Love's Breaks Ground On Mills County Travel Stop

A little rain and frigid wind didn’t stand in the way of this historic moment.

The Glenwood Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a groundbreaking ceremony last Wednesday at the future home of Love’s Travel Stop along Highway 34 and 188th Street in Mills County.

The Love’s project was announced last year and with work already beginning on the eight-acre site, the facility is expected to open in October. Oklahoma-based Love’s has 400 travel stop locations in 40 states with plans to build 50 more each year over the next five years. There are currently eight locations in Iowa with Shelby and Sioux City being the closest.

In addition to the typical travel stop amenities offering gas, a convenience store, gift shop, restrooms and showers, the Glenwood location will feature a Subway restaurant, a tire shop and 88 parking spots. The facility is expected to employ 40 to 50 people. With the acquisition of the land and the construction of the travel stop, Love’s is expected to spend $10 million on the project.

“We see our stops as the everyday truck stop for professional drivers and everyday drivers,” said DeWayne Porter, Love’s General Manager who oversees locations in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.

Prior to Wednesday’s groundbreaking, along with representatives from Love’s, Ferguson Commercial Real Estate, general contractor Colcon Corporation, the Mills County Supervisors and Jim Hughes Real Estate, the chamber hosted opening remarks at AgriVision Equipment Company.

Larry Winum of the Mills County Economic Development Foundation said projects the size Love’s has planned “just don’t happen overnight.”

After thanking the principal partners in the project, Winum spoke about the facility’s impact on commercial development at the Interstate 29 / Highway 34 interchange.

“I think it’s appropriate we held this at AgriVision,” Winum said of the implement dealer just south of the planned Love’s location. “This (AgriVision) is a big part of what we’ve tried to do in this area with developing the area for businesses. This is a wonderful addition to what we’re trying to do with this area.”

The Iowa Department of Transportation and the Mills County Secondary Roads Department agreed earlier this year to add a stop light and expanded turn lanes off Highway 34 onto 188th Street to accommodate the increased traffic expected by the addition of Love’s. Work on that project is expected to begin this spring.

“It takes a lot of work to determine who is going to pay for that work,” Winum said. “So we’re excited about all the energy going into there to hopefully allow traffic to move well along there.”