St. Cloud City Council Approves Contract With Skywest [AUDIO]

ST. CLOUD - The St. Cloud city council has approved a two-year contract agreement with Skywest Airlines, as they prepare to start offering daily flights to-and-from Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Airport Director Bill Towle says the agreement allows the airline to use a $750,000 federal grant to help offset any losses in the initial start-up.

Towle says the grant also comes with a local match of $250,000 for a total of $1 million in the account.

The city council has also extended a contract with Forecast Inc. - the company that helped the city lure SkyWest Airlines. They will keep track of advance bookings and price changes for the next six months.  The company will be paid $1,750 a month through the airport's operating budget.

The daily flights will begin on May 6th.