Where might ya be headed, in or out of Iowa?  If you wanna get there by car, Statista reports you'll join one of the many automobiles hitting the road.  Statista says, according to data from the latter half of 2024, there were approximately 291.1 million operating vehicles on the roads throughout the United States.

If you'd like to get there by airplane, there are far fewer flights, not just in Iowa, but everywhere.  Air Transport Action Group claims that there are roughly 29,000 commercial aircraft operating around the world.

There are also trains, but I bring that up only so I can leave a clip of one of the great movies, Planes, Trains & Automobiles:

Iowans Have Chosen a Mode of Transport

If we're talking about airplanes again, that's good, and I'm glad you brought that up.  The busiest airport in Iowa is in Des Moines, but there is a contender and record breaker that's making its way up the airport ladder.

I mentioned breaking records, and we'll get to that, but let's start at the beginning of the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID)Wikipedia says the Eastern Iowa Airport began as Hunter Field in the 1920s as a private airport.

In 1944, the airport was rebuilt with military funding, and opened as the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport. That was in 1947.  Well, the airport grew and grew so much that it set a record in 2019 with 1.34 million passengers.

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Have There Been Any Accidents at CID?

So says Wikipedia, there have been a couple of incidents, but all with good outcomes and no injuries reported:

  • August 30, 1970 – US Navy Blue Angels pilot Lt. Ernie Christensen belly-landed his F-4J Phantom at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids with one engine stuck in afterburner during an airshow at the airport. He ejected safely, while the aircraft ran off the runway.
  • December 20, 2004 - A Learjet 25 collided with a berm while landing on runway 13 at CID Airport because of a failure of the nose gear strut. The takeoff roll was rough so a decision was made to return to the airport. There were no injuries.

Other than those, smooth sailing. Or, in this case, flying.

Is There More Good News From the Eastern Iowa Airport?

Yes, there is much happiness and big news.  In 2024, the Eastern Iowa Airport set another milestone with passengers.  They saw 1.5 million people come through their doors, and our co-worker (actually, our director) Ashley was one of them.

Congratulations go out to the Eastern Iowa Airport, blossoming from a private airport to regional jets, and now big dogs like the Airbus A320 land there on the regular, flown by Delta, United, and American Airlines.

Eastern Iowa Airport continues to expand and offer more flights, and I'm sure we'll see more milestones soon.

If you're near the airport or elsewhere in the Corridor, here are some places to grab a seat and get some good eats:

Your Guide to Delicious Brunch/Breakfast in the Corridor

When it comes to breakfast and brunch, there are a TON of options here in the Corridor! Iowans on the Cedar Rapids Area Support Local Group Facebook page have plenty of recommendations for great breakfast/brunch spots near Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Here are some of the suggestions:

Gallery Credit: Courtlin

Palisades-Kepler State Park December 30, 2024

Early Morning hours just after sunrise at Palisades-Kepler State Park, I saw a few friendly faces.

Gallery Credit: Sloppy Joe

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