Gomers -- What's going wrong

LOCK YOUR CAR: Stolen car reports continue to increase in Cedar Rapids. So far this year, 144 vehicles have been reported stolen. That's up 12 over the same period last year and up 42 compared to 2011. The theft rate here is still much lower than nationally, and Cedar Rapids has recovered 87 percent of swiped vehicles, compared to a national average of 57 percent. Still, the trend is troubling.

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OCTANE FALLOUT: Unleaded regular gasoline, the 87 octane that is the most popular option to ethanol-blended fuels in Iowa, won't be available to many retailers starting this fall. Magellan Midstream Partners, which operates Iowa's largest pipeline system, announced that it will instead ship 84 octane unleaded as well as more expensive 91 octane premium. The 84 octane is not legal in Iowa and if retailers want to offer 87 octane, they'll have to blend the 84 and 91 but that could add 30 to 40 cents per gallon at the pump. Also, because retailers mix regular unleaded with ethanol to create the E10 mixture most drivers now buy, the octane of E10 would drop from 89 to 87. One positive, at least for the ethanol industry, is that retailers might be more likely to offer E-15 blends to push up the octane level.

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