On November 11, Minnesota Senator Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville, Chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee and Senator Jeremy Miller, R-Winona visited Winona State University, with one of their stops being the Composites Materials Engineering area within Stark Hall. PlastiCert President and Owner Craig Porter was invited to participate and meet with the Senators to discuss the importance of the Winona State CME program to area industry. The discussion revolved around the “Composites Cluster” (as the MN Department of Employment & Economic Development has dubbed it) that exists in Southeast Minnesota. Examples were given on how industry and Winona State CME collaborate and how an expansion of the program into additional R&D capabilities and offering post graduate opportunities would have and tremendous impact in furthering the composites footprint in SE MN.