A 93-year-old southeast Iowa truck driver could soon earn a place in the Guinness World Records. Orrin Asmus of Middletown has spent more than 70 years behind the wheel of a semi, and his employer, McLaughlin Freight of Mediapolis, has submitted paperwork seeking recognition as the world’s oldest living commercial truck driver.
Asmus began driving at age 19 and estimates he’s logged more than five million miles, hauling everything from livestock in the 1950s to freight across nearly every state in the country. He says he’s driven trucks ranging from Macks and Internationals to Peterbilts, earned more than one million safe miles while driving for Walmart, and even drove through the Los Angeles riots during the 1990s.
Today, Asmus continues driving for McLaughlin Freight while also serving as a Middletown city council alderman, a position he’s held for more than 20 years. Guinness World Records is reviewing the application. If approved, Asmus would surpass the current record holder, a 92-year-old truck driver from Kansas. He turns 94 in August.
