MILLER TOWNSHIP – Knox County Regional Airport has received $900,000 in capital funds to build a hangar for educational purposes.

In a joint agreement with Ohio State University, regional airport manager Joe Ziegman said the $900,000 grant will be used to build a “large hangar” with classrooms measuring approximately 9×9 square meters.

In 2022, Knox County Regional Airport received $150,000 in capital grants to provide additional funding for the project.

The roughly $1.5 million project will be financed largely through state funds, Ziegman said. The airport will raise the rest and is expected to launch a regional fundraising campaign in October.

The project is currently being put out to tender, said Ziegman. The groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place by the end of the year.

“We could have a contractor by October,” Zeigman said. “We expect it to be finished by 2026.”

The focus of the structure will be on flight training for youth organizations in the area, including 4H, Scouts and Junior ROTC.

The Ohio State University Extension office will put together summer programs for individual classroom training, Ziegman said.

The Hanger project began in 2019 when former regional airport chairman Chris Cordle was at the airport, Ziegman said.

Now Ziegman and the regional airport management are happy that the project is bearing fruit.

“We are very excited,” said Ziegman. “We have space available for the project.”

“I think it will be a great benefit to the community and the region.”

This independent, local reporting by our Report for America Corps members is brought to you in part by the generous support of the Knox County Foundation and Kokosing.