City resumes management of Sikeston Municipal Airport

SIKESTON - Sikeston's Municipal Airport is under new management and is getting a facelift. After years of private operation, the city of Sikeston has resumed the day-to-day management of its municipal airport.

Southeast Missouri native Lee Dunn was hired as manager of the airport last September, when the city resumed management of the facility and grounds. Since then, Dunn has hit the ground running.

Missouri Department of Transportation Aviation and the FAA conduct annual inspections on municipal airports. Sikeston's runway and taxiway will require some improvements to be in compliance with state and federal safety regulations.

"We are going to seal the cracks in the asphalt runway and taxiway and paint the numbers and markings," said Dunn.

The airport renovations will commence in late summer or early fall and will take about one month. As with any government project, the city will publish a notice to receive bids from contractors.

According to Dunn the estimated total cost of the improvements including engineering is $472,000. MoDOT and the FAA will pay 90 percent of the cost and the Sikeston Municipal Airport fund will pay the remaining 10 percent.

Compliance with regulations is not the only reason for Sikeston's investment in the airport. Maintaining a safe and attractive municipal airport is important to our community, according to Dunn. The airport is the "doorway to our community" for a surprising array of people, Dunn said. A number of area companies fly out of the Sikeston Airport for business on a regular basis, keeping a plane in one of the airport hangars.

Just last Saturday, 27 flights arrived at the Sikeston Airport with one purpose - lunch at Lambert's Cafe. Dunn said the flights in for lunch at Lambert's Cafe mostly originate in Nashville, Tenn., or St Louis, and are a regular source of commerce to the area.

The airport is also the doorway to the area for dignitaries and political figures who frequently visit. Dunn recalled that the Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley came through the Sikeston Municipal Airport just this week.

Dunn, a graduate of East Prairie High School, has always had a passion for flying, getting a pilot's license before graduating from high school. A life spent flying and a degree from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale in aviation management have prepared Dunn for his job as airport manager.

Dunn and his wife, Jennifer, a graduate of Kelly High School, have three children and reside in the area.

Assisting Dunn at the airport is Bill Paxton, a lineman for the city of Sikeston. Paxton works full time at the airport performing a multitude of tasks from tending the grounds and hangars to fueling planes.