County unveils new pilot’s lounge at airport

A sparkling new facility at the North Big Horn County Airport north of Cowley was dedicated last Wednesday, July 2, in a ceremony that featured state and local officials and a ribbon cutting.

The new airport pilot’s lounge was product of the bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress during the Biden Administration and was constructed with federal, state and local money, Big Horn County Airports Manager Paul Thur said in opening remarks Wednesday, noting that the airport hasn’t had a project of this magnitude in decades.

“This is a big deal for the area,” county commissioner Bruce Jolley said. “In the old one, a man raised chickens there. This wasn’t even thought of years ago but is a milestone for us.”

“It was needed,” county airport board chairman Charlie Cooley said, noting that the facility will encourage more growth at the airport.”

Project manager Carson Rowley of the engineering firm Adurra of Cody, the county’s engineering consultant for airport work, said the IIJA funding came to Big Horn County in 2021, and the money provided for the north and south airports was pooled for the project in Cowley.

“When that windfall happened, it was decided that Cowley needed a lounge sooner than Greybull,” Thur said in a follow-up interview. “The airport board gave it the highest priority, and the county commissioners