NASHUA - The Gateway to Northeast Iowa Welcome Center off the Avenue of the Saints is greeting travelers who want to take a break from the road and get tourism information. The center, situated between the Avenue, Iowa Highway 346 and the Red Cedar Lake in Nashua, officially opened for business Wednesday.

So far, just a few travelers have stopped by, said Fran Schmitt of Charles City, center director.

"I know it's going to be slow for a while, but you've got to start somewhere," she said.

Traffic should pick up once the Iowa Department of Transportation puts up signs on the Avenue of the Saints directing people to the center, according to Schmitt.

Curious local residents also have been stopping in for a look.

The lobby of the center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Restrooms are in the lobby. Eventually the lobby also will include Internet access, an ATM, vending machines with food and beverages, and a TV with weather information on it.

The main room of the center, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and may eventually be open on weekends as well, has travel maps and tourism publications from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Missouri, with more states to be added soon.

Brochures for area attractions such as the Little Brown Church near Nashua, the Carrie Chapman Catt Girlhood Home near Charles City and the Fossil and Prairie Park near Rockford, also are available.

The center has crafts for sale made by area residents. Items include birdhouses and handmade pillows. The center has an observation deck in back that is accessible from the lobby area.

The basement of the center is a Federal Emergency Management Agency-approved storm shelter. Schmitt said the center is a good place to have a storm shelter because it is located near a campground and a trailer court.

The basement, which will have folding tables and chairs and eventually a microwave and refrigerator, also can be rented as a multipurpose room for meetings and events. The center, which is designed to resemble the old Nashua depot, was built through a combination of grants and private funding.

Schmitt said the center still needs volunteers as well as donations of furniture and display racks. For information, call (641) 435-4187.

Contact Mary Pieper at mary.pieper@globegazette.com.