LITTLE ROCK NOTEBOOK: Airport submits grant application | Santa at the zoo

GloWild at Zoo ready for Santa

Attendees at the Little Rock Zoo's GloWild events will be able to meet Santa at the zoo's Cafe Africa today from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and again on Dec. 4, Dec. 11 and Dec. 18.

"Starting at 5:30 p.m., Santa will listen to your holiday wishes and take pictures with you," a recent zoo newsletter said. "Your family can get those family holiday photos done early!"

Admission to GloWild, an exhibit of illuminated lanterns, costs $20 for individuals age 3 and older, with a discounted rate of $17 for zoo members.

Airport applying for federal grant

Officials at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field have submitted an application for grant funding during fiscal year 2023 made available as a result of the bipartisan infrastructure law approved last year.

A total of $5 billion is expected to be disbursed through the law's Airport Terminals Program, and the first $1 billion has already been awarded, according to the website of the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to a report from the airport's Executive Director Bryan Malinowski prepared for last week's Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission meeting, airport officials hope to use the money to construct a central utility plant that would support future terminal expansion.

Malinowski included a copy of an Oct. 28 letter of support for the airport's application addressed to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg that was signed by U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton as well as U.S. Rep. French Hill of Arkansas' 2nd Congressional District.

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