Storm Lake police handle 2,573 calls in April, disturbances rise

Storm Lake police handled 2,573 service calls in April, but disturbance complaints were the month’s sharpest change, climbing to 23 from 11 in April 2025. The department’s total workload was still lighter than a year ago, when officers answered 2,775 calls, and year-to-date calls stood at 10,023, down from 10,283 at the same point in 2025.

The April report showed a mixed public-safety picture in Storm Lake and across Buena Vista County. Officers logged one burglary, two forgery cases, two assaults and two domestic disturbances during the period covered. That mix suggests the department’s calls were spread across several types of incidents rather than driven by one dominant crime trend.

Some categories moved in the opposite direction. Drug investigations fell to eight in April from 19 a year earlier, a steep drop from the same month in 2025. At the same time, officers handled four child abuse cases and two dead body scenes, underscoring how the department’s caseload can swing from routine complaints to calls that carry a heavier public-safety burden.

The report also said there were no gun or weapon complaints in the period covered. That absence stands out in a month where officers were still dealing with domestic issues, forgery, assaults and a noticeable rise in disturbance calls.

Storm Lake Fire Department crews also had a steady April, keeping pace with the city’s broader public-safety workload. Taken together, the police and fire reports point to a department that is not dealing with one runaway problem, but with a steady stream of calls that touch daily life in Storm Lake in different ways, from neighborhood disturbances to serious welfare and investigative cases.