DES MOINES — Iowa is an energy-hungry farming state, where long-distance drives between far-flung cities are a way of life. Here, people watch the price of gasoline at places like the QT service station nearly as closely as the weather forecast during planting season.
These days, they don't like what they see.
And with just over a month until the Iowa caucuses, that could have ramifications for the out-of-towners trying to win their support in the presidential race.
"It's outrageous," said a fuming Kevin Burkett one recent day as he put $20 of gas into his car's tank.
In Iowa, the first major battleground for the presidential contenders, gas prices average $3 a gallon -- up from $2.16 a year ago. The cost has eased somewhat over the last six months and is far less than the $3.40-to-$3.50 a gallon that many Southern Californians have paid lately for self-service regular.
Yet, to Iowans like Burkett, 49, a maintenance worker, it seems that the price at the pump "always goes up by a quarter but it only comes down by a dime."
Higher prices, particularly over the long run, can cut more than one way here. The state is the nation's leading producer of ethanol, an alternative to gasoline made from corn, and lots of motorists here drive on E85, an ethanol-gasoline blend.
Still, the same farmers who have benefited from record-high corn prices are seeing their profits trimmed by the increased cost of gasoline and other products tied to oil -- and no one likes spending more to fill up. That figures to raise the anxieties of many voters as the Jan. 3 caucuses approach.
The concerns were evident on a recent afternoon at the QT gas station in downtown Des Moines, where throughout the day vehicles jostle for spaces at the pumps. Inside the station, people can choose between egg rolls and corn dogs on the grill as well as 24 flavors of soft drinks at the soda fountain. Amid a constant stream of customers, the attendant greeted many by name.
Linda Shepley, who pulled into the station to fuel her black Suburban, said she had tried to reduce her driving as gas prices had climbed. The co-owner of Ritual Cafe, a Des Moines coffee shop, said she rode her 10-speed bike whenever she could to save money.
Energy policy "could probably make or break a candidate for me," said Shepley, 44, a Democrat who has yet to decide on her choice for president.
