Have you spotted a multicolored stream of lights north of Highway 44 between Guthrie Center and Panora? It’s not a holiday display, but the recently completed new runway at the Guthrie County Regional Airport.

Construction on the runway wrapped up a couple weeks ago, which includes several new features such as lighting, a beacon pole, and an electrical vault. Work began on April 20th, but the project was a couple years in the making as the Airport Authority Board worked with its shareholders of the County and the cities of Guthrie Center and Panora to add tax levies to fund the 10 percent of local funding needed to receive a $3.8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration. Board Chair Marshall Burgess comments on the work the volunteer board did to get this project off the ground, “We had a new agreement that had run out that we had to get all that passed and get everybody back on board on the same page. We’re under a 330A agreement between those entities. So that had to go through a lot of legal things to get that all that worked out before we could even get started. So that’s been a long time coming and now that we’ve got the whole project done we’re all kind of relieved that we got it done.”

This is the first reconstruction project since the airport was opened 30 years ago, and with the extensive paving and drainage work Burgess says the new runway should be usable for at least 40 years to come. The Board hopes to hold an open house and fly-in breakfast this spring to welcome residents to the facility, and to apply for future FAA grants to replace the runway apron and make further improvements.