Just in case you couldn’t figure out how on earth you were going to spend that huge Christmas bonus this year, the issue is on its way to getting solved.
Over night Thursday, local gas prices moved ever closer to the $3 per gallon mark, reaching $2.96, an increase of 10 cents a gallon for those stations that already made the change.
That means there has been an increase of 30 cents per gallon since Labor Day, the traditional end of the busy national driving season.
At $2.96, Great Bend is still not at the head of the pack in Kansas gas prices, according to a state gasoline price Internet site.
The low price posted in the state on Thursday was $2.75 at Wichita, followed by $2.77, Topeka and Wichita; $2.79, Abilene, Pratt, Wichita, and Lawrence; $2.81, Salina $2.82, Hays and Abilene; $2.83, Hutchinson, Manhattan and Salina; $2.85, Emporia, Ellsworth and Hays; $2.86, Hutchinson and Dodge City; $2.87, Lawrence and Hutchinson; and $2.89, Emporia, Abilene and Manhattan.
Communities at or above Great Bend’s new price include: $2.95, Hays and Manhattan; $2.99, Iola, Parsons and Pratt; $3, Chanute, Salina and Russell; $3.07, Junction City; and $3.09, Iola and Parsons.
Some communities are listed more than once because they have a variety of prices at different stations.
The state average price Thursday was $2.88, compared to $2.73 a month ago and $2.44 a year ago.
The national average Thursday was $2.01. A year ago, it was $2.59.
The prices are reported on Kansas Gas Prices, which is operated by Gas Buddy Organization, that was developed as a way for the public to report changes in gas prices around the nation.
The Kansas prices are available at www.kansasgasprices.com