STATE LEGISLATURE HOLDS SUMMER RECESS HEARING ON DEFENSE INDUSTRY

August 10, 2005 - St. Paul, MN: The unusually warm Minnesota summer didn’t stop the state legislature from holding a recess hearing on defense industry issues. The hearing was called by the Technology, Bioscience and Medical Products Division of the Commerce Committee following interest sparked by the Defense Alliance’s Governor’s Roundtable in January.

The committee invited several Minnesota small businesses and researchers to talk about emerging technology that is directly contributing to the defense and homeland security effort. The committee’s Chair, Rep. Paul Kohls (R-34A), was also interested in learning what they could do as lawmakers to further grow that effort.

"I am impressed with your technology, and most of all with your candidness," said Rep. Paul Kohls, referring to the testimony of Third Wave Systems’ President Kerry Marusich. Third Wave Systems provides modeling software and services to the defense, aerospace and automotive industries. During his testimony, Marusich outlined four areas where the state could do more, especially for high-tech start ups, including: lower business taxes to make the state more competitive; and collaboration within the university system to target defense and high-tech R&D, and to ensure engineers become good businessmen and vice-versa.

Also providing testimony and presentations were Hysitron (see related story), three bio-defense-related small Minnesota firms—ANDX, Biothera and Isurtec—and Shaun Kennedy, Associate Director of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense.
In addition to Rep. Kohls, the 90-minute hearing at the state’s Capitol Office Building was attended by 7 other state representatives of the bipartisan committee including Rep. Tim Wilkin (R-38A) and Rep. Barb Goodwin (D-50A), and about 20 others from various organizations.

DEFENSE R&D TOUR: Following the testimony, the group went by bus to tour Minnesota Wire and Cable Co. which has won numerous federal research grants from the Department of Defense and is re-investing the resulting R&D expertise into its core medical business. The Defense Alliance, founded at Minnesota Wire, also gave a briefing to the state legislators regarding the state of Minnesota’s defense industry, and urged legislation in several areas (see adjacent).

The final stop on the half-day event was at the new University Enterprise Lab (UEL), a high-tech bioscience incubator in St. Paul that is leveraging resources through numerous public-private partnerships. CEO Peter Bianco led a tour to highlight the facility’s impressive architecture that encourages collaboration among the tenants, and the full-range of wet-lab facilities.