Storm Lake’s public safety agencies have released their May activity reports, showing an overall increase in police service calls and steady activity for fire crews as summer approaches.
The Storm Lake Police Department handled 2,833 service calls in May, up from 2,623 during the same month last year, according to the monthly report. Year‑to‑date, officers have logged 12,856 calls, nearly identical to the 12,906 recorded at this point in 2025.
In property‑ and person‑related calls, police responded to one burglary, five assaults, two child abuse cases and three dead body scenes. Disturbance calls totaled 29, with five domestic disturbances reported. Drug investigations increased to seven, compared to two last May. Officers also handled nine harassment reports, six suspicious person calls and nine suspicious vehicle reports.
Traffic activity remained busy. Officers conducted 586 vehicle stops — up from 518 last year — and issued 441 traffic warnings. Police investigated 23 traffic accidents, including three with injuries, and responded to 16 motorist assists and 15 reckless driver complaints.
Public service calls included 142 citizen assists, 46 animal complaints, 33 bar checks and 18 welfare checks. City code enforcement activity dropped sharply to two cases, compared to 184 last May. Officers also conducted 708 security checks, up from 564 a year ago.
Police assisted other agencies throughout the month, including 51 ambulance assists, 12 fire department assists and 26 assists to the law department. Detectives completed 185 felony follow‑ups, 11 misdemeanor follow‑ups and 32 juvenile follow‑ups, clearing 13 cases and executing one search warrant. Investigators logged just over seven hours of overtime.
The department’s K9 unit recorded seven deployments, all resulting in alerts, and logged 15 hours of training. Police collected $175 in parking ticket revenue, $110 for report copies, $600 for funeral escorts, $100 in pet licenses and $60 for fingerprints.
Meanwhile, the Storm Lake Fire Department responded to one vehicle fire and six other active fires in May. Crews also handled two citizen assists, six false alarms, one EMS assist and seven other responses.
On the prevention and outreach side, firefighters completed 24 rental inspections, seven commercial inspections, five life safety presentations, three fire station tours and 32 public relations and outreach activities. They also conducted four fire investigations.
