Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024:
Propane haulers get HOS relief in Indiana
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb this week issued an emergency declaration that exempts propane haulers from hours of service regulations in the state.
Holcomb cited “extraordinarily cold weather” and “a significant increase in demand for propane gas in recent days” as part of the reason for issuing the declaration.
He added that suspending hours of service regulations for propane haulers “will help ensure that adequate supplies thereof are distributed throughout Indiana.”
The order is effective through Jan. 25, unless it is terminated or further extended by Holcomb. The declaration comes on the immediate heels of Nebraska issuing a similar waiver for heating fuel haulers.
[Related: New HOS waiver for fuel haulers]
Danny’s Big Rig Resort acquired by TA
TravelCenters of America has opened a new TA truck stop in Phoenix, Arizona, through acquisition, the company’s 10th location in the state.
Formerly Danny’s Big Rig Resort, the site is located off I-10 at exit 137 (6741 W. Latham Street).
The new TA offers 70 truck parking spaces, The Diner restaurant, a TA Truck Service Center with four bays, emergency roadside assistance services, TA Mobile Maintenance, a truck wash, six private showers, a professional drivers' lounge and more.
[Related: TA closes deal with BP]
Iowa 80 celebrates 60th anniversary
The Iowa 80 Truckstop in 2024 is celebrating its 60th consecutive year in business serving professional truck drivers and other travelers.
Bill Moon, entrepreneur and founder of the Iowa 80, loved to sit at the counter in the restaurant and talk with drivers. He asked them about their families, their lives, and what they needed while they were on the road. He took those suggestions to heart and started adding amenities to the property. In addition to the Iowa 80 Truckstop, he also founded Truckomat Truck Washes, and CAT Scale Company.
The Iowa 80 Truckstop began as a small building with six diesel pumps and a 50-seat restaurant at what would become Exit 284. Moon located the spot for Standard Oil before the interstate was completed.
They built and opened the truck stop with Moon taking over management a year later, in 1965. Years passed, Interstate 80 was completed and hundreds, then thousands of truckers and travelers stopped by Iowa 80 to fuel, grab a bite to eat and head on down the road.
In 1984, Standard Oil (now Amoco) decided to sell the facility. Moon, who had been managing the place for nearly 20 years, jumped at the chance. He and his wife, Carolyn, leveraged everything they had, including borrowing money from friends, to purchase Iowa 80.
Once the Moon Family owned Iowa 80, they expanded the building and added services as needed. Today, after 32 expansions and remodels, Iowa 80 is overseen by the second generation of the Moon Family, who have dedicated their lives to providing a home away from home for the thousands of people who visit Iowa 80 each day.
The Iowa 80 Truckstop includes a gift store, the Super Truck Showroom, a dentist, barber shop, chiropractor, workout room, laundry facilities, a 60-seat movie theater, a trucker’s TV lounge, 24 private showers, and many restaurant options including the Iowa 80 Kitchen, Wendy’s, Dairy Queen, Orange Julius, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Einstein Bagels and Caribou Coffee, Blimpie, and Chester’s Chicken. The truck stop also boasts a convenience store, a custom embroidery and vinyl shop, 42 BP-branded gas and diesel fueling positions at the main building, 34 high-speed diesel pumps for truckers at the fuel center, a seven-bay truck service center, a three-bay Truckomat truck wash, a CAT Scale, a Dogomat Pet Wash, and the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.
“It is really amazing to have reached this milestone,” said Delia Moon Meier, Senior Vice President. “We are so fortunate to have such wonderful, dedicated employees and loyal customers.”
Each year in July, Iowa 80 hosts the Walcott Truckers Jamboree, a three-day event dedicated to celebrating America’s truckers. Last year attendance hit a record 56,000 people.
[Related: Winner, winner, pork chop dinner: Results from 2023 Walcott Truckers Jamboree]
