Storm Lake weighs e-bike education plan ahead of school year

Roughly 55 Storm Lake residents packed the Chautauqua Park shelter house on June 29 as city leaders tested an education-first answer to the growing e-bike and e-scooter debate before the 2026-27 school year. A sidewalk demonstration showed an e-bike moving at 20 miles per hour, turning a policy dispute into a visible safety concern in the middle of town.

Mayor Meg McKeon said her goal is micromobility proper-use education before classes resume, and she said that approach appears workable while the city drafts an ordinance. She also said the effort will likely need volunteers and help from local businesses if Storm Lake wants to put any training program in place by fall. Police Chief Chris Cole, Assistant Fire Chief Blake Severson and BVRMC emergency director Dr. Garrett Feddersen joined the discussion, underscoring how the issue reaches beyond traffic enforcement and into fire response, emergency care and day-to-day public behavior.

Residents Denny Frederick and Michelle Munoz reflected the split in the room. Some called for a full ban on e-bikes from the lake trail, while others pushed for clearer communication and more explicit safety expectations. State Sen. Lynn Evans and Rep. Megan Jones attended the meeting as well, a sign that Storm Lake’s fight over micromobility is tied to state law as much as local frustration.

The city’s own website says the Storm Lake City Council is discussing safety concerns and possible regulation as e-bike and scooter use increases on the community’s trails, streets and sidewalks. A June 18 council work session described the problem as rapidly growing, with e-bikes, e-scooters, mini-bikes and other electric-powered devices creating more close calls around town.

What Storm Lake can actually regulate remains the hard part. Iowa Code section 321.236 bars local governments from adopting ordinances that conflict with state traffic law, and section 321.235B sets definitions for Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 low-speed electric bicycles, requires a permanent label, and says Class 3 bikes must have a speedometer and cannot be operated by anyone under 16. A statewide summary from the Iowa Bicycle Coalition says the 2021 low-speed electric bicycle law applies to bikes manufactured or distributed on or after Jan. 1, 2021.

That leaves Storm Lake weighing how far education can go before warnings or citations enter the picture, and whether any city rule can survive the limits of state law before students return to streets, sidewalks and the lake trail.