Tim Walz didn’t come to Minnesota State University Friday to hear them ask for more help getting federal money. Instead, he came to check out the progress of money already given.

The 1st District congressman from Mankato helped MSU get $493,000 to build a new auto emissions testing lab on campus. While that lab may not be built yet, the type of work that helped MSU get that money is going on.

The first-term Democrat also is requesting an additional $1.5 million to help MSU continue its research into biofuels.

Friday gave him a chance to tour MSU’s facilities and to talk with the university officials who oversee the work and research.

“It’s all part of that accountability piece,” Walz said after touring MSU’s Minnesota Center for Applied Biofuel Research.

Additional funding, Walz said, will allow the center to operate as an applied research consortium of business and industry partners, entrepreneurial leaders and college and university faculty.

Research into biofuels is a necessary part of a two-pronged approach to energy use, Walz said. One part is finding efficient ways to gradually wean America off its dependence on fossil fuels. The other is to encourage research into biofuels and to financially support places such as MSU where the ground-breaking work is being done.

MSU President Richard Davenport, in a statement issue Friday, said “Funding for renewable energy and emissions research at universities such as MSU is critical to the future of reducing global warming and to providing alternative fuels.”

During the tour of MSU’s auto labs, Walz was able to check out the Toyota Prius that has been retrofitted to run on ethanol. He also got the chance to ride one of MSU’s two all-electric cars.

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