(Radio Iowa) — Iowans are finding ways to salute “essential workers” during this pandemic. In eastern Iowa, Greg Preussner helped organize a convoy of semi tractors through Dubuque and Delaware Counties on Saturday. “For the medical, law enforcement, EMS, fire fighters, farmers, truckers, military, grocery store workers, convenience store workers — every body that you don’t think of all the time,” Preussner says. “Radio, TV — everybody there — no matter through this pandemic, they’re there every day for us.” The Honor Cruise began in Farley and wound through 14 other towns, covering about 110 miles. “We honor and respect these people that are out there working,” Preussner says. “And the ones that haven’t been able to, we’ll be there for them when they do open up.”

In western Iowa on Friday, truckers making a required stop at an Iowa D-O-T’s weigh station got a free lunch, courtesy of a company that provides commercial trucking insurance.  “When the government told everyone to go to shelter-in-place, they told the truck drivers to keep on trucking.” That’s Great West Casualty Company C-E-O Jim Jensen. He was on site, helping distribute the sack lunches to truckers. “Our hats off to the men and women making a difference,” he said, “stocking our shelves, bringing medical supplies, doing everything possible to make our lives better in this time of crisis and this time of need.”

The lunch line set up at the Iowa D-O-T’s weigh station on southbound Interstate 29 between Salix and Sloan served about 200 truckers over a three-hour period on Friday.