La Crosse County Board of Supervisors heard a detailed presentation Jan. 14 from La Crosse Regional Airport Director Jeff Tripp on a proposed minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) intended to attract and stabilize new airline service.

Tripp told supervisors the airport is pursuing a combined target of roughly $1,500,000: up to $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Small Community Air Service Development Program grant and about $750,000 in local and airport contributions, including marketing-budget cash and waived fees. "The MRG is a valuable tool to help stimulate air service development," Tripp said, describing it as a means to "mitigate some of the risk for the airlines" during the first two years of a new route.

Why it matters: the airport lost substantial ridership after 2019 and now competes with larger hubs — in particular Minneapolis — for outbound passengers who currently drive to other airports. Tripp said La Crosse served about 95,000 outbound passengers in 2019 but is at roughly 38,000 with single-airline service now. The county’s participation would be part of a mixed local, city and private match alongside the airport’s incentive program.

How the MRG would work: Tripp said the federal grant would be used first and local funds would be drawn only as necessary to cover verified shortfalls in ticket revenue during an airline’s initial operations. The fund is not meant to be a full subsidy; instead it would compensate only some percentage of documented monthly shortfalls during a negotiated contract period. "So say they’re short 25%, we’ll take a look at what that dollar amount is, and then the fund will compensate that," Tripp said. He and airport staff said the guarantees generally cover up to two years and any remaining funds would be prorated back to donors after that period.

Proposed funding breakdown and constraints: Tripp described a likely mix that includes a $240,000 airport marketing contribution, potential local cash matches, and roughly $258,000 in in‑kind waivers (landing fees and terminal rents) to reach the roughly $1,500,000 goal if the federal match is awarded. He also emphasized FAA restrictions: airport-generated revenues have limits on how they can be used for incentives and marketing, and direct revenue diversion or general tourism marketing is restricted by FAA policy.

Routes and carriers under discussion: Tripp said the airport is pursuing reestablishing Delta service to Minneapolis and is discussing possible service to Denver on United, Dallas–Fort Worth on American, or seasonal leisure service (Florida, Phoenix, Las Vegas) with low-cost carriers. He said Delta mainline has indicated it is not likely to reintroduce certain service in the near term and that regional partners face aircraft configuration and staffing constraints that affect which markets they can serve.

Supervisors’ questions and staff clarifications: Supervisors asked whether existing carriers such as American Airlines would view new entrants as harmful. Tripp replied that incentive programs are common nationwide and that legacy carriers are used to competitors entering markets with incentive packages. Supervisors also asked about monitoring frequency; Tripp said the airport expects to review revenue reports monthly but that contract terms would be negotiated and could include averaging over longer periods to account for short-term volatility. On how often funds are actually drawn, he said some airports exhaust MRGs quickly while others never draw on them — outcomes are market-dependent.

Local commitments and next steps: Tripp said the county would not be asked to pay money upfront; rather, the airport and its partners would request funding if the federal grant is awarded and only if the airline’s verified shortfalls require payment. The airport and a regional Air Service Working Group are lining up potential local contributors, business partners and the city. If the federal grant is not secured, Tripp said the airport would re-evaluate scale and potential local matches rather than proceed at the $1.5 million target by default.

Concerns and uncertainties: multiple supervisors flagged uncertainty around airline business decisions, the possibility of airlines entering a market, using subsidy funds, and then withdrawing. "Airlines enter and exit markets on a regular basis," Tripp said, adding the MRG is an insurance‑style tool, not a guarantee of permanent service. He also noted dependencies on broader industry factors (aircraft deliveries, pilot staffing, airline network strategy) outside the county’s control.

Where this goes from here: the airport is finishing its on-call consultant selection, plans to apply for the DOT grant once a consultant is on board, and will return to the county with specifics on any formal request for local funding and contractual terms. Tripp asked supervisors to consider letters of support as part of the grant application process.

Ending: The board asked staff follow-up questions and discussed possible review cadence and local match sources. No formal county funding decision was made at the meeting; Tripp said the airport will return with more detailed proposals if the DOT grant opportunity and airline negotiations warrant it.