All the ethanol and biodiesel that gets pumped into fuel tanks across Iowa has to meet state standards, and the place where those biofuels are tested against the standards is in Fort Dodge.

The biofuels lab at Iowa Central Community College is more than a teaching facility. It is the official analytical laboratory for the state’s Bureau of Weights and Measures.The lab was started in about 2007. A bipartisan effort by federal and state legislators secured the money to get it started. The key players were former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat; former U.S. Rep. Tom Latham, a Republican; former state Sen. Daryl Beall, D-Fort Dodge; and former state Rep. Helen Miller, D-Fort Dodge.

The lab is located in the Bioscience and Health Sciences Building on the Fort Dodge campus. Because of the high demand for the services it provides, the lab has outgrown its space there. Bigger facilities are needed.

Thanks to a pair of real estate donations, a new biofuels lab will be built along the U.S. Highway 169 corridor in Fort Dodge, not far from the Iowa Central campus.

The first donation occurred in 2011. That’s when Tom and Phyllis Cairney donated the site of the old Colonial Inn along A Street West to the college.

The second donation was finalized at the end of March. That’s when Casey’s General Stores donated the site of its now closed store on A Street West to the college. That site is immediately south of the Colonial Inn property.

The Cairneys and Casey’s General Stores did something notable and noble with these donations. They willingly gave away valuable property on a bustling commercial strip. They could have sold those properties for a nice profit.

Cynics will say that the family and the company will get a tax writeoff for the donations. Perhaps they will. We don’t think it’s wrong to give a tax break to those who donate land to a community college for a project that will benefit everyone who owns or drives a vehicle in this state.

We thank Tom and Phyllis Cairney and Casey’s General Stores for their donations which are making the new biofuels lab possible.