Bid to buy the Beechcraft was rigged?

Bret Ludwig wrote:

The company is not being accused of plumping the price as far as I
know, the "beef" is against the state buying officials who decided they
wanted the $750K Bonanza vs. the $350K Cirrus despite the latter
properly fulfilling the stated bid requirements.

How long would the state have had to wait for delivery of a Cirrus vs a
Beechcraft?

The cited article said:

"MnDOT officials said they simply decided to trade in the old plane
rather than add to their fleet."

Which raises the question, did they really pay $700k for the Beechcraft,
or did they pay significantly less after trading in their old Beechcraft
(which Cirrus may or may not have been willing to take in trade)?

The purchase deserves scrutiny, but one should not just assume that a
plastic Cirrus (what's that airframe life limit now?) would be equally
suited for all missions as a six-seater Beechcraft.


--
"You can support the troops but not the president"
--Representative Tom Delay (R-TX), during the Kosovo war.