Fargo airport receives millions in federal dollars for project after local budget disagreement

FARGO — The Hector International Airport has received $8.5 million in federal funding to support its

$200 million construction

of a terminal expansion and parking ramp.

This money was given by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the $24,499,236 given to airports throughout North Dakota through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), according to a release from the office of Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.

The future of the airport’s project came into question with Fargo City Commissioners debating in July about whether or not to renew the $1.6 million in local funding that the city gives each year to Hector International Airport.

Mayor Tim Mahoney proposed that the city reallocate that money in the 2025 budget — currently expected at just over $133 million — to provide a higher cost of living raise for city staff across the board.

Some commissioners objected to the idea and members of the Airport Authority said that, without that local funding, the future of the airport expansion could be in jeopardy because state and federal partners would follow Fargo’s suit and dis-invest.

Ultimately, the commission agreed to continue providing funding for the airport in 2025 and, in an effort to still provide city staff with raises to boost retention, agreed to find money to cut elsewhere in the city’s budget to pay for those raises.

What, exactly, will be cut has not yet been identified.

Hector International Airport also received the support of the North Dakota delegation earlier this year when they helped to secure the project an additional $10 million, according to the release.

Other North Dakota projects funded by the AIP include $9.8 million in funding so the Bismarck Municipal Airport can reconstruct and reseal portions of the paved taxiways and $6.1 million to allow the Minot International Airport to rehabilitate its taxiways as well as replace taxiway lighting, according to the release.

“North Dakota airports are essential infrastructure for our economy,” Cramer said in the release. “These funds will help our commercial and municipal airports make needed repairs, improvements, and expansions to ensure efficient operations.”

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