At the Tri-State Governors' Conference Thursday, the commander of the 185th Refueling Wing, Col. Sonya Morrison, urged the governors of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to advocate for a new runway, a project she says is long overdue and needed to keep the unit viable.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters she’s been working to get funding for the Air Guard.
“This isn’t an earmark. It’s not new money. It’s money that was promised 20 years ago," she said.
Around $185 million has been requested to pay for the runway, ramp replacement and new maintenance hangar.
Reynolds says she’s been working with Iowa’s federal delegation to get the runway project off the ground, including U.S. Senator Joni Ernst.
“She's done a phenomenal job of making sure the Air Force continues to allocate funding that has been promised to the Air Force here," Reynolds said. "And we're going to do everything we can to follow through with that.”
Almost 20 years ago, the 185th transitioned from F-16 fighter jets to the KC-135 Stratotanker. The runway isn’t long or wide enough to allow the planes to take off fully fueled.
An aircraft from the Iowa National Guard unit made a nose landing on Wednesday afternoon. However, a spokesperson for the 185th says the incident was not related to the current runway. An investigation is underway. The air-refueling tanker was conducting touch-and-go landings as part of a local training mission. The front landing gear was not deployed as the aircraft came to a full stop. None of the five people onboard were hurt. The nose of the plane sustained damage during the incident.
The 185th has been working on improving its facilities near the Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Saturday to showcase a newly renovated Operations Building. About $12 million was spent on the project that modernized the guard’s Air Operations facility.
Every two years, the Sioux City metro area hosts the Tri-State Governors' Conference. The event in Sioux City on Wednesday brought Reynolds together with Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Besides concerns raised by the 185th, the governors also heard about worker shortages, child care, mental health access and affordable housing. Local leaders also urged the governors to try to access funding from President Joe Biden's $50 billion infrastructure bill to help fund $470 million in improvements to Sioux City's wastewater treatment plant.
