🏀 Iowa's Alive, Half Your Streets Are Closing, and Wednesday Hits 80° — Welcome to Ankeny's Week

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Construction season is officially here, Iowa just pulled off one of the most jaw-dropping shots in tournament history, and Ankeny schools are planning a field trip to France. Plus: Easter eggs, donut shops, pizza, and your utility bill is going up a little. Classic week. Let's roll. 🚲

Tuesday 3/24 ☁️ — 60° high, cloudy, barely a chance of rain. Decent.

Wednesday 3/25 🤩 — 80°. In March. Partly cloudy. 5% rain.
>> GO OUTSIDE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. <<

Thursday 3/26 🌬️ — Back to reality. 70° sounds fine until you see 21 mph winds
and a 24% chance of rain. Hold onto your hat. Literally.

Friday 3/27 🥶 — 49° high, 27° low. Yeah. That happened.
Spring was fun while it lasted (it lasted one day).

Saturday 3/28 🌤️ — 58° and mostly sunny. The comeback arc begins.

Sunday 3/29 ⛅ — 65° and partly cloudy. Iowa is apologizing for Friday.

Monday 3/30 ☀️ — 77° and we're basically back to summer. Wild week, honestly.

Bottom line: Wednesday is a gift from the weather gods. Thursday is their revenge.
Plan accordingly, Ankeny. 🌪️

Let's start here because it deserves it.

The #9 Hawkeyes are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999 after one of the best tournament weekends in recent Iowa basketball history. They beat #8 Clemson 67-61 in the first round, then knocked off #1 Florida 73-72 on a three-pointer from Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds left. First-year head coach Ben McCollum's squad now faces #4 Nebraska in Houston tonight. The two split their season series — Iowa won at home, Nebraska won in OT in Lincoln. Iowa is a 2.5-point underdog. Tip is at 6:30 PM CT on TBS.

📺 Watch: TBS/truTV | 📍 Toyota Center, Houston, TX
🔗 Source: SI.com — Sweet 16 schedule and times | ESPN game page | Des Moines Register game preview

The #2 Cyclones had All-American Joshua Jefferson go down injured in the first round — and still rolled. Tamin Lipsey stepped up with a career-high 26 points and 10 assists as ISU beat #7 Kentucky 82-63 in St. Louis on Sunday. Now they face #6 Tennessee at the United Center in Chicago tomorrow night. Jefferson's status is uncertain after an MRI.

📺 Watch: TBS/truTV | 📍 United Center, Chicago, IL
🔗 Source: Iowa State Athletics | Des Moines Register — Iowa State vs. Tennessee preview

The Panthers made the tournament for the first time since 2016 after winning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament — then lost 79-53 to St. John's in the first round. Nothing to hang their heads about. They earned it.

Go Hawkeyes. Go Cyclones. 🌪️🦅

Mayor Bobbi Bentz announced this week that the 2026 Capital Improvement Program is officially underway. Here's what's active right now and what's starting soon.

Closed from about 60 feet west of NW Logan Street to just east of the school's southern entrance. Work includes pavement reconstruction, street widening, stormwater upgrades, ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps, and minor water main replacement. Stage 1 is expected to take about 3 months.

Between Ankeny Boulevard and Delaware Avenue. Periodic lane closures in either the inside or outside lane for both eastbound and westbound traffic. Weather permitting.

South Ankeny Boulevard Improvements — SE Peterson Drive to First Street
A joint project with the City and Iowa DOT. Expect lane closures on South Ankeny Blvd. All utilities (storm, sanitary, water, fiber) and pavement within the corridor will be replaced over the next two years. Dedicated turn lanes at major intersections. A raised median will be installed from just north of SE Peterson Drive to just south of Third Street.

NW Irvinedale Drive & NW 18th Street Intersection Improvements
Final work: pavement patching, permanent sealing, permanent markings, final grading and seeding. The intersection stays open — occasional daytime lane closures with flaggers. No road closures, no detours. Expected to wrap up in about five weeks, weather permitting.

• Annual PCC Street Patching Program
• Annual Asphalt Street Resurfacing
• Annual Pavement Preservation
• Annual Street Replacement
• West First Street Widening – Phase 2
• South Ankeny Blvd Improvements – SE Peterson to 1st St
• SE Creekview Drive Extension
• Annual Traffic Signal Improvements
• Fiber Optic Network Upgrade
• North Ankeny Blvd Improvements – 1st to 11th Street
• NW 9th Street Reconstruction

• Annual Sidewalk/Trail Construction Program

• Annual Storm Water Replacement
• Four Mile Creek Channel Stabilization – NE 36th to NE 47th
• Four Mile Creek Channel Stabilization – Heritage Park
• Four Mile Creek Stabilization – NE 47th to NE 54th
• NW 17th Street Storm Sewer & Pavement Improvements
• SW Des Moines Street Utility Improvements

• Annual Sanitary Sewer Replacement
• Otter Creek Trunk Sewer – Phase 4
• Water Storage Tower No. 4

• Annual Park Development
• Hawkeye Park Tennis Courts Reconstruction
• Sunrise Park Parking Lot Reconstruction
• Prairie Ridge Baseball Infield Reconstruction
• High Trestle Trail Experience Park – Underpass Lighting & Flowline

• Public Works Satellite Salt Storage Facility
• City Facility Parking Lot Improvements
• Fire Station No. 1 Tile Improvements
• Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library Tile Improvements

For maps, timelines, and updates: www.ankenyiowa.gov/construction
Sign up for construction alerts: https://ankenyiowa.gov/subscribe

🔗 Source: Mayor Bobbi Bentz on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1GcTJdy8PZ/
🔗 City of Ankeny CIP Reel — https://www.facebook.com/reel/2466455360450838
🔗 City of Ankeny Government on Facebook

📢 Hickman Road / I-35 & I-80 — Closures Through Thursday Night
Crews are demolishing old interstate bridges over U.S. 6/Hickman Road.

• Single lane closure of both NB and SB I-35/I-80 lanes
Sunday March 22 – Thursday March 26 | 9 PM – 5 AM
• Hickman Road closed to traffic between ramp terminals
• Ramps at U.S. 6/Hickman Road remain open
• Detour: NW 128th Street → University Avenue → NW 114th Street

Also: I-235 westbound had a brief closure near the East 6th Street S / Pennsylvania Avenue N on-ramp this week — that has since reopened. I-80 eastbound between I-235 and Exit 141 near Des Moines also briefly closed and has reopened.

🔗 Source: DSMInterstates on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/dsminterstates
🔗 Iowa 511 Central Region — https://www.facebook.com/Iowa511Central
🔗 Live traffic map — http://maps.511ia.org?type=event&id=IADOT-22194086065WB

This week's board agenda covers the standard consent items (minutes, open enrollment, paid bills, personnel, facility rentals) along with these information-only updates:

• General Obligation Bond Update — ongoing update on the facilities program
• Facilities & Finance Committee Minutes — February 2026
• Policy Committee Minutes — February 2026
• School Improvement Advisory Committee Minutes

Hidden in the board documents this week: Ankeny Community School District has signed an exchange partnership with Lycée Sainte Marie Grand Lebrun in Bordeaux, France — for the 2026 through 2027 academic year, then repeating every other year.

About 20–26 students from each school will be paired with a host-country partner for a 7–10 day homestay. Students attend classes at the host school, take part in organized excursions, and live day-to-day with their host family.

The trip is school-sponsored, which means U.S. drinking laws apply — no exceptions, even in France. Host families are being made aware of that expectation.

Ankeny Centennial High School's 2026 Spring Musical is officially called Big Fish
— and the district just signed Logan Eilers to choreograph the whole thing for $1,100.
The contract runs March 1 through April 18, 2026.

If you've got a kid in the show or just love live theater, start clearing your
calendar. Big Fish is a story about a larger-than-life father told through his tall
tales — big emotion, big dance numbers, big production. Should be a great one.

The district signed a $6,100 contract with Performance Collective to deliver
nutrition education to the Centennial football program — running April 1 through
December 1, 2026.

That's a full season of intentional fueling education for student athletes: what to
eat, when to eat it, and how to actually perform at a high level. Smart investment
for a competitive program heading into fall.

Source: Ankeny Community School District Board Agenda, March 23, 2026

☕ Lattes & Leads — Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce
Tuesday, March 25 | 7:30–9:00 AM
📍 Warners' Stellian Appliance | 1205 SE 16th Ct., Ankeny
"Kitchen Conversations & Coffee Connections" — bring your business cards.

💻 AI for Business Webinar — ALLO Business
Wednesday, March 25 | 2:00–2:45 PM CT | Online
How leaders can actually start using AI today. No hype. Practical stuff.
🔗 Register: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/b3b1b183-dbec-491b-95d4-37e8f4ec6700@5010a3f7-0c3b-4439-96a4-828587594f66

🎨 Ankeny Art Center — Youth Art Reception
Wednesday, March 26 | 5:00–7:00 PM
📍 1520 SW Ordnance Rd, Ankeny
Free to attend. Lemonade and cookies provided. Come celebrate our young artists.
🔗 https://www.facebook.com/AnkenyArtCenter

🐣 Easter Egg Hunt & Photos with the Easter Bunny — Ankeny Kiwanis Club
Saturday, March 28 | 9:00 AM
📍 Hawkeye Park Ball Fields & Miracle League Park | 400 NW Lakeshore Dr, Ankeny
Photos at 9 AM. Egg hunt kicks off at 9:30 AM. Free community event.
🔗 https://www.ankenyiowa.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Hawkeye-Park-67

✂️ Ribbon Cutting — Lymphatic Care and Wellness
Monday, March 30 | 4:30–5:00 PM
📍 Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce | 1360 SW Park Square Dr Ste 106, Ankeny
🔗 http://lcw.rehab/

If you've been missing your pizza fix — Nonna's Ankeny is back and welcoming customers in again, with 16–20 different slices on display daily.

"We've missed you and can't wait to welcome you in again," owner Donnie posted this week. "Thank you for your continued support."

Source: Nonna's Ankeny on Facebook

Linda Donuts is at 1810 SW White Birch Cir in Ankeny. Not enough people talking about this place. Just saying.
🔗 www.lindadonutsankeny.com

Governor Kim Reynolds shared last week that Iowa ranked #1 most affordable state in the nation — news that Mayor Bobbi Bentz reposted with a simple "All we do is win." For a city that already ranks #18 Best Place to Live in America (U.S. News & World Report), it's a good week to be from here.

🔗 Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1J7FgVgbhw/

✝️ New City Church — Ankeny

This Sunday's message hit close to home: Do you actually want to be healed?

From John 5 — a man stuck for 38 years, and the one question Jesus asked him
that changes everything. Worth 5 minutes of your Sunday.

📖 Read the full summary → March 23rd Sermon Notes

That's Issue #6! Iowa and Iowa State both play Thursday and Friday in the Sweet 16. Construction is everywhere and necessary. Wednesday is going to be 80 degrees before Thursday tries to ruin everything.

Watch the games. Enjoy the warmth while it lasts. Clear your schedule Thursday night.

Reply to this email anytime — we read them all.

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