EXHIBIT 24

                         CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS




                          Independent Auditors' Consent

The Board of Directors
First Federal Bankshares, Inc.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement on Form
S-8 of First Federal Bankshares, Inc. of our report dated August 8, 2003,
relating to the consolidated balance sheets of First Federal Bankshares, Inc.
and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2003 and 2002, and the related consolidated
statements of operations, changes in stockholders' equity and comprehensive
income, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended June
30, 2003, which report appears in the June 30, 2003, annual report on Form 10-K
of First Federal Bankshares, Inc.

                                                             /s/ KPMG LLP

Des Moines, Iowa
September 26, 2003