Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Colo, IA

Colo is a city in Story County that calls itself the "Crossroads of the Nation," because the historic Lincoln Highway and Jefferson Highway intersect within the town.

Settlement at Colo began in 1856 with the small village of New Albany, and the first railroad station in Story County was built in the community in 1863.

Colo was incorporated on April 26, 1876, and took its name from the dog of railroad official John Blair — reportedly, the dog Colo was killed by a train carrying construction material.

At Colo's famous intersection, now U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 65, stands the historic Reed/Niland Corner complex of a café, vintage gas station, motel, and small park — one of only a few surviving "one-stop" highway service complexes on the Lincoln Highway.

The Jefferson Highway, which ran from Winnipeg to New Orleans, passed through Colo from 1915 to 1926 before becoming U.S. Route 65.

Just outside Colo is Hickory Grove Park, Story County's largest recreation area at 445 acres with a 98-acre lake, which served as a filming location for the 1996 disaster film Twister.

East of Colo along the Lincoln Highway lies the Colo Bogs Wildlife Management Area, a noted stopover site for migratory birds administered by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The 2020 census counted 845 people in Colo living in 344 households, down slightly from the town's peak of 876 in 2010.

Colo receives about 36.5 inches of precipitation and roughly 31 inches of snow per year, according to NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals.

Colo students attend the Colo–NESCO Community School District, formed in 1987, which operates its middle school and high school in Colo and an elementary school in Zearing.