Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, left, listens as Dr. Don Heck, director of the Iowa Central Community College Biofuels Testing Lab, explains the purpose of a piece of equipment during a previous visit.

Editor’s note: Progress continues today with a focus on education.

It continues on page 1B.

This afternoon, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig will help formally usher in a new phase for Iowa Central Community College by cutting the ribbon on the new Fuel Testing Laboratory near its Fort Dodge campus.

The event is at the 9,200-square-foot Fuel Testing Lab located west of the campus on

A Street West, off U.S. Highway 169.

The ceremony begins at 3 p.m.

The Fuel Testing Lab initiative dates back to the hiring of Dr. Donald Heck, who arrived at Iowa Central in the summer of 2005 as the program coordinator for a new Biofuels Technology Program, according to Iowa Central.

The Iowa Central Fuel Testing Laboratory began as an offshoot of that.

In the fall of 2006, Heck and the lab were approached to assist in conducting what was eventually called the “Two Million Mile Haul.”

Reynolds said in a congratulatory letter, “As you know, the laboratory grew out of a request of Iowa Central by Don Decker, chairman of Decker Truck Line, to compare the performance of biodiesel and petroleum-based fuel. The study, which became known as the ‘Two Million Mile Haul’ based on the combined mileage traveled by the vehicles involved in the test, shattered several unsupported myths and revealed biodiesel to be every bit the equal of its traditional counterpart.”

The B20 biodiesel field trial with Decker Truck Line, of Fort Dodge, employed Iowa Central instruments and students in the study.

“These efforts attracted the interest of several parties who collectively formed the idea of creating an independent fuel testing laboratory on the campus of Iowa Central,” Iowa Central has said about the Lab.

Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, said in her letter of congratulation today: “The lab delivers support to the biofuels industry with high-quality testing. As part of the lab’s technical capabilities, they also have an accreditation for a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) testing program.

“Given Iowa’s strong agricultural base, advanced biofuel infrastructure and expertise in renewable energy, the state is well-positioned to play a critical role in the growing market for SAF.”