Minnesota now has over 500 stations that offer Unleaded 88, also known as E15 or 15% ethanol-blended fuel, according to the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association.

“Surpassing 500 stations offering Unleaded 88 is a major milestone and signifies that Unleaded 88, a gasoline fuel blend containing 15 percent ethanol, is quickly becoming the ‘new normal’ fuel in Minnesota,” said executive director Brian Werner.

The official total is actually 503, more than any other state in the country, and stations continue to be added at a rapid pace. Brands that currently offer Unleaded 88 in Minnesota include Amoco, ARCO, Bobby & Steve’s, Casey’s, Cenex, Freeborn County Co-Op, Holiday, Hy-Vee, Kwik Trip, Little Dukes, Love’s, Marathon, Minnoco and Speedway.

Minnesota’s road to this historic milestone in stations began back in 2013 when only a handful of stations in the state offered Unleaded 88. Since then, the number of stations selling Unleaded 88 has steadily increased each year due to a combination of infrastructure funding from the federal and state governments, support from Minnesota’s ethanol industry, industry stakeholders, and fuel marketing efforts by MN Bio-Fuels and Minnesota Corn.

This year alone, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture awarded $3 million in infrastructure grants to 16 retailers while another $3.37 million has been made available in grant funding for stations interested in offering Unleaded 88. Applications for that round of funding closed at the end of October. On the federal side, the USDA awarded $17.5 million in 2024 to stations in the state to make the necessary upgrades to offer Unleaded 88.