A new research summary, Assessing the Impact of Minnesota Airports: A Comparative Analysis of Three Airports & Future Study Plans, provides valuable insights into the broad and multifaceted nature of the contributions Minnesota’s 132 public-use airports make to local communities and regional economies.
Researchers from the Transportation Policy and Economic Competitiveness Program (TPEC) at the U of M's Humphrey School of Public Affairs visited sites, conducted interviews, and collected data at three diverse airports—in Granite Falls, Mankato, and Roseau. These efforts, undertaken throughout 2024, are detailed in the summary.
Read “Assessing the Impact of Minnesota Airports”
Although the three airports were selected because of their distinct differences and characteristics, the research team of Frank Douma, director of state and local policy and outreach at the Humphrey School's Institute for Urban and Regional Infrastructure Finance (IURIF), Barbara Rohde, IURIF researcher and licensed pilot, and Audrey Clark, an urban and regional planning graduate student, uncovered several common themes. The team also outlines future plans for expanding on a 2019 Minnesota Department of Transportation study by applying new qualitative and quantitative methods for a more comprehensive assessment of the benefits that Minnesota's airports bring to their communities and the region.