Gas prices could go up after Israeli attack on Iran
The price of crude oil rose overnight on the news of the attack by Israel into Iran, and that could mean a jump in gas prices.
Triple-A Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says oil prices had already started trending up in the last couple of days, and the price of gas will likely go up in a day or two.
Ortner says the jump up in oil is something we haven’t seen in a while.
Ortner says we are getting into the summer travel season where there is always a little increase in gas prices with increased demand. He says Iran is part of the group of oil exporting countries, and that is why there is some reaction.
Gas prices in Iowa were below the three dollar mark before the Iran attack.
EPA proposes higher RFS mandate in 2026, 2027
The Environmental Protection Agency is recommending a Renewable Fuels Standard for 2026 that would be a record amount — 24 billion gallons of biofuels produced for blending with petroleum based fuels. Iowa Renewable Fuels Association executive director Monte Shaw says it would continue corn-based ethanol production at 15 billion gallons next year — along with a big increase in renewable diesel and biomass-based diesel.
Soybean-based biodiesel is produced in Iowa. Renewable diesel is generally made by the petroleum industry. The public can now weigh in on the E-P-A’s recommended production levels for renewable fuels.
Shaw says that’s because the final rule for biofuels production has been adjusted in the past based on public reaction. The Trump Administration’s proposal includes some provisions to limit biofuels imports. Iowa is the nation’s top producer of ethanol and biodiesel.
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says the E-P-A’s announcement sends a welcome and optimistic growth signal to an important industry.
May Home Sales Up in Iowa
There was a double digit jump in Iowa home sales in May and the median sales price was five percent higher than in April.
Over 34-hundred Iowa homes were sold in May. That’s 14 fewer than in May of last year, but it’s nearly 20 percent more than were sold in April. The president of the Iowa Association of Realtors says sales data shows promising momentum in Iowa’s housing market, with both growing seller confidence and sustained buyer demand. There was a nearly nine percent increase in the number of single family homes listed for sale last month compared to May of 2024. The median sales price for an Iowa home in May was 252-thousand.
Juneteenth celebrations start this weekend in eastern Iowa
The African American Museum of Iowa is hosting its annual Juneteenth Festival in Cedar Rapids today. Jacqueline Hunter, the museum’s executive director, says it’s an event designed around remembrance and celebration
Juneteenth is an annual, nationwide celebration of the freeing of the last slaves in the United States on June 19th, 1865, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation at last reached Confederate Galveston, Texas. While that’s part of history, Hunter says current events keep related issues in the forefront.
The festival will include live music and performances, food and merchandise vendors, a talent show, lawn games, and a homemade sweet potato pie contest. The facility will also host a screening of the documentary “Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom” next Thursday, on June 19th.
The museum’s Juneteenth Festival is today at Cedar Rapids’ NewBo City Market from 11-to-5 PM.
