Impact of rising gas prices seen across Minnesota as war in Iran continues
Gas prices have been rising in the weeks since the Iran war started and WCCO has been tracking them since President Trump took office again last year.
We've been checking back with the same gas stations: a Speedway in Mendota Heights, Bobby and Steve's in Minneapolis and a Holiday in Columbia Heights.
In January 2025, the average price at those stations was $2.95. Last May, it was $3.17. In August, it was $3.09. As of this month, the average is $3.54.
Minnesota nonprofit takes a hit from soaring costs
There's a lot of busy hands at Open Arms Minnesota — inside and outside, too.
"We have about 100 volunteers a week who are driving about 5,500 miles a week and so they are doing a lot of driving for us," Open Arms Minnesota CEO Leah Hebert Welles said.
They are delivering made-from-scratch, medically specific meals. Travis Arhart makes deliveries three times a day. He says that, as of late, fueling up has gotten frustrating.
Filling up the delivery truck usually costs about $70, Arthart says, but over the last couple of weeks, it has gone up to over $100.
"A lot of our volunteers are delivery drivers and they go out and take on gas prices on their own," Hebert Welles said. "We ship many of our meals to rural Minnesota. So we just found out last week, actually, that we have received a 5% increase in the price of shipping those meals and that is a direct result of gas prices. We are feeling it, and we want to take that on so our clients don't feel it cause they have life-threatening illnesses, like cancer and heart disease."
Arhart made his daily drop-offs because when there's a will, there's a way.
"We never want to say no to someone who needs us," Hebert Welles said.
Why are gas prices up?
University of St. Thomas economist Tyler Schipper says, amidst the war in Iran, oil prices are up for two major reasons.
"The duration has gotten longer with an unknown end date and lots of attacks on oil infrastructure. The traffic jam, known as the Strait of Hormuz, is only getting worse. This is becoming a real issue, both for oil, but also natural gas and products that come from oil like fertilizer," Schipper said.
He says the current numbers may be the best we will see for a while.
"Certainly, my baseline is we will continue to see gas prices go up, even if the war ended today. Then over the next few days, they could start to stabilize and come down," Schipper said.
Schipper added that one bright point is there will likely not be a gas shortage in the U.S. like in the '70s because the U.S. has a better local oil supply.