Waspy’s Truck Stop Honored with Iowa Venture Award

Waspy’s is tremendously proud to have been recognized by the Iowa Venture Awards! Read the article:

Des Moines, IA – The Iowa Area Development Group (IADG), on behalf of Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and independent telecommunication companies, honored eight distinguished Iowa companies with the Iowa Venture Award at a luncheon held in conjunction with the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives’ annual meeting. Waspy’s Truck Stop is under the ownership and leadership of Lawrence “Waspy” and Doris Handlos. They invested over $7 million to create Waspy’s Truck Stop in Templeton. Lawrence and Doris were born and raised in Willey in Carroll County, and the Handlos family has farmed in the area for years and responded to the community need for a truck stop to serve the thousands of vehicles that pass by on Highway 141 or journey to Templeton for Templeton Rye. The facility provides a full-service cafe, groceries, a spirits den, a cigar humidor, fuel, and a car wash. After successfully launching the Templeton facility, they built a similar but larger $18 million complex in Audubon, Iowa, in August that includes a truck stop, full-service restaurant and bar, hotel, car wash, and a truck service center that is under construction right now that will consist of truck wash bays, tire repair, and diesel repair. Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative nominated Waspy’s.

“The Iowa Venture Awards Luncheon provides a forum to celebrate the courage, contribution, innovation, responsibility, and vision of Iowa entrepreneurs,” said IADG President Rand Fisher. “We are pleased to honor Waspy’s Truck Stop and the Handlos family, and recognize the great amenities they have made available to nearby residents and people traveling in Iowa.”

Additional Iowa Venture Award recipients include:

Eagle’s Catch – Ellsworth
Martin Marietta – Gilmore City
Nutriom – Panora
Perry Creek Dairy – Merrill
Prestage Foods of Iowa – Eagle Grove “Outstanding Business of the Year”
Sullivan Supply, Inc. – Dunlap
Trinity Fabricators, Inc. – New Albin

About the Iowa Venture Award

This marks the 31st year that IADG has presented Iowa Venture Awards to individuals and organizations, both large and small, in recognition of their significant contributions to Iowa’s economy through entrepreneurial leadership, innovation, and the creation of job opportunities. History has demonstrated that these are among the state’s most accomplished and successful companies. Together, they are helping to sustain and grow Iowa’s economy. The Iowa Venture Award Hall of Fame showcasing these 264 companies can be found at www.IADG.com/HallOfFame.

About Iowa Area Development Group (IADG)

IADG is the business and community development leader for Iowa’s rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and independent telecommunication companies. Since 1985, the partnerships and economic development efforts of IADG and their sponsors have assisted with more than 2,100 projects, generating more than $12 billion of capital investment and over 53,000 new or retained jobs for Iowa.