Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. The population was 6,114 at the 2010 census. Take a look below for 20 interesting and amazing facts about Airway Heights, Washington, United States.
1. The city’s name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport.
2. Airway Heights was founded in 1942 and officially incorporated on June 28, 1955.
3. Growth in the City was spurred by the opening of the Airway Heights Corrections Center by the Washington State Department of Corrections in 1992 and the opening of the Northern Quest Resort & Casino by the Kalispel Indian Tribe in 2000.
4. More recently, with the addition of a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, several new apartment buildings and housing developments, the expansion of the Northern Quest Casino, and the opening of the Spokane Tribe Casino, Airway Heights is continuing to grow.
5. Also, the Spokane County Raceway Park is located in Airway Heights, and features major automobile events, including drag racing, stock car racing, and occasional monster truck shows.
6. Airway Heights is located at 47°38′37″N 117°35′11″W (47.643648, -117.586491).
7. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.63 square miles (14.58 km2), all of it land.
8. The community lies in the northeastern corner of the flat Columbia Plateau.
9. While the plateau tends to be flat, the terrain locally is quite rugged as it is part of the Channeled Scablands.
10. The “heights” in the city’s name references its location at a higher elevation than the city center of Spokane.
11. Traveling into Airway Heights along Highway 2, the main road into the city, from Downtown Spokane, one will climb over 500 feet.
12. Highway 2 is the main east-west thoroughfare in the city.
13. It connects Airway Heights with Fairchild to the west and Spokane to the east.
14. Interstate 90 runs just a few miles south of the city.
15. At the 2000 census, there were 4,500 people in 958 households, including 656 families, in the city.
16. Of the 958 households 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 18.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 25.3% of households were one person and 6.2% were one person aged 65 or older.
17. The majority of the city is within the Cheney School District (No. 360).
18. Public transportation is managed by the Spokane Transit Authority. Bus route 61, which serves Airway Heights, begins at the transit authority’s main hub in Downtown Spokane, and extends to Fairchild Air Force Base.
19. Spokane County Raceway is one of the largest racetracks in the Inland Northwest. They have oval track racing, drag racing, and road course racing.
20. In July 2015 Mayor Patrick Rushing was asked to resign by the city council because he called President Barack Obama a “monkey man” and First Lady Michelle Obama a “gorilla” on his Facebook page.