The St. Ignatius Airport received a $495,000 grant, and Polson Airport received $30,960, with a $5,040 loan, from the Montana Aeronautics Board to fund infrastructure and safety improvements.  

The grant to the St. Ignatius Airport will be used to make improvements and replace equipment that “came over on the Mayflower,” according to Rick Newman, the Lake County Joint Airport Board chairman and St. Ignatius representative. 

The grant will fund new runway lighting, controls and a beacon, along with the wind cone, lighting-vault regulators, and a new weather station. This will allow the airport to update its lighting system to LEDs and make it Federal Aviation Administration compliant. 

The Montana Aeronautics Board awarded approximately $3.33 million in airport grants or loans during its January meeting for the state fiscal year of 2027. Of the 46 public-use airports that received grant funding, St. Ignatius received the highest amount.  

Newman calls the current runway lighting system “a mess,” with metal stakes sticking out of the ground and a conduit and light on top. The “hokey-pokey” lighting is often taken out by airplanes or wind from helicopters, Newman said.  

“Gail Anderson, the old airport manager, came up with it, and it worked. The brackets and stuff you could all buy down at Gambles,” Newman said. “We’ll have to go under the runway, so that's an expense, and we don't want to dig up the runway. We’re trying to do as little damage as we possibly can.”  

The current lighting kicks on for 20 minutes when pilots test their radios. Newman said this heavily increased the airport’s power bill. Under the new LED system, one light will cover every 100 feet of the 2,600-foot runway thus reducing the power bill.  

The new second-hand weather system will provide pilots with a weather advisory and radio test and turn the runway lights on. It was not purchased with the grant, but will be installed with grant funds.  

Newman said these upgrades are a part of his efforts to clean up Mission’s airport. He has removed some old buildings and the wooden outhouse, which provided a mountain view experience.  

Mat Wilder, project manager in the Airports Group at RPA – a Helena general civil engineering firm – explained that the grant funding is slightly higher than their estimates, but they are unsure of the total funding required until the project goes to bid. He noted that they hope to receive a bid for this project by May or June and to have construction completed by this coming fall.  

Newman said any extra funds they have will be returned to the board for distribution the following year.  

Polson’s fence project  

Polson’s airport grant will be used along with an FAA grant to construct an eight-foot wildlife fence around the perimeter of the airport, which is estimated to cost $700,000. They hope to bid it out this year.  

Wilder said the fence will prevent deer and other large animals from entering the runway and will also provide an added layer of security. He said it will have electric gates with keypads to allow users access.  

This fence will likely have barbed wire on the top, but Wilder said they are waiting for a wildlife hazard assessment recommendation before finalizing the design.  

Felix Moran, the airport representative for the City of Polson, noted that this fence will be similar to Ronan’s, which was added two years ago. He said it would be a low-visibility fence and would help prevent the herd of deer that feeds off the airport grass from gaining access to the facility.