Pepper Purpura

Help us welcome 11-year-old Blake Bonta to the Urbandale police force!

DES MOINES, Iowa — Metro area school districts are reporting thousands owed in lunch account balances as the first day of school approaches , spurring efforts to pay down balances before the start of school.

Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night in Chicago.

Baccam said mobilizing his campaign in the wake of the DNC is tactical. DES MOINES, Iowa —

Although life will never be what it was before May 21 in Greenfield, many say the return to classes is a step toward normalcy.

Almost a month after a life-threatening e-scooter crash left him with a traumatic brain injury, a Waukee teen is walking, talking, and saying "thank you" to the woman he said saved his life.

Organizers of an annual, three-day resource fair aiming to assist people, especially veterans, experiencing homelessness in the Des Moines area may cancel the event after a state policy change denied the group venue access.On Aug. 8, John Malloy said he filed the required paperwork to host the Des Moines Homeless Veterans Stand Down, an annual 3-day event that connects homeless people and veterans with resources, provides warm meals and allows on-site camping monitored by security. In 2023, around 1,200 people attended. The group has hosted the event on an empty lot owned by the state at 12th and Des Moines Street previously. See KCCI's coverage of the event last year here. The week prior to this story's publication, the state responded to the request, informing organizers that event plans the state has accommodated in years past are now against policy.According to email correspondence between the Iowa Department of Administrative Services and event organizers, a new policy was enacted on July 26th. It bars anyone from hosting an event on state property for longer than one day. Event organizer Nick Lemmo said set-up alone exceeds the allowed time, and even if the event could be ready, one day is not enough time for visitors to connect with organizations attending without missing other opportunities at the event. Any venue available to host the event Sept. 12 may contact [email protected].» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI

A Johnston youth facility will be allowed an exception to city code, as leadership continues efforts to address safety concerns for residents, staff and people living nearby after a staff member was assaulted and later died in May.Tuesday, the city council approved the Sept. 3 consent agenda, including a measure allowing Ellipsis Youth Home to construct an eight-foot-tall wrought iron fence around the facility perimeter. The Johnston Board of Supervisors previously approved the plan on Aug. 22 after hearing testimony from people living near the facility about their experiences seeing residents on their property.Jim Prowl, who lives across the street from the facility, said he sees residents in his neighborhood frequently and once found one in his garage.Prohl said he's lived in his home for 35 years. Since living there, Prohl said the Ellipsis building has always functioned as a home for youth. However, in recent years he's noticed far more calls to his street. "It's pretty much a daily basis," Prohl said.Data from Johnston police shows that over a three-year span, the department received almost 1,000 calls for service to the facility. A total of 676 of those calls were to address runaways.2021: 183 calls for service128 runaway, 18 missing, 5 assault, 32 other2022: 229 calls for service172 runaway, 9 missing, 15 assault, 33 other2023: 382 calls for service251 runaway, 1 missing, 31 assault, 111 other2024: (before May 8th) - 193 125 runaway or missing, 21 assault, 5 theft or burglary, 3 criminal mischief, 50 otherOn May 8, Kathleen Galloway-Menke, a former Ellipsis employee, died back in May. Johnston police said a 15-year-old resident of the group home shoved Galloway-Menke, while she, along with a male employee, were following the boy after he left the facility without permission.The boy turned around and started sprinting toward them before colliding with Galloway-Menke, causing her to hit her head on the pavement. She died a few days later after being taken off life support. The teen is charged with second-degree murder. During an interview in June, Ellipsis CEO Chris Koepplin said she knew the calls were increasing."We knew that our calls for service have been going up. We knew that kids were leaving our campus more often than they did before, so trying to figure out, first of all, the 'why' behind all those things, but also figuring out what we can do about it. So again, prioritizing the safety of our kids, our staff and our community," Koepplin said.Months before the assault, Koepplin said Ellipsis had already begun working on a plan with Johnston police to improve safety for staff, residents and the surrounding community. She previously said the facility had a policy against locking exterior doors to keep teenagers inside because the nonprofit does not want the teens to feel institutionalized while in foster care. In June, Koepplin said Ellipsis is reviewing that policy to see if changes need to be made.In a statement Tuesday, Koepplin elaborated on the decision to request permission to build a higher fence. "As previously stated, Ellipsis has long worked with the city, surrounding neighbors and other stakeholders in our efforts to keep safety a top priority for our youth, staff and the community. Over the last few months, we have been meeting one-on-one and in small groups with the surrounding neighbors and city leaders to come up with the best tactics.A fence around our Johnston campus allows youth to leave the building to “cool off” while maintaining everyone's safety. As a visible physical barrier, the fence will prevent the vast majority of elopements, particularly if it is 8 feet high rather than the standard 6 feet high."KCCI followed up asking if the fence would be locking, and if the policy against locking exterior doors would also be maintained."The proposed wrought iron-style fence will include badge accessed-gates. Ellipsis serves kids in a wide variety of spaces, but on the Johnston campus, they are providing the Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP), also known as foster group care services.Ellipsis is not a detention or correctional facility and is not currently planning to lock our buildings from the inside. All youth in QRTP are court-ordered into a foster care placement with Ellipsis so the organization can help provide treatment and care for kids who have been through a vast array of trauma – physical abuse and other domestic violence, incarceration of their parents, substance abuse, poverty and a myriad of other difficulties. Ellipsis helps youth heal so they can move onto their next chapter successfully."

DES MOINES, Iowa — Dozens are looking for a new ride to work as the nonprofit Job Rides reports a lapse in funding, leading the founder to consider substantial cutbacks and possible closure.

"He really does love cheering on the Hawkeyes," the boy's father told KCCI.