Lacona, Iowa
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1984. It stands in White Breast Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50139. It stands on Cotton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lacona quadrangle. 345 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 869 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresLacona fell from 361 to 345 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 361 | |
| 2020 | 345 | -16 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1918 USGS Chariton quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Des Moines quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Lacona quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS Indianola quadrangle1:100000
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Lacona: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melcher Quarry and Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
32 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lacona in 32 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 6 heavy rain, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $100,000 | Emergency manager reported several structures damaged, including machine sheds, grain elevators, and power lines down. Time estimated from radar. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $50,000 | Major building damage was reported with cars rolled over. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $30,000 | Several trees and large branches down in town. A three foot diameter tree was blown over by downburst winds. One large tree landed on a car. |
| May 2008 | Tornado (EF1) | Lacona | $30,000 | A tornado caused damage to trees, farm buildings, and power lines. The tornado moved out of Warren County and into Marion County. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $25,000 | A grain bin was destroyed and power lines were downed. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $20,000 | Large tree uprooted about 2.5 to 3 ft in diameter. Four to 5 inches of rain received. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $10,000 | North side of town reported small trees and a few street signs down. One outbuilding was damaged. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $10,000 | Winds were estimated at 60 to 70 MPH. |
| September 2001 | Hail | Lacona | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Lacona | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $5,000 | Law Enforcement reported downed trees up to 24 inches between Lacona and Milo. Time and location estimated from radar. Delayed report. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $5,000 | Wind speed estimated by Fire Department. |
| May 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $5,000 | Two foot diameter trees were uprooted. |
| June 2008 | Hail | Lacona | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2001 | Hail | Lacona | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lacona | $3,000 | Willow tree, along with 5-6 inch diameter limbs blown down. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Lacona | $2,000 | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Lacona | $1,000 | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Lacona | $1,000 | no account filed |
| November 2005 | Hail | Lacona | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Personal weather station storm total rainfall of 4.06 inches through midnight. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 2.99 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| June 2017 | Hail | Lacona | - | Amateur radio reported quarter sized hail. |
| July 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 3.27 inches. End time estimated from radar. |
| June 2015 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall total of 5.61 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| December 2015 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 2.79 inches over the last 48 hours/storm total so far. |
| June 2011 | Heavy Rain | Lacona | - | Rainfall over the past 24 hours. |
| March 2023 | Hail | Lacona | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Lacona | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Lacona | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Center | 6.2 miles | 11 | |
| Milo | 7.7 miles | 9 | |
| Lawrenceburg | 9.1 miles | 11 | |
| Hammondsburgh (historical) | 9.4 miles | 9 | |
| Cool | 10.6 miles | 11 | |
| Clarkson (historical) | 10.6 miles | 9 | |
| Medora | 11.6 miles | 11 | |
| Sandyville | 12.5 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Lacona | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1930017 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 458165. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






