Nichols Airport

No official reason for the closure is documented. However, as a small, privately-owned turf airstrip, the most probable cause was a personal decision by the owner, Robert Nichols. Common reasons for such closures include the owner's retirement or death, the sale of the property, or the rising cost and effort of maintenance becoming prohibitive for a private individual.

The airport site has been completely decommissioned and fully converted back to agricultural use. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows the land is now an active farm field, typically planted with crops like corn or soybeans. While the faint outline of the former northwest/southeast runway is still slightly visible due to differences in soil compaction, no airport infrastructure, such as hangars, markers, or buildings, remains.

Nichols Airport (also known as Nichols Field) was a small, private general aviation airfield. Its ICAO code, US-11366, is a non-standard identifier used by some aviation databases, not an official ICAO code. The airport first appeared on aeronautical charts in 1970. It served local aviation needs, likely for recreational flying and possibly agricultural operations. When active, it featured a single turf runway (13/31) approximately 2,600 feet in length. Its significance was primarily to its owner and the local aviation community it served, rather than being a major commercial or military hub.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening Nichols Airport. The land is privately owned and has been successfully reclaimed for farming for several decades. The aviation needs of the region are adequately served by other nearby public-use airports, such as Waterloo Regional Airport (KALO) and Vinton Veterans Memorial Airpark (KVTI).