Plans at O’Hare include expansion

Plans at O’Hare include expansion

CHICAGO

Chicago is planning a multibillion dollar effort to expand the city’s O’Hare International Airport that includes more gates, larger terminals and upgraded amenities.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the latest modernization plans earliler this month. They include new gates in O’Hare’s international terminal, which has not been expanded since it opened 23 years ago. The planning process is expected to be finished next year.

The plans call for expanding the airport’s international section, Terminal 5, by 25 percent. The addition of up to nine gates within the terminal will give airlines the ability to offer more flights to more destinations, the mayor’s office said.

The effort also includes redeveloping Terminal 2 into a new central terminal. Amenities within the renovated complex could include a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility and additional space for passenger security screenings, Emanuel said.

Viking ship heads for Chicago

BAY CITY, Mich.

A Norwegian ship described as the largest Viking vessel in the world has departed for Chicago after raising enough money to leave Michigan and continue at least part of a Great Lakes tour.

The unexpected cost of hiring a pilot while in U.S. waters upset the plans of the crew aboard the Draken. The Bay City Times reports the ship left Bay City last week.

The Draken was in Bay City for the recent Tall Ship Celebration.

The U.S. Coast Guard says federal law requires a privately hired pilot on the foreign vessel. The cost is $400 an hour.

The Sons of Norway, a cultural group in Minneapolis, is raising money for the Draken.

Geography quiz

Q. Which country would you be visiting if you were in the Emilia-Romagna region?

A. Italy. The region is located in the north of the country and borders the Adriatic Sea. Bologna is its capital.

Tourism record

DENVER

Colorado has set another tourism record with the 77.7 million people who visited the state last year spending an all-time high of $19.1 billion during their stay.

The Denver Post reports the state Tourism Office said last week last year’s tourists generated more than $1.1 billion in state and local taxes, an increase of almost 7 percent from 2014.

The numbers show the recovery of Colorado’s tourism sector since the recession has nearly doubled that of the national average.

Visitation in the state has increased by 31 percent since 2009, compared to the nation’s 16 percent.

Officials attribute the increased visitation to marketing efforts.

Colorado spent about $19 million on vacation promotion in 2015, an increase of $2 million from the previous year.

Combined dispatches