One of the major economic forces in Covington and Newton County is also one of the best- kept secrets in the county.

Most locals don’t realize it, but the Covington Municipal Airport is one of the major reasons we have attracted and kept major industries to this community and surrounding counties.

The airport up until this week has been under the operation of a private operator. The good news is that the city of Covington has taken over the management of the airport.

The city has kept on Rusty Anglin, the current airport manager. We think this is a good move by the city. By all accounts, he has done a good job of operating the airport under difficult circumstances.

As we come out of this economic downturn and begin aggressively seeking industry to locate in the city and county, it is important that we have an airport that is first class.

We feel we are now on the way to having that happen.