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It's the first time the price of gasoline in southeast Minnesota has dipped below this magical mark since earlier this spring.

I usually pass two different convenience stores on my way into downtown Rochester every morning, and I spied a big difference on one of the signs advertising the price of gasoline early Tuesday morning.

The price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was... (dramatic pause)... below $3 a gallon! Now, granted, at the Sinclair Station on 6th Street SW, it was only a PENNY below $3 a gallon, but still, at least prices appear to be heading in the right direction, instead of rising as they've been doing recently.

The price at 8 am 8/24/21 at the Sinclair station on 6th St SW. (CSJ/TSM-Rochester)
The price at 8 am 8/24/21 at the Sinclair station on 6th St SW. (CSJ/TSM-Rochester)
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Curious if this $2.99 price was just an anomaly or if it represented a trend of falling gas prices, I did a little research. First, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, I found that prices haven't been this 'low' (not that $2.99 a gallon is 'low,' mind you) in our neck of the woods since late May of this year.

And, that price wasn't just unique to the Sinclair station I saw Tuesday morning, either. GasBuddy.com says gas prices across southeast Minnesota are generally running from between $2.99 and $3.09 a gallon right now in our neck of the woods. (Which is down from the $3.14 a gallon some stations were charging just last week.)

And, according to the AAA story, prices could KEEP going down, as well. It says that crude oil prices are falling across the globe-- which should translate into lower prices at the pump here in Minnesota. Jeanette McGee of AAA explained more:

Crude oil prices saw not only a dramatic drop on the week, but the price per barrel is at the cheapest in three months. If this downward trend continues and less expensive prices are sustained, Americans can expect to see relief at the pump in the near future.

So what's the main reason behind the falling prices? The story noted it's because of weakening demand for oil, due to increasing cases of COVID-19.

Now while no one wants to see coronavirus cases continue to rise, at least the price of gas isn't rising right now too. Speaking of gas prices, wouldn't it be nice if we could go back and pay what we paid for gas when we first started driving? Remember how CHEAP it was then? Keep scrolling to see the price of gas the year you first got your driver's license!

Listen to Curt St. John mornings from 6 to 10 on Quick Country 96.5
and afternoons from 2 to 6 on 103.9 The Doc

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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