Will proposed airport changes matter?

The Grundy Center Airport is minimalistic by almost any measure: located along Highway 175 about four miles west of town, it’s essentially a 2,250’x60’ grass strip with an unpowered shed housing three hangars. Merl Manning of Eldora, who mows the grass weekly and owns the lone ultralight aircraft based here, is the only person consistently present at the airport, and even he doesn’t seem to have a strong opinion on the proposed building height restrictions that have driven a wedge between the city of Grundy Center and the Grundy County Board of Supervisors.
 
“It’s pretty much just me. I don’t remember seeing anybody here last year. The year before there were one or two that came in,” Manning said. “You kind of have a problem when you fly into here. You about have to know somebody, or you don’t have a ride. Once you’re here, you’re here.”
 
According to Airnav.com, the airport averages just 21 aircraft operations per month, and Supervisor Harlyn Riekena estimated at a recent meeting that the actual figure was closer to 10 or 15 per year. After purchasing the land (approximately 13 acres) from the Frerichs family in 1961, the city opened the airport with lights around the runway, but it has done next to nothing in regards to improvements and maintenance in recent years. Save for Manning and the occasional paraplane landing, aircraft sightings are few and far between.
 
Read more in this week's Grundy Register.