Local community petitioning to bring Buc-ee’s to Iowa

Date:2025-07-30 22:10:51 Category:US Views:4 Comment:0

NORWALK, Iowa — A central Iowa town is petitioning to bring a popular travel center chain to Iowa.

Norwalk City Hall has been busy rolling out the petition to “Bring Buc-ee’s to Iowa.”

Norwalk Mayor Tom Phillips rolled out the plan last week to bring Iowa’s first Buc-ee’s to the city. Right now, it is just an idea and a petition to get input from the community, but the city is going full steam ahead. As of July 30, the petition has 1,900 signatures.

“The question I have for Buc-ee’s is that they’re building them in Missouri, they’re building in Wisconsin, why did they skip Iowa,” Phillips said. “And they need to have one in Iowa to get from one place to the other. So why not? We’re halfway in between. We’ve got a great location for them, so why not here?”

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The popular Texas-based store chain is a bucket list stop for many traveling the U.S. Currently, it has 54 locations in 11 states. Locations feature around 100 gas pumps, a convenience store and fresh-cooked brisket daily.

The city of Norwalk is planning to go all-in on this, too. Mayor Phillips said they plan to hang flyers with QR codes to the petition at the Iowa State Fair, attempt to have the governor write a recommendation letter, and send all of the material to the Buc-ee’s organization as a package.

Phillips said that not only would Buc-ee’s be a destination spot for travelers, but it would also have an economic impact on Norwalk and the surrounding area.

“They usually have like around 250 people employed there,” Phillips said. “So it’s offering a lot of opportunity for our citizens for jobs. Place to go for to get food, place to gas up. And we’re going to have a lot of a lot of people coming to the site in Norwalk and we’re going to get tax dollars out of that, too. So maybe some tax relief for our citizens.”

The proposed location for the Buc-ee’s is at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Fillmore Street southwest of Norwalk. This location would be in the newly annexed land for the city of Norwalk. It would also draw interstate traffic and be located 14 miles south of the West Mixmaster.

A link to the petition can be found here.