Pain in the Gas

With gas prices soaring just in time for those Memorial Day road trips, Minnesota leapt into action Friday, fining two operators over prices at the pump. Time for budget-conscious Minnesotans to rejoice? Hardly: The state fined Murphy Oil and Kwik Trip for charging too little. A 2001 state law designed to protect independent operators decrees that anyone selling gasoline must make a minimum profit on the transaction. A Kwik Trip manager complained about the state commerce department's action. "It doesn't feel good," he said. "We try to give a little break to the consumers, and we're the ones getting fined for it?"
-- Lewis Wallace