The Iowa Transportation Commission approved a change in its rules for grants to help pay for roadways to businesses, making it possible to award a grant to the new Sioux County airport. Department of Transportation spokesman Craig Markley, says the Revitalize Iowa’s Sound Economy or RISE program has given money to fund roadways into industrial parks since its inception in 1985. The rule change approved by the Transportation Commission allows them to consider the link between a roadway and an airport when awarding the funds, and it was driven by the planning for the Sioux County airport.
RISE grants had been based on an immediate opportunity to build a new business where the road was going, or it could be based on the speculation that adding the road would open the opportunity to lure in new businesses to the facility served by the roadway.
Markley says the airport situation is a little different.
The commission approved a 646-thousand dollar grant for the airport, which is 50 percent of the project.
The 28 million dollar airport will be built near the intersection of U-S Highway 75 and Iowa Highway 10 in Sioux County south of Sioux Center.
