"Rochester-Minneapolis, Minn., Air-Service Plan Gets Another Look"

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Rochester-Minneapolis, Minn., Air-Service Plan Gets Another Look
The Rochester (MN) Post-Bulletin


Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak met with local leaders Tuesday in Rochester to
enlist their support for developing a statewide commercial air service plan.
Such a plan, Rybak said, would help utilize underused airports outside the
Twin Cities, put the state on better competitive footing with other
Midwestern markets and help Minneapolis-St. Paul avert a state of air
gridlock projected to occur within about 20 years. A likely outcome of the
plan would be to divert some air traffic from the Twin Cities to airports
such as Rochester's or St. Cloud's. "I'm arguing against our (Minneapolis')
immediate self-interest in favor of a longer-term solution," Rybak said.
"I'll take some heat because it's a smart long-term strategy."

The meeting at Rochester City Hall was attended by every area legislator, a
representative of Congressional Rep. Gil Gutknecht's office, business
leaders and several municipal officials. 

The subject of discussion -- a Minneapolis-Rochester airport link -- is
nothing new. Rybak's predecessor, Sharon Sayles Belton, visited Rochester in
January 2001 to discuss a high-speed rail link between the two airports. And
a consultant hired by the Metropolitan Airports Commission issued a report
two years ago calling for formation of a "cargo twin" to the Twin Cities
airport. Rochester was named as a leading candidate to fill that role. 

What seems to have changed in the discussion is the level of urgency. Rybak
left the meeting after asking each person to take on an "assignment." His
job, he said, will be to unify the Minneapolis-area legislative contingent
and win support of Twin Cities congressman Rep. Martin Sabo. The bigger job,
Rybak said, rests with people in Rochester. "The business community from
Rochester is going to have to play a large role in this," he said. "The
person or people carrying this through the Legislature are going to have to
be some of the people who will benefit from it. 

"The push for a Rochester cargo hub has to come out of Rochester," he said.
A handful of other airports -- notably St. Cloud, Duluth and Mankato -- are
similarly vying to become Minneapolis' partner.

For now, though, the task is to get state leaders to appreciate the
importance of developing a plan, Rybak said. An estimated 90 percent of the
state's outgoing air cargo is sent by truck to Chicago before being loaded
on a plane, he said. As a result, businesses are forced to consider whether
they wish to locate in Minnesota, expand here or even remain here, he said.
"I think we really should be looking at, 'Can we compete with Chicago?'"
Rybak said. "Right now, we're competing from our knees. I believe Rochester
can help us compete from a far better standpoint. "Let's say we have
aspirations to be an international shipper," he said.

"Grab the opportunity."

Striking a partnership with an outlying airport, rather than building a new
Twin Cities airport, is preferable because of the costs and regulatory
hurdles involved in building.

Noise, pollution and congestion are problems in the Twin Cities -- both on
the runways and the roads.

For cargo, the southern half of the state is preferable to shippers, said
Merlin Otto of the Minneapolis Planning Department. 

The Rochester airport already has a steadily growing cargo operation, said
Airport Manager Steve Leqve.

The airport is reporting annual freight figures approaching 30 million
pounds per year, Leqve said.

The Rochester airport has advantages over its rivals because of its
infrastructure, including one runway that has recently been extended and
another -- the primary runway -- that will be lengthened starting next year.
Rybak said the state-approved biotech partnership between the University of
Minnesota and Mayo Clinic is a golden opportunity for Rochester that could
be made even sweeter by making the city's airport a busy cargo hub.


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