The Iowa DOT will have a public meeting March 14 about converting the IA 175 interchange at Ellsworth from a folded diamond to a regular diamond. The original plan was designed for a railroad that’s not there anymore. Construction is scheduled for 2019. The plans show that Love’s Travel Stops owns the northwest quadrant now so there’s going to be a gas station/truck stop there in the future.
There are maps online at the link above, but they are HUGE. Do not view them in your browser or it will lock up. Download them instead.
UPDATE: A reader told me the Love’s opened in December, along with a Hardee’s. That’s the first Hardee’s in Iowa along I-35, the first fast-food place on I-35 south of Clear Lake, and the second fast-food (burger) place in Hamilton County (after the McDonald’s in Webster City).