Ethanol labels will stay on the pump

The Des Moines Register - An idea to let retailers remove the gasoline pump labels that identify which gas contains ethanol has sputtered and died.

The proposal triggered a flurry complaints that lawmakers wanted to trick gasoline buyers who might otherwise avoid ethanol.

The president of the Iowa Senate, Sen. Jack Kibbie, a grain farmer from Emmetsburg, said that’s not true at all. He figured the contents of the gas mattered less than the price, and that removing the labels might prompt motorists to choose the cheaper ethanol fuel.

Kibbie, a Democrat, was a little surprised by the negative reaction.