Iowa still does not have a Buc-ee’s, and at this point, it is fair for drivers to wonder whether the famous beaver has skipped over the state.
The Texas-based travel center chain has been expanding far beyond its home state, opening massive stores with clean bathrooms, barbecue sandwiches, Beaver Nuggets, branded merchandise and rows of fuel pumps. Buc-ee’s has already moved into the South, the Midwest and the edge of the Plains.
But Iowa remains off the map. The closest current Buc-ee’s to Des Moines is the Springfield, Missouri location, roughly 361 miles away.
That absence is getting harder to ignore as more states get Buc-ee’s for the first time. Missouri already has a Buc-ee’s in Springfield. Nebraska is moving forward with plans for its first Buc-ee’s in Gretna, just off Interstate 80, with a 74,000-square-foot store and 100 gas pumps about 25 miles west of the Iowa-Nebraska border — and once it opens, it will be the closest Buc-ee’s to Des Moines at about 153 miles. Wisconsin has a first Buc-ee’s planned in Oak Creek near Interstate 94, targeting April 2027.
Iowa, meanwhile, is now bordered by Buc-ee’s-adjacent activity on three sides — south, west and east — and still has no confirmed project of its own.
Norwalk’s mayor is leading a public campaign
The most prominent Iowa Buc-ee’s story right now isn’t an announcement from the company. It’s a petition from a Des Moines-metro mayor.
In late July 2025, Norwalk Mayor Tom Phillips launched a “Bring Buc-ee’s to Iowa” campaign, proposing a site at Fillmore Street and I-35 as part of a larger Norwalk annexation plan that also includes a planned new interchange. The pitch was direct.
“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 told local outlet WHO13. “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?”
The petition picked up quickly. It had over 400 signatures within days of launch, 1,900 by the end of July, and more than 3,600 by late October 2025. The city of Norwalk distributed flyers with QR codes to the petition at the Iowa State Fair, sought a recommendation letter from the Iowa governor’s office, and planned to send the entire package directly to Buc-ee’s. Phillips also pointed out the economic case — Buc-ee’s typically employs around 250 people per store, plus the property tax, sales tax and gas tax revenue.
Buc-ee’s response so far has been silence. A spokesperson declined to comment to the Des Moines Business Record about the Norwalk petition or the company’s growth strategy. That is different from a “no” — but it is also different from the broader “looking everywhere” framing Buc-ee’s lawyer Jeff Nadalo has used in other states. So has Buc-ee’s skipped Iowa? For now, the answer is basically yes — but with a real petition on the table and a public response yet to come, “not yet” may be more accurate than “never.”
Iowa’s interstates and geography would work on paper
On paper, Iowa seems like it should be a decent fit. Interstate 80 runs across the state from the Quad Cities through Iowa City, Des Moines and Council Bluffs. Interstate 35 cuts north and south through Ames and Des Moines. Those are exactly the kinds of long-distance routes Buc-ee’s usually likes.
A Buc-ee’s near Des Moines, Iowa City, Council Bluffs or the I-80/I-35 interchange would almost certainly draw attention from road-trippers. It could serve drivers heading between Chicago and Omaha, Kansas City and Minneapolis, or across the middle of the country.
Iowa also already has destination-scale travel-center culture. Iowa 80, the World’s Largest Truck Stop, sits off I-80 in Walcott in the Quad Cities area. A typical newer Buc-ee’s is roughly half the size of Iowa 80, so the state knows what large-format truck stops look like — and the public has experience visiting them as destinations.
The problem may be that Iowa is surrounded by more obvious first steps
Missouri gave Buc-ee’s a foothold in the region while still connecting the brand to southern and Ozarks travel patterns. Nebraska’s planned Gretna location puts Buc-ee’s right on I-80 near the Omaha metro area and close to Iowa’s western edge. Wisconsin’s planned Oak Creek location gives the chain access to the Milwaukee and Chicago corridor.
Those are all big regional moves. But none of them are in Iowa.
Another possible reason is site selection. Buc-ee’s is not a normal gas station. Its travel centers need huge parcels (around 74,000 square feet of store plus 100-plus fueling positions, hundreds of parking spaces and major traffic flow), easy interstate access, local approvals, utility access and enough space to handle peak crowds. Iowa has the land, but Buc-ee’s still needs the exact right deal in the exact right place — and the Norwalk site, if it advances, would be among the first concrete tests of whether such a deal can be assembled.
Competition is real — especially in Casey’s home state
Iowa drivers already know Casey’s, Kwik Star, Kum & Go, Love’s and Pilot. Buc-ee’s is different from those brands, but it would still be entering a state with strong convenience-store habits.
The most significant of those competitors is Casey’s General Stores, which is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa. Casey’s is Iowa’s hometown chain, with hundreds of Iowa locations and a deep grip on the small-town and highway-adjacent gas-and-pizza market. A Buc-ee’s entering Iowa would not just face generic competition — it would land directly in Casey’s home territory, where customer habits are well-established.
That does not make Buc-ee’s impossible. The two chains play different roles, and the cult-following nature of a Buc-ee’s would likely generate plenty of Iowa curiosity. But it is a more complicated entry market than a state without a beloved hometown chain.
Where Iowa goes from here
Still, Iowa does not feel like a bad fit. It feels more like a state Buc-ee’s has not prioritized yet.
If the company eventually enters Iowa, the most logical target would likely be along I-80, especially near Des Moines or Council Bluffs — or, of course, in Norwalk on I-35, if the mayor’s campaign actually moves the needle. A site near the western edge of the state could even capture travelers moving between Iowa and the planned Nebraska Buc-ee’s region.
For now, though, Iowa drivers are still waiting.
Buc-ee’s has not announced a store in the state. Its neighbors are moving ahead. The closest beaver is still in Springfield, Missouri, and the next-closest is about to be built in Gretna, Nebraska.
That may not be a permanent snub.
But for now, Iowa has been passed by — even as one Iowa mayor keeps making sure the company knows the state is paying attention.
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