I visited the Iowa City Municipal Airport the other day, and it was good. Great, even. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

I had not been a supporter of the airport, mainly because, like a lot of other people, I thought it seemed like a big duplication of service with the Eastern Iowa Regional Airport just up the road. I was wrong.

Turns out it’s not duplication at all. Iowa City Municipal is the second busiest general aviation (as opposed to commercial) airport in the state. There’s a long waiting list for hangar rental, even though the rents tend towards the high side. There’s also an amazing (and I do mean amazing) research facility, the Operator Performance Laboratory, run by the University with a number of Federal and private co-sponsers.

And the City’s airport subsidy been going down. In other words the IC airport is doing a good job of paying for itself and even generating revenue. It’s one of our best-kept secrets, and that’s a shame. It's worth our support. Check it out.