He envisioned a 10,000-square-foot structure housing a convenience store, coffee shop and restaurant. Gasoline and diesel fuel pumps, along with charging stations for electric vehicles, would be outside.

“I want this to be a wow factor from the moment you get off the highway to the moment you get inside,” he said.

The center would be a roughly $6 million investment, according to Stumpf.

He estimated that 35 to 40 people would work there in a mix of full-time and part-time jobs.

Stumpf said there are no similar places right on the highway for travelers to stop in the immediate area.

He said travelers and their money are passing through Webster County without stopping.

The Webster County Planning and Zoning Commission considered the proposal on April 13, 2021, but concerns about how the travel center would impact traffic at the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and Poplar Avenue ultimately prompted the commission to table the proposal.

Commissioners asked Stumpf to conduct a traffic impact study on that intersection.

“They want to see and hear what the traffic impact study comes up with,” said Jeff Johnson, the county’s planning and zoning administrator.

Stumpf had talked to Iowa Department of Transportation engineers about the site and hired McClure Engineering Co., of Fort Dodge, to do the traffic impact study.

In August 2021, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend denying the switch from the agricultural preservation designation to a general commercial one.

Stumpf said after the vote that he was really disappointed that commission members were still concerned about traffic safety even though he had McClure Engineering Co., of Fort Dodge, prepare a plan to redesign the intersection of U.S. Highway 20 and Poplar Avenue.

During the meeting, Tony Gustafson, District 1 engineer for the Iowa Department of Transportation, told the commission that his agency has approved the intersection plan proposed by McClure Engineering.

During the meeting, four people spoke against the plan, some of them coming to the podium repeatedly. They cited concerns about traffic safety at the intersection, future commercial development at the site, bright lights shining onto their property, loss of water in their wells and trash blowing onto their properties.

In addition to Stumpf, three people spoke in favor of the project. Most touted the economic value of the project. One man applauded the integrity of the Stumpf family.

Commission members seemed most concerned about creating illegal spot zoning if they recommended approval of the project. They indicated that they did not want to create an island of commercial property surrounded by farmland.

Stumpf was requesting the county to rezone 24 acres to allow the travel center’s creation. On Sept. 14, the Webster County Board of Supervisors approved the request to rezone that land.

While the full 24 acres were rezoned, the travel center is only expected to use a small portion of it, with the rest being set aside for future development.

As of the beginning of 2022, the construction of the travel center, now named Marker 126, is showing some clear progress.

“We’re getting steel up right now. Then they’re going to do the sides and the roof and I’m hoping to get it enclosed by March 1,” Stumpf said.

Despite nationwide supply chain issues, Stumpf said they haven’t had too many delays. “Everything’s been flowing really pretty good for getting materials, and even with the supply chain hiccups that we’ve had, we haven’t had too many issues. So we’ve been able to work through everything and still keep on time,” he said.

Stumpf said if everything continues smoothly, he plans to open for business by the end of July or early August of 2022.

Stumpf said he believes both travelers and locals will benefit from this addition.

“It’s going to give the community one more option to get gas and we’re going to have a really nice coffee shop and a really nice restaurant,” he said. “A lot of the business will be travelers, but it’s going to serve the county as well.”