MASON CITY, IA - Kevin Sprecher is surprised at the prices for propane at his Lake Mills store.
“All LP companies are taking a real big hit."
It's something he's seeing all over Iowa and Minnesota.
"Doesn't make a lot of sense, because the farmers didn't use a lot of LP gas to dry their corn last year and they're not using any this year. But the prices all they did was go up."
He says the business isn't about supply and demand but about speculators saying the economy is bad
Which he agrees, it is. Still that means folks who are tight on cash could be feeling the cold this winter.
“You're talking five or six hundred dollars a month just to heat a home anymore with the high prices."
That's why he recommends folks apply for heating assistance. But the first come first serve program is feeling the economic crunch as well.
Linda Lares with SEMCAC Community Action says, "We will receive funding we're just not sure when or how much."
She tells us both locally, and in Iowa there are funding delays. But they will still be able to help some low income families pay a portion of their winter gas or electric bill.
"We have many, many new families who have never applied before, but folks, that’s an indicator of the economy."
So Lares advises folks to get a head start in signing up. But according to Sprecher the future of propane will be just as cold as the season.
"It doesn't look good for the future, the prices should come down."
