Nothing appears in the paper again until November 1970 when there was agreement between city officials, Ferris personnel, County officials, and IDC members, to improve the airport, including a 5000 runway, and the Brewer Engineering firm was hired to affect a feasibility study. On March 8, 1972, it was reported that the engineering firm suggested several things, including an East-West runway of 5400 ft, the acquisition of an additional 450 acres, a non-precision approach system, and completion of the project before the development of the US- 131 expressway in order for the project to qualify for the 1974 Development Aid Program. There is no follow-up information whether any part of that proposal was accomplished, as the next and last 3 articles from 1974 only deal with possibilities for commuter flights in and out of a new regional airport built in the area. In the '80s, the “Big Rapids Airport Safety Committee” was established, with Linda Hathaway as Chairperson. This committee presented a 5-year improvement and expansion plan to the City Commission that included construction of a new 5 thousand foot East-West runway in 1988 costing 2.5 million dollars, with the Federal Government picking up 90 to 95% of the total cost. On March 5, 1984, the City submitted a “Roben Hood Airport 1983-2003 Layout Plan Report, and 5 year Capital Improvement Plan to MDOT, Bureau of Aeronautics. In December of 1987, the City started annexing additional property for building the new EIW runway, the runway and many improvements were built between 1988 and 1990.