Iowa's 'Summer of E85' Begins

DES MOINES, Iowa, June 20, 2007; As the summer driving season in Iowa begins in earnest, statewide events to promote and expand the use of E85, a cleaner-burning alternative fuel that can be used by select (known as flex fuel) vehicles have shifted into high gear.

On June 21, Iowa Governor Chet Culver and Lt. Governor Patty Judge will address a workshop at Wallace Auditorium in Des Moines for 100 managers and directors of state-owned vehicle fleets. The workshop's title, "E85: Kicking the Oil Addiction," makes reference to the President's 2006 State of the Nation proclamation that "America is addicted to oil." The workshop was developed for the Iowa state agencies by the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest, on behalf of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Energy Policy Act Program.

Seventeen of Iowa's 63 E85 outlets will offer special prices on E85 on the first day of summer. The Kum and Go chain will offer E85 at $1.85 per gallon at the following stores from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 21:

  -- 2801 E. 13th, Ames
  -- 1920 White Birch, Ankeny
  -- 2905 4th Avenue South, Clear Lake
  -- 822 1st Avenue, Coralville
  -- 715 Lang Creek Avenue, Grinnell (discount price available 9 to 5:30
     p.m.)
  -- 6130 N.W. 86th Street, Johnston
  -- 2091 E. Main, Lamoni
  -- 141 S. Jordan Creek Parkway, West Des Moines

An additional group of Iowa stations will sell E85 at 85 cents below their usual posted price from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 21:

  -- Lakeside Ampride, 4040 S. Expressway, Council Bluffs
  -- Big 10 Mart, 2100 JFK Road, Dubuque
  -- Price Oil Company, 302 5th Street, Durant
  -- Houseman Oil Company, 102 Central Ave., Estherville
  -- Star Energy, 105 Garfield Ave., Farnhamville
  -- Star Energy, 2 North 27th St., Fort Dodge
  -- County Line Mart, 609 E. Broadway, Keota
  -- Casey's General Store, Highway 141, Mapleton
  -- Star Energy, 1207 Main St., Roelyn

The week's wave of E85 events concludes with the unveiling of the Iowa Farm Bureau's "Renewable Energy Chopper" at the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton on June 24.