Opposition Continues To Proposed Regional Airport
May 26th, 2023
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Mahaska County residents opposed to a new regional airport between Pella and Oskaloosa held a community gathering on Thursday evening at the Iowa State Extension Office in Oskaloosa.
The event started with words from Iowa House member Helena Hayes and was turned over to Alicia Helm, who has run the ‘Stop the Airport from being built in Mahaska County’ for over a decade.
During the meeting, Helm announced that she intends to run for the Oskaloosa City Council this coming November, along with her husband.
Also speaking was activist Nick Ryan, who has been an outspoken voice for property rights over the past decade.
We have the entire event video above.
We talked with Helm after the meeting and asked her about her work opposing the regional airport and why she’s been involved.
We first interviewed Helm when she was a rural Mahaska County resident who lived near a neighboring property that an airport site might have impacted.
That was over ten years ago, and she’s continued to fight against the airport for her neighbors.
“I may not live in the county, but I know a lot of people that stand to lose a lot with this. I just can’t stand corporate greed and what they’re doing is wrong.”
Now an Oskaloosa resident, Helm continues to advocate for the rural residents and their land rights.
Helm says she’s disappointed in the Oskaloosa City Council and their lack of discussion on the regional airport. “You go to the city council meeting, and they all vote the same way. No one ever has any discussion on any of the topics. I want to have the people’s voice heard.”
“It’s very frustrating trying to do anything with city council. They’re either not available for comment, they don’t answer questions. They’re not really helpful,” says Helm. “I feel like people need to know what’s going on.”
Helm brought a petition to the Council and feels like the Oskaloosa City Council is working to patch loopholes in their charter by having an emergency meeting to address petitioning the Council on pressing issues like a regional airport or road diets.
Helm says the move by Council feels like the citizens were being “Stripped of their rights to address the government.”
Helm wanted to thank everyone from Oskaloosa “that has signed” and gotten the word out about her petition over the regional airport and the road diets.”
To learn more about the effort to stop the regional airport, you can visit them on their Facebook page at ‘Stop the Airport from being built in Mahaska County.’
The Oskaloosa Herald reported on Friday that the Pella Airport Commission was sending a letter of support to end involvement in the South Central Regional Airport Agency and to concentrate its efforts on the current municipal airport.
