If anyone assumes that because there have not been any recent editorials on the subject, that we quit paying attention to the price of gas in Marquette, rest assured that we have not. We continue to closely monitor the price of gas in our area and we are happy to report that during the past year, local gas stations have stayed competitive with other cities in our area.

For many years, it was a well-known fact that Marquette was paying 10 cents to 25 cents more per gallon for gas than Escanaba, Iron Mountain and Houghton. Over the last year, we have been tracking prices and Marquette has remained competitive, not only with our sister cities, but we are also more competitive with other states.

For years when heading toward Green Bay, motorists would see gas in that area was 10 cents to 25 cents less per gallon than Marquette. The price of gas in Marquette is currently at a similar price per gallon to Green Bay.

We admit that we were outspoken in complaining about the high price of gas in Marquette for years. We now are pleased to congratulate station owners in Marquette for keeping gas prices more competitive.

When AAA’s weekly report often noted that the Marquette area had the highest price for gas in the state of Michigan, we were concerned that it was hurting the tourism business in the area.

We have actually seen in recent months that the Marquette area was listed on the AAA report as having among the lowest gas prices in the state.

When the announcement was made years ago about the possibility of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community opening a gas station in the area, we supported it because we felt it would help keep gas prices lower in the market. We never did agree with the fact the tribe would receive unfair tax breaks that would make it hard for existing gas stations to compete.

We feel because of the track record over the last couple of years of local station owners remaining competitive with prices that customers will continue to do business with established stations. We realize that if the KBIC station opens and does not have to pay state gas taxes that it will be hard for local stations to compete with the price of gas that the KBIC is able to offer. We do feel that people in the community will be more receptive to supporting their local gas station now than they would have two years ago when local gas prices were not as competitive as they are now.

We will continue to keep an eye on gas prices locally. We hope future reports are as positive as this one, that local owners are keeping gas prices competitive in our area.

Absolutely no one is happy when gas prices fluctuate 10 cents to 25 cents a gallon from day to day without us knowing what is causing the change.

We realize we have to accept some of those price spikes when it happens on a national basis. What we are happy with locally is that we are no longer known as the place with the highest gas prices in the state on a consistent basis.

This makes traveling to Marquette or doing business in Marquette much more appealing.