Exhibit 99.1      Press Release



PRESS RELEASE
February 1, 2002

                                 For further information contact:
                                 David M. Bradley
                                 Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
                                 North Central Bancshares, Inc.
                                 825 Central Avenue
                                 Fort Dodge, Iowa 50501
                                 515-576-7531

                    NORTH CENTRAL BANCSHARES, INC. ANNOUNCES
                            STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

Fort Dodge, Iowa, February 1, 2002 - North Central Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:
"FFFD") (the "Company"), the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of
Iowa, announced today that it will commence a stock repurchase program. The
program authorizes the Company to repurchase up to 100,000 shares of its
outstanding shares of common stock during the next twelve months. The
repurchases will be made from time to time, in open market transactions, at the
discretion of management.

This new program will commence immediately upon the completion of the Company's
current repurchase program which was announced on September 20, 2001, of which
10,700 shares remain to be purchased. The Company has 1,700,280 shares of common
stock currently outstanding.

North Central Bancshares, Inc., with over $379 million in assets, as of December
31, 2001, is the holding company for First Federal Savings Bank of Iowa, a
federally chartered stock savings bank. First Federal is a community-oriented
institution serving Iowa through 8 full service locations in Fort Dodge, Nevada,
Ames, Perry, Burlington and Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. First Federal's deposits are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.