Iowa Central Unveils New Performing Arts & Learning Centers

Iowa Central Community College has seen a flurry of activity on its campuses with around $40 million in facility upgrades completed over the past three and a half years.
The most notable projects are the newly unveiled Center for Performing Arts and the renovated Decker Auditorium on the Fort Dodge campus. Additionally, the college has opened a new Learning Center in Storm Lake.

Center for Performing Arts in Fort Dodge
The new Center for Performing Arts and the renovated Decker Auditorium made their debut in April, with the 1,200-seat auditorium being the largest of its kind in the Fort Dodge area. Built in the 1970s, the auditorium’s $14.5 million renovation included gutted interiors, new electrical, lighting, and sound systems, and full ADA compliance. The auditorium was renamed in honor of Dale and Donna Decker, thanks to a $1 million donation from their son and daughter-in-law, Don and Dianne Decker.

The two-story Center for Performing Arts was built on the south side of the auditorium, featuring spaces for the marching and concert bands, a shop for theatrical set-building, ensemble rooms, dressing rooms, and more. Upstairs, the building houses classrooms and faculty offices.
New Learning Center in Storm Lake
Iowa Central President Jesse Ulrich expressed excitement about the new Learning Center, saying, “Our new center will be full of students who are earning college credit for high-demand and high-paying jobs in this region.” The Storm Lake Learning Center offers programs in fields such as advanced manufacturing, business, computer science, electrical technologies, and nursing. It also provides career training for local school districts and companies.
Ulrich continued, “Our vision to bring all of our services in Storm Lake onto one campus started three years ago with the completion of our industrial training center. With the new Storm Lake Learning Center, we are able to better serve students, use our resources more efficiently and create a better experience for our students.”
The $10 million facility, which includes 16 classrooms, an Academic Resource Center, and a testing center, also features learning labs for hands-on training, particularly benefiting students in the nursing program. The project was partially funded with a $2.3 million Rural Economic Development loan, a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and a $700,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
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