MANKATO — A decade in the past, Mankato metropolis leaders have been seeking to host a significant air show each three years. That occurred, roughly, with the Minnesota Air Spectacular held on the Mankato Regional Airport in 2012, 2015 and 2019.
But aviation followers in south-central Minnesota are dealing with a lengthier hole between their alternatives to see the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds hovering over native skies.
“We have not made any decisions at this point for future air shows,” stated City Manager Susan Arntz.
Each December on the annual conference of air show operators in Las Vegas, the preliminary schedule is launched for the headliner aviation acts for the air show yr beginning 13 months later.
The metropolis of Mankato in 2021 had sought the U.S. Navy Blue Angels for a deliberate Minnesota Air Spectacular in June 2023, however Duluth was chosen as an alternative. This yr, town didn’t submit an utility for both the Blue Angels or the Air Force Thunderbirds for 2024.
The metropolis of Mankato hoped to host the U.S. Navy Blue Angels in June 2023 — plans that have been dashed when Duluth was chosen as an alternative. Mankato did not apply for the flight group for a 2024 show.
Mankato hasn’t essentially misplaced curiosity in being on the air show circuit, it’s extra a matter of timing. A pair of development initiatives could make it difficult to host a show in coming years, Arntz stated.
A protracted-planned reconstruction of Highway 22 from simply north of Mankato to St. Peter will trigger main disruption to one of many main roads resulting in the airport, significantly for folks arriving from the Twin Cities or different factors to the north. The Minnesota Department of Transportation had been planning to begin the $32 million in enhancements as quickly as 2024, however now the development schedule is 2025-26, in line with the mission web site.
“It does add complications to that event, especially when you have visitors who aren’t familiar with the area,” Arntz stated of the Highway 22 mission.
The work will embody the addition of passing lanes and a whole makeover of main intersections on the roadway, which is the busiest two-lane freeway in MnDOT’s District 7 even when there isn’t an air show drawing greater than 25,000 additional folks.
In addition, Mankato is pursuing the set up of an air site visitors management tower on the airport at a value of $5.8 million. The metropolis is working with the Federal Aviation Administration this yr on choosing a web site with tentative plans to finish designs and web site preparation in 2024 and construct the tower in 2025.
Because management towers are financed by the FAA, they require navigating a posh regulatory course of and the schedule could be delayed.
“I think that’s to be determined,” Arntz stated of whether or not the following air show must await the completion of the tower.
This received’t be the primary time native air show followers have needed to reveal endurance. Shows in 1999 and 2003 have been organized by a non-public promoter, the second ending in monetary disarray and unpaid performers. That contributed to an almost decadelong pause earlier than the 2012 Minnesota Air Spectacular, which was administered by town with help from a advisor — a technique that continued with subsequent reveals.
For those that can’t await the following Mankato show, the Thunderbirds are scheduled to be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the Blue Angels are slated to be in Duluth in July of this yr.
The announcement of the 2024 schedule confirmed no Minnesota appearances by the Thunderbirds subsequent yr. The Blue Angels are slated to be in La Crosse in June 2024.
