UP Gazette

State Rep. Beau LaFave (R-Iron Mountain) applauded the allocation of $256 million in CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act grants to Michigan airports, with a little over $1 million going to three Upper Peninsula airports.

These U.P. airports are Delta County Airport in Escanaba and Ford Airport in Iron Mountain, as well as Menominee Regional Airport in Menominee.

“The economic standstill our area of the state has been brought to impacts a broad range of sectors, and I appreciate Michigan’s congressional delegation working hard to protect U.P. infrastructure and workers. More than 90 airports across the state will be able to access this vital funding,” LaFave said in a statement published on the Michigan House Republicans website.

The lawmaker stressed how vital the aviation industry is to many of his constituents.

“The air travel industry has been particularly hard hit by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and it’s more than just the grounded planes that news channels show sitting parked on runways,” he said, according to Michigan House Republicans. “Airports are job providers, and this unprecedented moment has upended these livelihoods, along with many others. These hard-working people, and our critical infrastructure, need resources to stay on their feet and resume activity when this challenge is no longer facing us, but behind us.”