More than 200 aviation professionals from across Minnesota turned out for the annual Minnesota Airports Conference April 26–28 in Alexandria. Over the course of two and a half days, attendees heard presentations on a range of topics. Twenty-eight vendors were on hand to showcase the latest aviation-related products and services.
Minnesota Council of Airports chair Pam Schroeder and Alexandria Municipal Airport manager Kreg Anderson opened the conference, while keynote speaker Tim Eggebraaten shared how making positive thinking a habit had changed his life—and could help others as well.
FAA updates on safety initiatives, funding
Sue Mowery-Schalk, airports division director for the FAA-Great Lakes Region, addressed the top safety issues the agency is seeing at general aviation (GA) airports, including runway safety areas (RSA). An FAA GA initiative requires RSA improvements as part of any major runway project, and an RSA determination must be completed prior to a major runway grant. Airports should make sure they are meeting the design standards. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all,” she said. Program details can be found in FAA Order 5200.8.
Another safety concerns is wildlife hazard mitigation. Mowery-Schalk explained differences between a wildlife hazard site visit and a hazard assessment. “Only some airports need an assessment,” she noted. A site visit lasts one to three days, whereas an assessment involves collecting data monthly for a year. She recommended that airports use training resources and work with a professional to determine the best course. One resource on the topic is the FAA’s October 2022 Wildlife Hazards Video.
Lindsay Terry, manager of the FAA’s Dakota-Minnesota Airports District Office (ADO), shared highlights of several airport grant programs. She advised airports to keep their CIP up to date to identify options for future funding; review the FAA frequently asked questions, available online; and apply for the competitive programs.
The difference between authorization and appropriation, Terry said, is that the appropriation is the money, the authorization is the permission. Congress has indicated that the aviation authorization (which expires in September) is a priority. “Every time we have a reauthorization you have an opportunity to shape what the FAA does,” she said. “People have gone out to DC, but you can also write a letter of support for reauthorization.”
The FAA pushed a lot of money out to help shore up airports affected by the pandemic, but a significant number of Minnesota airports “still haven’t touched one red cent,” Terry said. “When Congress looks at it they’re going to see …money not being spent. If you want to change the narrative, then spend your money.” She added that the FAA may take money back if airports aren’t spending it. “I strongly encourage you to have a plan,” she said.
Similarly, Terry told airports they have to put their Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funds under grant by September 2025 or they will lose them. Ninety-three airports in Minnesota are eligible to receive BIL allocations, and the state has received $58.8 million annually but only spent about $2.2 million so far. Terry said she suspects some issues are related to the match requirement.
“I want you to recognize and make a plan for whatever money received from your allocated funds, put it on your CIP, and make sure you are going to spend it by 2025,” she said. “I really just want to make sure that the money we’re given in the state stays here.”
MnDOT focusing on navaids, MnSASP
Newly appointed MnDOT Aeronautics director Ryan Gaug recalled how his talk at last year’s conference focused on two core challenges facing the agency: workforce shortages and aging navigation systems. “The message that I sent was a bit of ‘the sky is falling’…and it really felt like the sky was falling at the time.” In the last year, the agency has made significant progress in those areas. Many open positions were filled, including the addition of two radio engineers; five Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) stations have been replaced since last year, and the governor’s budgetary recommendations include $15 million specifically for modernizing aging navigational systems.
Gaug extended kudos to his team for getting the grant reimbursement process back on track—a major accomplishment that has improved the average time for airports to receive reimbursements. A current in-progress initiative—a grant dashboard—will allow users to easily see the status of a grant.
Gaug also gave updates on proposed FY24 participation rates, the governor’s budget recommendations related to BIL, and proposed changes to zoning rules, which the agency hopes to get to the governor’s office this summer.
Following Gaug, MnDOT aviation planning director Rylan Juran described progress on the State Aviation System Plan, or MnSASP. MnDOT is currently preparing all 2022 MnSASP draft deliverables for a public comment period in June. All airports are highly encouraged to take a look, Juran said. After MnDOT collects this info, it will make needed adjustments, review again, and make the plan final in August or September.
Juran noted that the 2022 MnSASP collected a wide variety of aviation data points pertaining to the state aviation system and all data points are maintained in the MnSASP hub. Data has a short shelf life, Juran said; airports should take ownership of the data to keep the hub useful.
Another deliverable in the plan is development of an updated project selection and prioritization model for state funding of airport projects. MnDOT recently adopted a policy requiring objective and transparent processes to “evaluate, prioritize, and select all capital projects.” The policy dictates that project selection should be based on criteria assigning numeric scores for submitted projects. The policy leaves room for discretion with scoring, but reasoning must be provided for these project selection decisions.
Zach DeVeau, project manager with consultant Kimley-Horn, described the state funding prioritization model as a dynamic and customizable tool to allow for scenario‐based analyses. He walked attendees through several scenarios to demonstrate how it would work. Next steps are to finalize the model and integrate it into MnDOT’s new CIP/grant management system.
Mike Hartell, interim assistant director of MnDOT Aeronautics, discussed the status of and plans for current navigation systems. Many of these, particularly AWOS, are aging. Currently AWOS stations need to be replaced at 40 airports. Airports should set aside funds for their upcoming projects and make sure they’re included on their CIP, Hartell said. So far MnDOT has replaced AWOS stations at Detroit Lakes, Duluth Sky Harbor, Buffalo, Tracy, and Preston, and 12 more AWOS replacements are in the queue.
MnDOT recently began inspecting pavement markings—reviewing the longevity of paint, including quality of paint and reflectivity—on a four-year rotation (this does not include Part 139 airports). “These reflective markings are important for pilots. If you notice yours are getting beat up, don’t be afraid to let us know. We’ll come out and check them,” Hartell said.
Hartell also noted that the state will participate in the FAA’s weather camera program. Eveleth-Virginia, Marshall, Henning, Caledonia, and Oak Island airports will have cameras installed over the summer and fall.
To begin discussions about replacing a navigation system, airports should contact their regional operations coordinator. All navigation-system-related problems can be sent to [email protected].
Promoting aviation at the capitol
In another general session, former Minnesota state legislators Ann Johnson-Stewart and Mike Beard offered a peek behind the curtain of the lawmaking process and provided tips for connecting with lawmakers to advocate for aviation.
“There are legislators who become experts in a topic or issue,” Johnson-Stewart said. “We need to make a few experts on airports in Congress.”
“If you asked Congress members how many airports are in Minnesota, lots of them would say...three or four? They don’t know. And why would they if we’re not telling them,” Johnson-Stewart said. “Airports are a key part of Minnesota industry, and we need to communicate that.”
Some ways to impact the process are to advocate and become a resource, invite a legislator to speak at your event, or hold a rally at the capitol. Based on the legislators’ experience, mass emails are not particularly influential, but a phone call, hand-written letter, or visit are.
When it comes to changing policy, showing up at a hearing is not sufficient because many lawmakers have decided how they’re going to vote at that point. “You have to do the work ahead of time,” Johnson-Stewart said.
To influence legislation, first start with an idea, find an author in the house or senate, advocate for a hearing, lobby the committee chair and members, testify at the hearing, and don’t stop until the end of the session. “It doesn’t all happen in an organized, prescribed way,” she said.
Pay attention to your local elected officials, Beard emphasized. Establish those relationships and get people out to the airports. Chambers of commerce are important allies.
“And don’t forget the staff,” Beard said. “We come and go, but staff are there throughout…They make the place run, they’re doing the behind-the-scenes stuff.”
MSP operations rebounding
Brian Ryks, Metropolitan Airports Commission executive director, shared thoughts about how Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport is fairing three years after the beginning of the pandemic. Tracing MSP’s journey since then, Ryks said the system was seeing almost nine percent growth in 2019 “and then the floor just dropped out. …If anyone would have ever told me we would be at a 95 percent reduction in passengers I would have never believed that in my 36, 37 years in the industry.” In 2021 operations were slowly climbing back, while 2022 was pretty flat, with 80 percent of 2019 volumes.
This year’s operations so far are down from 12 to 14 percent. “I think this year will be the key year to really determine what the long-term impact of COVID is on business travel,” he said. From an active route standpoint, MSP is doing fine, and Ryks expects it will exceed pre-COVID levels this summer. However, the routes that are still suspended—which mainly serve smaller communities—are less certain. “Whether these will ever come back, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Additionally, over the last 20 years the aircraft fleet has been changing significantly in terms of aircraft type, with many smaller regional jets being phased out by major airlines like Delta. Ryks acknowledged that the decrease in regional aircraft operations is concerning to many smaller communities. “We at the MAC will do whatever we can to keep service alive in those communities. I believe that regardless of where you are in the state air service is important to any community that requires it.”
Reliever system operations remained mostly steady through the pandemic, he said. Highlights in the last few years include a new runway at Lake Elmo, more than 700 lease renewals, 20 new hangars in the last 18 months, Atlantic Aviation FBO coming to Anoka County‐Blaine, and mobilization of South St. Paul’s floodwall seven times, which has kept the airport open during times of spring floods.
Ryks noted that since the pandemic the MAC has pulled back about $300 million worth of planned infrastructure improvements, and because of that, in 2024 the deferral will total over $1 billion. Those investments will go toward Terminal 1 concourse modernizations, new gates at Terminal 2, and a new safety and security center, among other projects. “A lot of work will happen in 2024.”
The conference was sponsored by MCOA and MnDOT Aeronautics, with support from AirTAP. Presentations from many of the sessions—as well as a photo slideshow of conference highlights—are available on the 2023 conference page.
