[2][3] John Cullen began publishing The Storm Lake Times as a weekly newspaper, on June 29, 1990.

Cullen's coverage of corporate funds being used by the local public utility to fight a federal lawsuit related to the release of nitrates into drinking water earned him national acclaim.

[7][8] The newspaper's coverage of ethnicity-related issues in Storm Lake, where 21 percent of residents are Latino, also earned praise from The Los Angeles Times.

[10] On May 7, 2008, The Times again received national attention for a story written by reporter Jake Kurtz about Dale Davis, a blind World War II veteran who bowled a perfect 300 game at Century Lanes in Alta, Iowa.

[citation needed] The sports department covers eight high schools (Storm Lake, Storm Lake St. Mary's, Alta, Newell-Fonda, Schaller-Crestland, Sioux Central, Aurelia, Laurens-Marathon) and one college (Buena Vista University).