Lake Mills, Iowa
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Center Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50450. The Survey maps it on the Lake Mills quadrangle. 2,143 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,289 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresLake Mills grew from 2,100 to 2,143 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 | 2,100 | |
| 2020 | 2,143 | +43 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 7 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.
- 1954 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Lake Mills quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
6 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Lake Mills between 2006 and 2020, burning about 68 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 April 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 March 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 20030 490TH ST., IOWA |
| 7 November 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 November 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 October 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Lake Mills: 6 unknowns, 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulveness Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
45 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Mills in 45 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 15 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 14 heavy rain, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2000 | Lightning | Lake Mills | $150,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $150,000 | no account filed |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $100,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $50,000 | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $30,000 | Trained spotter reported tree damage in town, including a very large tree uprooted. A few trees were reported on vehicles too. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $25,000 | KIMT TV reported damages to cars, a house, and to trees by high winds from a thunderstorm. |
| September 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $15,000 | A trailer was blown over and power pole snapped. |
| July 2011 | Hail | Lake Mills | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $10,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $5,000 | Trees down in Lake Mills. |
| March 2007 | Hail | Lake Mills | $5,000 | no account filed |
| September 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 1994 | Hail | Lake Mills | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 1993 | Hail | Lake Mills | $5,000 | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Lake Mills | $2,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 1995 | Hail | Lake Mills | $2,000 | no account filed |
| October 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Lake Mills | $1,000 | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Public report via social media of 4.5 inches of rain overnight. |
| June 2020 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer reported a 24 hour rainfall total of 2.03 inches. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | - | Trained spotter measured a 61 mph wind gust. His car door was caught by the wind when he was opening it, resulting in the door hitting his face and breaking his nose. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | CoCoRaHS observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.71 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.44 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | CoCoRaHS observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.73 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| April 2017 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 1.14 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | - | County dispatch reported trees down in town. This is a delayed report and time estimated from radar. |
| July 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer measured heavy rainfall of 3.72 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.1 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer recorded heavy rainfall of 2.1 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer reported heavy rainfall of 2.11 inches. |
| September 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | CoCoRaHS observer in Lake Mills recorded heavy rainfall of 2.07 inches over the last 24 hours. |
| August 2016 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Coop observer reported storm total heavy rainfall of 3.53 inches. |
| June 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Mills | - | Several trees and power lines down throughout town. |
| July 2013 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Rain started around 0830 with an estimated 5.5 to 6 inches of rainfall. |
| July 2013 | Heavy Rain | Lake Mills | - | Rainfall estimate since 0600 was 4.75 inches. |
| September 2024 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| September 2024 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| September 2024 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Lake Mills | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Funnel Cloud | Lake Mills | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norman (historical) | 5.4 miles | 7 | |
| Scarville | 5.7 miles | 7 | |
| Ratna (historical) | 6.4 miles | 8 | |
| Leland | 7.8 miles | 7 | |
| Vinje | 8.5 miles | 7 | |
| Forest City | 12.1 miles | 7 | |
| Thompson | 13.2 miles | 7 | |
| Amund (historical) | 14.3 miles | 7 |
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 Lake Mills | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1930131 | 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 458192. 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.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
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.




