“We have not shortchanged students,” according to Gutknecht, who also said that college tuition is rising at unreasonable rates. “At some point we have to start putting pressure on our universities. ... We have allowed the educational establishment to basically charge what they want.”

Walz said education spending is a crucial investment that pays dramatic dividends whether it’s pre-school programs or higher education.

“We’re making it harder for our children to get an education in a world where they need it more than ever,” he said.

Discussions about illegal immigration and taxes quickly transformed into an argument about campaign ads that have focused on those issues. Walz complained in particular about a Gutknecht ad that accuses him of supporting amnesty for illegal aliens.

He said he has clearly stated that he opposes amnesty and guaranteed that Gutknecht could not provide any evidence that he supports it.

Walz’ support for repealing tax cuts for wealthier Americans is on record on a questionnaire he answered for Project VoteSmart, a bipartisan group that attempts to get candidates to answer tough questions about federal policy. Gutknecht refused to answer the questionnaire and then used Walz’ answers in attack ads.

Walz read a strong condemnation of the ad by Project VoteSmart, which includes top Republicans such as Newt Gingrich and John McCain. Gutknecht said he’s at a disadvantage because he has a voting record for Walz to attack, and he reminded the audience that the basic fact is true.

“You said you’d repeal the tax cuts,” he said.

The pair didn’t offer any solutions for southern Minnesotans concerned about the proposed Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad expansion. Gutknecht said he knew it would be controversial as soon as the DM&E announced it wanted to bring dozens of high-speed coal trains through Mankato, Rochester and other parts of the district. But he said worse than the coal train project would be the DM&E failing to survive.

“In the end, we need good transportation and we need good railroads,” he said.

Walz said Gutknecht and others in Congress failed the district by allowing a former DM&E lobbyist to insert a $2.5 billion federal loan provision for the project into a transportation bill last year.

“My opponent, by his own admission, did not even read what was coming through here,” Walz said.