“The 185th is very active,” said Dougherty. What began as a B-17 airbase, the Sioux Gateway Airport is currently home to the 185th Air Refueling Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard, one of two air national guard bases-and the only flying unit-in the state. “Sioux City has had an airport since World War II,” said Dougherty. “We were so pleased to receive this grant,” said Economic Development Director Marty Dougherty, citing the diversification of the local economy, the creation of higher skilled jobs and investment in an industry important to the region as key components that made Sioux City’s grant application so competitive.
Over two years in the making, the project brings together city government, the Sioux City Chamber of Commerce, Oracle Aviation, Morningside University and other educational institutions in the area. “This project is a great example of a public-private partnership,” said Assistant City Manager Mike Collett. In addition, the project is slated to create 42 new skilled jobs in the short-term and grow the entire aviation culture in the area well into the future. The Sioux Gateway Airport is home to a Federal Aviation Administration flight tower and supports a significant number of commercial and corporate hangars as well. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration will help fund the new 39,400-square-foot aviation center, complete with a fully accredited flight school, two hangar bays and two stories of office/training space. The $1 million grant it has received from the U.S. Recently, the Sioux City community came to together to leverage that experience and infrastructure to make a bid for federal grant money, an investment that would help them build a $7 million to $9 million hangar facility on city-owned land at Sioux Gateway Airport.
With a well-maintained airport and runway-dating all the way back to World War II-along with a Federal Aviation Administration flight tower and the presence of the 185th Air Refueling Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard, this community knows a thing or two about the aviation industry. Sioux City, Iowa, has a long history of aviation excellence. (Photo provided by Sioux City Public Museum) The history of the Sioux Gateway Airport dates back to World War II when it served as a B-17 airbase.
0 kommentar(er)
