About $40 million worth of work on college facilities has been completed in roughly three and a half years.

On the Fort Dodge campus, the most striking of those facilities is the new Center for Performing Arts and the renovated Decker Auditorium.

The college also opened a new Learning Center in Storm Lake.

New arts venue

-Submitted photo
Iowa Central President Jesse Ulrich and Gov. Kim Reynolds cut the ribbon at the new Storm Lake Learning Center last fall.

The Center for Performing Arts and the refurbished Decker Auditorium debuted in April.

The 1,200-seat auditorium is the largest venue of its kind in the Fort Dodge area. It was built in the 1970s.

In the project that began two years ago, the interior was essentially gutted. New electrical, lighting and sound systems were installed. The entire building was made accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The auditorium was named after the late Dale and Donna Decker, of Fort Dodge. Their son and daughter-in-law, Don and Dianne Decker, donated $1 million to help pay for the renovation.

The new two-story Center for the Performing Arts was built onto the south side of the auditorium.

The building’s first floor features:

• A large room where the marching and concert bands can practice.

• A shop for building theatrical sets.

• An instrument and ensemble room.

• Two dressing rooms directly behind the Decker Auditorium stage.

• A drama and theater room.

• Small rooms where musicians can practice.

• Faculty offices.

Upstairs, there are two classrooms, a large music classroom and a conference room. The $14.5 million project was designed by OPN Architects, of Des Moines. Klinger Construction, of Sioux City, was the general contractor.

Storm Lake site

“Our new center will be full of students who are earning college credit for high-demand and high-paying jobs in this region,” said college President Jesse Ulrich.

The new Learning Center will offer a variety of programs to students throughout the day and evenings, including advanced manufacturing, business, computer science/programming, electrical technologies, industrial mechanics, liberal arts, and health science programs such as nursing, and the teaching academy.

The Learning Center will also serve as a career academy for five northwest Iowa school districts and provide Community Education and English Language Learner courses in the evening. Local companies will also be able to utilize the space to train employees.

“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,” said Ulrich. “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 new Learning Center is a two-story building with 16 classrooms, an Academic Resource Center, and a testing center. According to Ulrich, the new modern classrooms in the Learning Center include learning labs that provide students with hands-on training, especially for students in the nursing program.

Construction on the $10 million facility began in the spring of 2023.

Iowa Central received 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 to help pay for it.