Storm Lake downtown gets 12 new benches through local sponsorships

Twelve new metal benches now give downtown Storm Lake a more finished look, and city leaders turned the installation into a public show of support for the commercial core. Storm Lake United and Hometown Pride centered a Chamber Coffee on the bench dedication and followed it with a guided bench tour, framing the project as more than sidewalk furniture and more as a bet on downtown activity.

Each bench was funded by a local sponsor that bought into the project as a community investment, and the donor names are printed on the benches themselves. The list includes Taqueria La Juanita, Central Bank, Dr. Sabrina Martinez, the Spooner Family, the Knoffloch Family, Mike and Lori Porsch, Storm Lake Bakery and ISG Engineering. One bench in front of Celia’s Antiques honors Celia Knoffloch and remembers her favorite attire, while another was being installed in front of VeSo Coffee by city workers, a small sign that the project is being placed directly into the daily path of downtown shoppers and coffee customers.

The effort fits squarely inside Storm Lake Hometown Pride’s larger mission. The volunteer committee, formed through a partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, says its work is aimed at amenities, leadership, civic pride, economic vitality and collaboration. The City of Storm Lake says the Hometown Pride program was created in 2012 and was established here and in nine other surrounding communities in December 2024, with five years of matched funding for a community coach. Downtown bench work is listed among Hometown Pride’s current projects, alongside public art, recreation and nature area improvements and community events.

The benches also reflect a planning strategy that has been taking shape for some time. Storm Lake’s downtown master plan emphasizes pedestrian connectivity and improving existing downtown features, while earlier Hometown Pride planning said the goal was to add things downtown that build more activity and make the area more inviting, including outdoor seating. In that context, the new benches are meant to do practical work: give people a place to sit, encourage them to linger, and make the core more useful for nearby businesses.

Storm Lake’s donation policy helps explain why the bench program fits local practice so well. The city says memorial benches are its most popular donation request, and its policy is designed to recognize donor generosity while accounting for maintenance and operating costs. That makes the downtown benches both a visible sign of civic buy-in and a piece of infrastructure that connects private sponsors, city staff and downtown merchants in one shared project.