the surrounding land and hangars, and the city leases the runway and FBO building to the company.
A possible $430,000 grant from the Iowa DOT would help widen and rehabilitate the runway from 26 to 50 feet wide. The recommendation was supposed to be made in August, but the commission deferred it until members could learn more about the airport.
Mark Lowe, director of the Iowa DOT, said that despite the public-private partnership, the facility is open to general aviation in the state and so is eligible to receive state money.
Stu Anderson, director of the DOT's Planning, Programming and Modal Division, said he understood that the recommendation was based on the safety of the airport, having it meet the minimum of 50 feet.
'If this was an expansion, that would be a very different conversation,” Anderson said.
The commission is scheduled to consider awarding the grant at its Nov. 14 meeting.
l Comments: (319) 368-8516; makayla.tendall@thegazette.com
A small aircraft takes off from the runway at the Marion Airport in Marion in Marion on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. The facility has seen some updates recently, including a new fixed base operator and maintenance hangar, and there are plans to widen the runway in the coming years. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
A new maintenance shed is seen at the Marion Airport in Marion in Marion on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)
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