Antique car club tours Iowa Central programs in Storm Lake

The SERPACI antique car club’s latest outing traded chrome nostalgia for a look at how Storm Lake is training for the jobs of today. The group visited Iowa Central Community College’s Learning Center and Industrial Training Center on the north end of town, where the old-school vehicles became a doorway into a conversation about education, language access and career preparation.

The stop began with an introduction to the college’s English Language Learners program, a service Elizabeth Peterson said is fully funded by state and federal grants. In a city where about 30.3% of residents were born outside the United States and Storm Lake’s population is 11,428, that kind of support goes beyond the classroom. It helps workers and families navigate school, work and daily life in a community that depends on clear communication as much as it does on technical skills.

Emily Denholm, Iowa Central’s director of marketing and communications, said the college’s goal is to help students finish degrees or certifications quickly and with as little debt as possible so they can move into better jobs and better lives. She also said one of her favorite parts of the job is visiting the community and seeing former students at work, a reminder that the college’s mission extends well beyond campus walls.

That mission was on display in the Storm Lake Learning Center, which consolidated facilities previously spread across four sites into one hub. The two-story building includes 16 classrooms, an Academic Resource Center and a testing center. Classes began Aug. 26, 2024, and the center was formally marked with a grand opening and ribbon cutting on Sept. 26, 2024. The $10 million project started in spring 2023 and was financed through a mix of a Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant loan, a U.S. Department of Education grant, a U.S. Economic Development Administration grant and a bond referendum approved in 2018.

A portion of the Learning Center is dedicated to a Career Academy serving students from five school districts. Iowa Central lists pathways in advanced manufacturing, business, science and programming, liberal arts and transfer, electrical, health science and teacher academy, with some students able to earn national credentials such as the NCRC and OSHA 10. The center also offers orientation and a College Experience course covering applications, financial aid, housing and entrance requirements, along with evening community education and English Language Learner classes for residents and employees.

The Industrial Training Center, which opened on July 28, 2021, at a reported cost of $2.8 million, gave the club another look at how the college is building a workforce pipeline in western Iowa. In a county of 20,753 people, those investments have turned a hobby stop into a clear snapshot of economic development, with Storm Lake’s school district also offering the only charter program in Iowa that lets students earn a high school diploma and an associate degree at no cost.