2026/03/25

Eye Opener: Ankeny schoolchildren injured after vehicle leaves school pickup line

It's Wednesday, March 25.

Today's emoji forecast: 🌞🌞🌞 Today's highs will get into the 70s and 80s. Jon Rivas has your forecast.

What people are talking about:

The Des Moines School Board held a joint meeting with the Des Moines City Council yesterday to discuss the sweeping "Reimagining Education" plan, including questions over the plan's signature schools.
An armed person was shot and killed by Des Moines police last night during a welfare check at a southside apartment complex.
Hawkeye hoops fans are heading south to Houston for the team's first Sweet 16 game in more than 25 years.

TOP STORY: 9 children injured after being struck by vehicle in Ankeny school pickup line

THE 101: Nine students at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic School in Ankeny were transported to local hospitals after being struck by a vehicle.

WHAT WE KNOW: Ankeny police Sgt. Trevor McGraw said the incident happened at around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the school's pickup line. A vehicle went over the curb where students were waiting, striking several of them.

Patients were sent to Blank Children's Hospital and MercyOne. Authorities have not yet provided updates on their conditions.

MAIN TAKEAWAYS:

The driver remained on the scene. Investigators do not believe the incident was intentional.
"A lot of parents stepped up and were helping stabilize injuries and care for those who had been affected by the car accident," McGraw said.
The crash remains under investigation.

4 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

🏀 The grass is greener: The Iowa State women's basketball team is losing at least five players from this year's team to the transfer portal, including former All-Big 12 performer Addy Brown. Read more

🚒 Deadly explosion: An explosion at a southwest Iowa salvage yard left an employee dead. Read more

🚨 Testing, testing: Don't be alarmed: tornado sirens across the state will sound at 10 a.m. today as part of a statewide severe weather drill. Read more

⚖️ Cold case goes to trial: An Iowa family is hopeful for justice as the trial of Robert Davis, charged with the murder of an Iowa woman in 1989, begins this week. Read more

WEATHER OUTLOOK

Today will be much warmer than what we have seen this week with highs into the 70s and 80s.

We will have some high level clouds filtering out the sunshine, but it will still be a mostly sunny and warm day with a mild southwest breeze. A weak surface low will weaken the warm air advection, so highs are slightly reduced compared to yesterday morning's forecast.

Thursday morning will still feature a midday cold front. This means it will be mild for the morning with a quick breezy warm up into lunchtime. Afterwards, north winds will pick up along with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range. This will not only knock temperature back down, but it will also bring rain chances back for the afternoon and evening. These will only be isolated to scattered light showers. Rainfall totals will mainly be under a tenth of an inch with most of the state staying dry. With weak precipitation chances and strong winds, we will see an elevated fire risk through the morning and into the afternoon.

We will be cool for all of Friday with lows in the 30s in the morning and temperatures in the afternoon struggling to break out of the 40s. The north breeze will be persistent and then shift more southerly for the weekend. We will rebound for Saturday and Sunday with Breezy conditions turning windy for Sunday. This will set us up for the 70s to return next week along with more rain and storm chances.

MORE FROM THE ARCHIVES

Today: Mostly sunny. Much warmer. High 79F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday: Partly cloudy and windy. Chance of a shower. High near 77F. Winds shifting from SE to NW at 15 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny and breezy. High near 49F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph.