Letter: Minnesota LGA is cut while ethanol awaits subsidy checks

Talk about it

As local units of state government reduce services for citizens truly in need, state lawmakers on Aug. 17 will deliver promised ethanol subsidy checks to Minnesota’s most successful ethanol plants. In fact, six of the plants will likely use their $4.5 million of the more than $8.2 million in August subsidy payments to help purchase the never-opened 100 million gallon ethanol plant in Janesville.

So, as a citizens’ lobbyist working for the average citizen in Minnesota at www.congressionalchange.com, I ask the Minnesota press to forward my information onto the general public — to those who actually pay the bills of our incompetent Legislature and governor. The underlined plants listed in the publication Energy Current:

The six Minnesota farmer-owned ethanol companies that will own the Janesville plant are Al-Corn in Claremont, Corn Plus in Winnebago, Heartland Corn in Winthrop, Minnesota Energy in Buffalo Lake, Chippewa Valley in Benson and Central Minnesota Ethanol in Little Falls. There are also three out-of-state owners from Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri.

The following are receiving August ethanol subsidy payments: Agra Resources, Albert Lea, $933,884.51; Agri-Energy, Luverne, $933,884.50; Al-Corn, Claremont, $781,850.55; Central Minnesota Ethanol, Little Falls, $933,884.50; Chippewa Valley, Benson, $728,730.30; Corn Plus, Winnebago, $490,336.54; Ethanol 2000, Bingham Lake, $933,884.50; Heartland Corn, Winthrop, $621,472.43; Minnesota Energy, Buffalo Lake, $918,689.27; Pro-Corn, Preston, $933,884.50. Total: $8,210,501,60.

Tags: opinion, letters, lga, ethanol