Just a few ticks before the midnight deadline to adjourn Monday, the Minnesota Legislature fulfilled Duluth's $4 million request for funding that could accommodate the expansion of Cirrus Aircraft and the creation of at least another 150 local jobs.

Earlier, the House had moved to appropriate only half of the sum, with the Senate supporting the full request. In response, representatives of Cirrus and the city of Duluth ramped up their campaign to convince members of a conference committee to go with the larger number.

That effort bore fruit in the waning moments of the legislative session, and if Gov. Mark Dayton signs off on the jobs bill, the funding could be released in July.

"In the last 90 seconds of the session, I'll take it," said Bill King, Cirrus' vice president of business and administration, Monday afternoon.

The city of Duluth seeks to construct a $10 million facility for Cirrus with the state funds plus another $6 million in tax-increment financing.

The proposed site for the new 60,000-square-foot building is on city-owned land located southeast of Cirrus' existing Duluth operations, which already employ about 600 people. That number should grow substantially if the Federal Aviation Administration certifies Cirrus' first personal jet, the Vision SF50, potentially opening the door for production to begin by year's end.

King said Cirrus and the city were able to garner broad support for the project. He said it will benefit both the region and the entire state, with a network of 36 suppliers scattered across Minnesota.

"There was not a single legislator we had the honor to work with - not one - who wasn't supportive of the project. I mean who doesn't love the idea of continuing to expand aerospace in the northeast quadrant of the state and generate a bunch of jobs and tax base? Who isn't in favor of that?" King asked.

Daniel Fanning, Duluth's communications director, participated in the lobbying effort and said: "Folks saw value in the project, which was outstanding. And we really want to give credit to the Duluth delegation and Sen. Tomassoni and other folks who saw this not just as a Duluth project but really as a regional project, and that was a big selling point."

Without the requested state support, King said it likely would not have been economically feasible for Cirrus to keep its plane-finishing operations in Duluth.

"There are some things about this particular site that are really challenging," he said, pointing to space constraints and substandard soils as a couple of concerns.

If Cirrus had its druthers, King said the company would keep all production in Duluth.

"Of course, you know how we feel about our employees up here. We've got the best employees in the world, and when it comes to manufacturing, nobody out-manufactures us. That's why we're the envy of the industry," he said.

But Cirrus did explore its options, knowing that its request for state aid might go unanswered.

King noted that a number of aerospace companies finish aircraft at a remote location from where they were first manufactured.

"They'll finish the airplanes to what they call 'green' condition. They'll fly the airplane green to a different facility, paint it and do the completion work at a different facility and then deliver it there," he said.

King said Cirrus would prefer to keep all the production and finish work in Duluth, where it can maintain rigorous quality controls, but if push came to shove financially the company would have needed to look elsewhere.

With its jet moving to market soon, King said Cirrus can scarcely afford any delay.

"Frankly, we haven't got time to waste. We're desperate for this completion center to get finished," he said.