In yet another cross-border economic foray into Minnesota, officials in New Richmond, Wis., are hoping to persuade aircraft owners in the Twin Cities to make their airport a less-expensive home base.

A marketing campaign taking off from the New Richmond Regional Airport, with help from the city's economic development agency, is touting cheaper hangar fees and lower state aircraft registration costs.

"We've got the facilities, we've got the room -- we could use the business," said Mike Demulling, the airport's manager. "We offer a lot of advantages as far as cost savings and logistics."

New Richmond is about 40 miles from St. Paul.

The marketing effort, deploying social media, direct mail and the Internet, is being directed at individual aircraft owners and Twin Cities businesses with airplanes, he said.

It's not aimed at any particular airports, he said. There are six comparable airports to New Richmond's in the Twin Cities that are considered "relievers" for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: St. Paul Downtown, Anoka County/Blaine, Flying Cloud, Airlake, Crystal and Lake Elmo.

St. Croix County remains the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin, and its population is expected to double in the next 25 years. New Richmond has the county's only airport and sees it as an engine for growth.

Demulling downplays the border rivalry.

"New Richmond is part of the Twin Cities metro area; it just happens that we're in Wisconsin. We're all part of the same economy," he said. If a business moves to Wisconsin, the benefits are shared.

At the same time, though, he said Wisconsin offers advantages.

"The way Minnesota has it set up, it really penalizes people who buy expensive aircraft," he said.

The cost to register a new aircraft in Minnesota is 1 percent of the sale price. The fee drops each year for six years until it reaches 25 percent of the original tax or $50, whichever is higher. The cheapest new Cessna single-engine aircraft costs $112,500, which would make the first-year registration $1,125, eventually falling to $281.25.

In Wisconsin, registrations for new aircraft are valid for two years and are based on weight. For smallest planes, those fees range from $60 to $100, with that same Cessna coming in at the low end of the range.

In 2008, Minnesota collected $5 million in aircraft registration fees; Wisconsin collected $591,000.

Demulling said his airport also offers substantially less expensive hangar fees for storing planes.

Members of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which oversees both Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and its six reliever airports, recently toured the New Richmond airport, along with others.

It was a fact-finding benchmark exercise to compare what other airports in the region are doing to serve aircraft owners, said Patrick Hogan, director of public affairs and marketing for the MAC.

New Richmond offers a first-rate airport, and Hogan acknowledged Wisconsin's advantage on registration costs. But airplane owners with an eye on saving transit time might see those savings negated by having to drive an hour to the Twin Cities.

"A lot of people who own aircraft make their decisions based on their airport's proximity to the Twin Cities," Hogan said. "The advantage our airports offer is that they are right here in the metro area."

Current law requires that airports under the MAC umbrella must be within 35 miles of the Twin Cities, Hogan added, so there is no possibility of adding New Richmond to the fold.

Demulling said his airport has undergone a series of improvements over the past 15 years, notably a runway extension in 2007 opening it up to larger aircraft.

"Before that, we were primarily a recreational facility. But we've now transformed ourselves into a business facility," he said. "That's become our primary focus, and that's where we believe we'll have future success."

Jim Anderson • 651-735-0999