Kum & Go LC
In 1997, Convenience Store Decisions gave Kum & Go the honor of being named the No. 1 convenience store in the United States. W.A. Krause and T.S. Gentle founded Kum & Go in 1959. The business began as a small gas station in Hampton, Iowa. In 1963, Kum & Go converted its gas stations into convenience stores, or station stores, with fuel and merchandise. The corporation has its headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, and more than 340 convenience stores in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Colorado, Arkansas, Wyoming and Wisconsin. In addition to a selection of products, Kum & Go provides customers a mix of products under the Hiland brand name, such as gourmet coffee, water, beef jerky, potato chips, sandwiches and snack nuts. Every year, the corporation returns 10 percent of its profits to the communities it serves.
