Colo, IA

Colo is a Story County city in the Ames metropolitan area, with 845 residents in the 2020 census. Its signature crossroads is literal: the Lincoln Highway and Jefferson Highway meet here, and the Reed/Niland Corner complex preserves the roadside combination of a diner, gas station, motel, and small park. The settlement began as New Albany in 1856, and the first train station in Story County was built here in 1863. Those two transportation eras—rail and early auto travel—still give Colo its shape.

ATTRChipchicken / CC BY-SA 4.0

Hickory Grove Park extends the city's reach into Story County's recreational landscape. The 445-acre park includes a 98-acre lake, public beach, camping, and a roughly three-mile trail around the water; it opened in 1968 after six families sold land for the project. The lake also appeared in the 1996 film Twister, a bit of local screen history that residents can connect to a real county park. Colo-NESCO Community School District, Colo Public Library, fire and rescue, and the city's community facilities fill in the everyday civic map.