Storm Lake police had a busier October, with more calls for service, traffic stops and burglaries than the previous month — and even sharper increases in some categories compared to a year ago.
The Storm Lake Police Department handled 2,711 service calls in October, up 72 from September and 477 from October 2025. That’s a year-over-year increase of more than 21%.
According to the department’s monthly public safety report, officers recorded nine burglaries, compared to six in September and just two in October 2025.
Traffic enforcement also increased substantially, with officers conducting 558 vehicle stops, up 102 from September and 191 from the same month last year — a year-over-year increase of approximately 52%.
Police issued 460 traffic warnings, including those issued to adults and juveniles, compared to 326 last October. Officers also investigated 37 traffic accidents, up from 35 in September and 35 a year ago. Four October crashes involved injuries, unchanged from September but up from three last October.
Arrest activity increased as well. The department recorded 159 adult arrests, compared to 125 in October 2025, and 43 juvenile arrests, up from 38 a year ago.
Juvenile burglary arrests climbed from five last October to 12 this year. Adult operating while intoxicated arrests rose from four to seven, while public intoxication arrests increased from three to seven. Adult drug-related arrests remained unchanged at 17.
Other police activity showed mixed trends. Disturbance calls increased from 21 in September to 23 in October, compared to 18 a year ago. Domestic disturbances rose from four to six, while drug investigations doubled from four to eight. Officers also handled six assaults, two adult sexual assault reports and seven scam reports. Child abuse reports declined from four in October 2025 to none this year.
Public service activity remained high, although some categories declined from September. Officers conducted 773 security checks, down from 810 in September but well above the 556 reported last October.
Citizen assists fell from 121 in September to 108 in October, while animal complaints declined from 38 to 33. Police also handled 32 bar checks, 12 business assists and four missing person reports.
Officers assisted with 66 ambulance calls, up from 43 in September and 49 a year ago. They also recorded 25 assists involving city or county departments and 10 fire department assists.
The investigations division completed 100 felony follow-ups, 123 misdemeanor follow-ups and 76 juvenile follow-ups during October. Investigators cleared 24 cases, compared to 16 in September, and executed eight search warrants. The department’s K-9 unit recorded three deployments, compared to none in September, but no dog-assisted arrests.
Through the first 10 months of 2026, Storm Lake police have handled 26,164 service calls, compared to 24,835 during the same period last year — an increase of 1,329 calls, or roughly 5%.
Meanwhile, the Storm Lake Fire Department reported no structure, vehicle, brush or other active fires in October. It marked the second consecutive month without a reported structure, vehicle or brush fire.
Firefighters responded to seven false alarms, down from nine in September, along with three gas odor or leak calls, one carbon monoxide call, one citizen assist and eight other responses.
Through October, the department has responded to six structure fires, four vehicle fires and seven brush or field fires. False alarms totaled 83 through the first 10 months of the year, compared to 90 during the same period last year. Gas odor and leak responses also declined significantly, from 34 to 10.
Fire prevention and public education remained a major focus. Crews conducted 14 life safety presentations or drills during October, double September’s total, along with seven commercial inspections, seven fire station tours, four rental inspections and four daycare or school inspections. The department also recorded 41 public relations and outreach activities, up from 24 in September.
Year to date, firefighters have completed 150 rental inspections, 57 commercial inspections, 52 life safety presentations or drills and 290 public relations and outreach activities. The department has conducted eight fire investigations so far in 2026.
