Iowa 80 Truckstop celebrates 60 years with prizes

WALCOTT, Iowa –  Soon after Frederick “Scott” Priebe was told he won a $50,000 prize, he knew exactly how he was going to spend the money. “My niece has leukemia. A good share of the money will be going to her,” said Mr. Priebe, a truck driver from Grant, Michigan. When Ellane Kleckler was told […]

WALCOTT, Iowa –  Soon after Frederick “Scott” Priebe was told he won a $50,000 prize, he knew exactly how he was going to spend the money. “My niece has leukemia. A good share of the money will be going to her,” said Mr. Priebe, a truck driver from Grant, Michigan.

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When Ellane Kleckler was told she won a $10,000 prize, she  thought it might be a joke or a scam. “When I looked into it and saw it was real, I was just thrilled.” The Stanwood, Michigan, woman plans to give much of the money to her children, her church and use some of it for a trip to Australia in 2026. The two Michigan residents were recently named the big winners of a $60,000 cash giveaway sweepstakes presented by the Iowa 80 Truckstop as part of its celebration of 60 years in business. From April to October, truckstop customers could enter for a chance to win either $50,000 (for CDL customers), $10,000 (for consumers), or $100 gift cards at Iowa 80 Group locations (from any entry), including the Iowa 80 Truckstop, Joplin 44 Petro, Kenly 95 Petro, Effingham Chrome Shop, and any Truckomat Truck Wash location. The sweepstakes ended on Friday, Oct. 4, and the winners were selected from the entry pool shortly after that. The two grand prize winners were honored on Friday afternoon, Nov. 15, during a ceremony at the Iowa 80 Truckstop in Walcott. That ceremony, which attracted about 20 people, included Mike Hutchinson, general manager of the Walcott truck stop, reading a history of the business. That history goes back to 1964 when the Iowa 80 Truckstop began as a small building with six diesel pumps and a 50-seat restaurant at what would eventually become Exit 284 on Interstate 80. Company Founder Bill Moon had scouted out the spot for Standard Oil before the interstate was completed. In 1984, Standard Oil (now Amoco) decided to sell the facility that Mr. Moon had been managing for nearly 20 years. In 1984, he and his wife Carolyn leveraged everything they had, including borrowing money from friends, to purchase Iowa 80. In celebration of that long history, the main event Friday was the ceremonial check passing event to the two big winners. The $10,000 winner, Ms. Kleckler, is a retired school bus driver who passed through Iowa 80 this summer after visiting her family in Colorado. She and her husband take a yearly road trip in the summer and make Iowa 80 part of their adventure, stopping to eat at the Iowa 80 Kitchen and refuel. The $50,000 winner, Mr. Priebe, is a truck driver employed by Foreway Transportation in Michigan, and has been a professional driver for five years. He and his wife, Chris, are often at Iowa 80 because they can always find a spot to park their semi-truck and they enjoy eating at the 24-hour restaurant, the Iowa 80 Kitchen. The Michigan man said he will give much of the money to his niece because he knows some of the struggles she is going through. (The niece is doing well, but is now losing much of her hair because of the leukemia treatments, said Ms. Priebe.) The 68-year-old Mr. Priebe also is a cancer survivor. He said he won his battle with cancer because of the care from his doctors and the use of experimental cancer drugs. Before the ceremony, he unbuttoned his shirt and showed the small scar that was left from the port placed in his chest to deliver medication during his treatment. “So far, I’m good and free of cancer. I look at it this way – I’m alive,” he said, adding that he plans to be a professional driver until he is 75 years old. Iowa 80 Truck Stop currently serves more than 5,000 customers per day and has well-lit parking for 900 tractor-trailers, 250 cars and 20 buses.