Storm Lake plans downtown bench tour and dedication May 21

Eight new benches along Lake Avenue are becoming the latest visible sign of downtown Storm Lake’s effort to make the business district more comfortable for people who walk, shop and stop in for events. Storm Lake Hometown Pride will mark the installation with a Downtown Bench Tour and Dedication on Thursday, May 21, as the group frames the project as part of a larger main-street upgrade, not just a one-time addition of street furniture.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. at VeSo Coffee, 512 Lake Ave., and will be held in conjunction with Storm Lake United’s Chamber Coffee. Coffee and light refreshments will be served before attendees take a guided walk through downtown to see each bench and the businesses nearby.

Hometown Pride Co-Chair and former Mayor Mike Porsch said the benches are meant to make downtown more welcoming and more comfortable for residents and visitors spending time in the district. That practical goal is at the center of the project: giving older residents, shoppers and eventgoers places to pause, while also encouraging more foot traffic past storefronts on Lake Avenue.

The benches were made possible by local sponsors that stepped in quickly, including Tequila La Juanita, Central Bank, Dr. Sabrina Martinez, the Spooner and Knoffloch families, Mike and Lori Porsch, Storm Lake Bakery and ISG Engineering. The City of Storm Lake also helped pick up the benches from the manufacturer in Cherokee and assisted with assembly and installation, a reminder that the project depended on both volunteer energy and municipal support.

Storm Lake Hometown Pride is a volunteer committee made up of local leaders and community members, and Keep Iowa Beautiful says the Hometown Pride program was created in 2012 and gives participating communities five years of coaching support. In Storm Lake, the committee has already pointed to future downtown improvements such as public art, planters and bike racks, suggesting the bench installation is one piece of a broader streetscape plan.

The group’s local planning has also reached beyond Lake Avenue. Storm Lake Hometown Pride has been gathering public input and extended its community survey deadline to Nov. 12, 2025, as it built out its agenda. City updates also show the committee’s long-range interests include the Storm Lake Nature Area east of Sunrise Pointe Golf Course and Sunrise Park Campgrounds, where the first phase of development received a $125,000 REAP City Parks and Open Spaces grant after city council support on Aug. 11, 2025.

For downtown, though, the message is immediate and visible: the benches are meant to make the main street feel more usable, more inviting and better connected to the businesses that depend on people lingering there.