North of Colfax, Iowa 117 passes through rolling farmland with houses dotted along the road. Three miles () from Mingo, the highway begins curving to the north and west, parallel to Indian Creek. The last four miles () of Iowa 117 travel on creek bottoms, still adjacent to Indian Creek. Just from its northern end, Iowa 117 crosses Indian Creek one final time. It ends an interchange with U.S. Highway 65 and Iowa Highway 330. The dominant road is a four-lane expressway connecting Des Moines and Marshalltown. North of the Iowa 117 intersection, the expressway is only Iowa 330 while to the south it is US 65 and Iowa 330.