Dubuque City Council commits up $2.5 million for air service

The Dubuque City Council voted 6-1 to commit as much as $2.5 million in local tax dollars to subsidize flights at the Dubuque Regional Airport until June 2026, with the hope that local business groups will match up to $750,000 to keep flights to Chicago. Last month, city officials revealed that a contract with Denver Air was renewed in April, binding the city to keep a minimum revenue going through October, even though the federal grant was out of money. The city estimates that keeping the service going for the first six months of 2026 will require an additional subsidy of $1.5 million, althought City Manager Mike Van Milligen hopes the private sector will raise half that. The Council additionally approved $100,000 in tax money for airport advertising and marketing. Council Member Danny Sprank was the sole dissenter. Also Monday, the city announced that effective Nov. 1, Denver Air would be tweaking their flight times to O’Hare, moving flights up from 7:50 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. The new flight is scheduled to arrive at O’Hare at 8:20 a.m. Central Time.