Des Moines, Iowa — State taxpayer support of the 107 airports in Iowa will be reduced by nearly 40 percent in the next budgeting year under the plan Republican legislators have crafted. A northwest Iowa Republican says difficult choices had to be made.
Representative Dan Huseman, a Republican from Aurelia, says the GOP had to make difficult choices because of lower-than-expected state tax revenue.
But Huseman says, in the end, there just wasn’t enough money for every priority.
The eight Iowa airports that offer commercial passenger flights will get about $600-thousand less. Representative Dennis Cohoon, a Democrat from Burlington, says the state funding helps the smaller commercial airports in Iowa that offer passenger service update their facilities.
Representative Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo, says airports are economic development.
In addition to the state’s largest airports in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, commercial passenger service is available at airports in Burlington, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, Mason City, Sioux City and Waterloo. There are also 99 other airports in Iowa, including the Sheldon Regional Airport, which offer “general aviation” service for smaller planes. Those smaller airports got $750-thousand from the state in the current budgeting year. The G-O-P’s budget plan for the next year is a quarter of a million dollars less for those 99 airports.
