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The candidate for Lieutenant Governor in Minnesota got a quick lesson in ethanol politics this week when she failed what she called a “college quiz bowl” question about E85.

When a reporter asked Democratic candidate Judi Dutcher a question about the fuel blend, she answered, “It’s like you’ve asked me the college quiz bowl question. What is E-85?”

Minnesota is one of the nation’s largest ethanol producing states and has over 300 E-85 pumps, more than any other state in the country. So, Dutcher’s lack of knowledge about the fuel has become a big issue in the Minnesota governor’s race between GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Democrat Mike Hatch.

Read the AP report here.

Texas-based White Energy Holding Company, LLC has acquired a 100-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant, located in Plainview, Texas.

According to a company release, the plant will be a “near twin” of White Energy’s other ethanol facility under construction in Hereford, Texas. The Plainview facility is fully permitted and construction is underway, with completion targeted for early 2008. White Energy also owns an operating 45-MGPY plant in Russell, Kansas, which, when combined with output of the two Texas plants, will bring White Energy’s total production capacity to 245 MGPY.

Mid-Missouri Energy, a farmer-owned ethanol plant, is the topic of a New York Times article on local plant investors resisting the lure of big money.

According to the story, the farmer-investors in the small town of Malta Bend, Mo are being courted by “offers — some as high as $275 million” to buy the plant which opened in 2005.

So far, however, the plant owners have said no. To them — and to many other farmers who have invested in ethanol around the country — the ethanol plants represent more than a winning lottery ticket. Instead, they signify an emotional investment in the future of their farms and communities, a chance for greater independence and a sense of pride that they are helping make America less dependent on foreign oil.

The article talks about one potential investor who visited the plant claiming to “represent a pool of $11 billion aimed at ethanol investments, and outlined a bid of about $275 million.”

“He didn’t really know what ethanol was,” said Ryland Utlaut, a veteran of 40 years of corn farming who is the president of Mid-Missouri’s board. “That bothers me. We built this plant.”

The full story from the NY Times requires registration to view but it is an interesting look at what this investment in America’s domestic fuel future really means to the farmers who are making it happen.

A business conditions report for midwestern states indicates that economic growth has slowed overall, but ethanol is helping to fuel growth in at least one of the states.

In a monthly survey of supply managers in nine states, Creighton University’s Economic Forecasting Group found that Nebraska’s leading economic indicator, the Business Conditions Index, increased slightly for October. According to Creighton University Economics Professor Ernie Goss, “Aided by the construction of ethanol plants and ethanol production, non-urban areas of Nebraska continue to grow. Growth will be healthy into the first quarter of 2007 as high agricultural commodity prices assist rural communities that received adequate rainfall. In the urban areas, the transportation sector was a driver of October growth.”

States included in the survey are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Read more here.

Consumers can find out the latest prices for E85 all over the country with the click of a mouse at E85prices.com.

According to the website, the price of E85 fell significantly last month and the spread between unleaded and E85 has now widened to about 40 cents per gallon in many areas.

The price of E85 is below $2.00 a gallon in 7 States – Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska.

The lowest price for E85 in the nation was reported in Perryville, Missouri at $1.61 a gallon.

Texas-based Panda Energy has announced plans to build another 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant powered by manure.

According to the company, the latest plant will be located near the city of Muleshoe in Bailey County, Texas.

The Muleshoe facility will generate the steam used in the ethanol manufacturing process by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year. Once complete, it will be one of the most fuel efficient ethanol refineries in the nation and equal in size to Panda’s Hereford facility, currently under construction, which will be the largest biomass-fueled ethanol plant in the United States.

The Muleshoe facility is the sixth 100 million gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the fourth to be powered by cattle manure.

Last week, Panda announced that it intends to build a 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Lincoln County, Nebraska which will be fueled with the more traditional natural gas instead of biomass.