The Yorkton Municipal Airport is receiving some major upgrades this year, funded in part by the Community Airport Partnership (CAP). The airport will receive $165,637 for runway and taxiway repairs, drainage rehabilitation, fencing, apron and taxiway expansion.
The CAP is a 50-50 cost-sharing initiative, and 15 communities in the province will see funding from the fund. The total amount spent will be $700,000, and Yorkton is receiving the most substantial amount of money.
"Yorkton applied for all of the areas that are specific for this funding... We have been pretty fortunate in Yorkton if you look at the past years since this was introduced, we have gotten the lion's share of the money and some significant investments," says Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit.
The CAP program is something the province supports because community airports are important to keeping local economies rolling, he adds.
The airport is an economic corridor, he adds, and with the expansion in industry and retail seen in the Yorkton area it's important to keep the airport in good shape.
"An airport is kind of a canary in a coal mine for a local economy. If you don't have a viable airport the economy might be in question."
Ottenbreit also says that keeping community airports viable is part of making it possible for other programs to exist. He notes that with the launch of the STARS air ambulance in the province, there needs to be airports in the communities to make it possible for aviation healthcare to remain available.
With the city being at the center of the province's third-largest trading area, Ottenbreit says that the local airport is a significant part of the local economy, and that the funding it has received is an indicator of how important it is to the province.
