This is the first time fuel prices have dipped below $2 for regular gasoline since a short-lived drop in prices in 30 states in November 2008. Fuel has not averaged below $2 nationwide since March 2005.
According to gasbuddy.com, Iowa’s average is $2.223 per gallon for regular gasoline. The nationwide average is slightly higher at $2.363 and the price of crude oil is $56.92 as of 7 a.m. this morning.
Here is a look back at what was going on in local, state and national news in March 2005 when gas price averages were below $2:
Local
Billy Baudler and Eric Raasch helped lead the Nodaway Valley Wolverines to their first state basketball tournament trip in school history. The team rallied multiple times late in the ball game to advance to the state championship game, finishing second.
The Creston men’s basketball team also made a trip to the state tournament after knocking out Knoxville in the substate game.
Skateboarders in Creston were fundraising to build a skate park at McKinley Lake.
State
Iowa legislators were working to pass a bill to make it harder to get supplies to make meth. The bill, which did pass, put restrictions on the amount of pseudoephedrine an individual could buy at one time.
Nation
Steve Fossett became the first person to fly an airplane around the world solo without any stops. The journey was more than 25,000 miles and took 67 hours and 2 minutes.
Israel officially handed over Jericho for Palestinian control.
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked Fukuoka, Japan. It was the country’s first major earthquake in more than 100 years. One person was killed, hundreds were injured and evacuated.
The Sumatran earthquake rocked Indonesia with a magnitude of 8.7 on the Richter scale. It was the second strongest recorded earthquake since 1960.