Everyone knew nothing was going to be held sacred when Gov. Tim Pawlenty started proposing ways to slash the state’s budget to fill a gap that may exceed $5 billion before it’s all done. So it should not have been too much of a surprise Tuesday when Pawlenty, as part of his plan to fix a smaller deficit for fiscal year 2003, had cuts in the state’s ethanol subsidy on his wish list.

But this is one area where, despite the need to save money, the legislature should not give the governor his way. Minnesota’s ethanol industry has come a long way, thanks in large part to state support, and pulling the plug on the subsidies now would be devastating.

The subsidy does a lot of good for the state, and rural communities in particular. Ethanol plants help local economies by creating jobs and new markets for farmers, and as more states require ethanol as an additive in gasoline, the demand for ethanol will only increase. Minnesota is now well positioned to take advantage of that, and it would be a shame to see plants close and have the opportunity slip away after so much progress has been made.

The strange thing is that Pawlenty has repeatedly talked about helping rural economies compete and has emphasized encouraging business growth as a way to help it happen. Ethanol plants should be an example of what he wants to do for rural Minnesota, not something he wants to cut.

Tribune editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s management and editorial staff.