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likely to be broken in the next couple of days. The average price in the state Friday was $3.98, with some stations charging as much as $4.29.
• Another AAA report shows South Dakota's highest statewide average to be $4.09 per gallon, which was set July 18, 2008. The average price in the state Friday was $3.89.
• "It chills you to the bone," said Chuck Mai, a spokesman for AA South Dakota. "This is the time of year when prices are supposed to be coming down."
• The increases are due primarily to accidents at Midwest oil refineries and the planned temporary closures of two large refineries in Chicago.
• Gene LaDoucer, spokesman for AA North Dakota, said it's a regional issue and should be "a short-term episode."
• Even so, Mai said he's worried about the impact the prices will have on family budgets. He said he spoke to a couple last week that had to choose between traveling to see their ill granddaughter and buying prescription drugs.
• "It's really posing a hardship on a lot of families," Mai said. "You have elderly people on fixed incomes and many families strapped for cash. This is the state of affairs."
• While the Upper Midwest feels the price pressure, the cost is falling in some states. South Carolina reported the lowest average of $3.22 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.
• "Between what we are paying in the Upper Midwest and in the Southeast is 75 cents to $1 difference," LaDoucer said.
• Said Mai, "The one thing I've learned after 26 years of watching gas prices is that I don't know anything. The rule book is being rewritten every day. A new set of factors will influence the price tomorrow that were not in play last week."
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