Community Corner
🌱 Patch AM: What happens inside Ankeny’s new ‘brain health’ rooms for students?
Be sure to catch Drop-In Pickleball on the Ankeny Patch calendar
Hello Ankeny! Stay connected with the latest updates from around town. Let's dive in! ☀️
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In today's newsletter:
- What happens inside Ankeny's new 'brain health' rooms for students?
- Remember when a tornado ripped roofs off homes across Ankeny?
- An Ankeny resident earns top honors from Iowa State's business college
Also on today's calendar: Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting for Royal Palm Marketing and 9 more events.
Today's riddle: Do you know what the two sides of a circle are? 🤔 (Answer below!)
- Thursday: Some rain and a thunderstorm, with a high of 65 and low of 58 degrees.
- Friday: Cloudy with showers around, temps: high: 65, low: 57.
- Saturday: Mostly cloudy, showers around, with a high of 63 and low of 56 degrees.
📰 News we're reading
• Iowa's new front on classroom behavior: Brain health rooms (axios.com) — Middle schoolers in Ankeny now have access to new "brain health retreat rooms," quiet spaces where up to five students at a time can step away to manage anxiety with support from school social workers. Funded and furnished through a Brain Health Now partnership, the rooms reflect a broader statewide push to address student well-being early and keep kids in class. 
• See storm damage left behind by Iowa tornadoes from 1985 to 2016 (press-citizen.com) — A new photo gallery revisits decades of Iowa tornado damage, including vivid scenes from Ankeny's March 13, 1990 storm that tore roofs from homes and scattered debris across neighborhoods. The collection spans communities statewide, offering perspective on how severe weather has repeatedly reshaped towns and underscoring why preparedness still matters here.
• Ivy College of Business honorees recognized for leadership, service, and impact (iastate.edu) — Ankeny gets a quiet shout-out as insurance executive and community leader Jeff Rommel, who lives in the city, is among several Ivy College of Business honorees recognized for leadership and service. The ceremony at Iowa State celebrates alumni and friends whose careers, philanthropy, and civic work have strengthened central Iowa communities and supported students across the state.
📸 Around Ankeny
Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!
🗓 Upcoming Events in Ankeny
Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!
★ Featured events ★
- Drop-In Pickleball →
Albaugh Family Senior Community Center, 150 NW Ash Drive, Ankeny
9:00 am
Friday September 25
Want to see your event featured? Click here!
Other local events
- Ankeny Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting for Royal Palm Marketing →
1360 SW Park Square Dr Ste 104, 106 & 108, Ankeny, IA 50023
12:00 pm - Drop-In Chair Volleyball →
Albaugh Family Senior Community Center, 150 NW Ash Drive, Ankeny
12:00 pm - DMACC 5K Walk/Run and Kids Fun Run →
Ankeny IA - Drop-In Table Tennis →
Albaugh Family Senior Community Center, 150 NW Ash Drive, Ankeny
10:00 am - 5k Beer Run x Firetrucker | 2026 IA Brewery Running Series →
Firetrucker Brewery, 716 Southwest 3rd Street, Ankeny - Foodies + New Friends: Ankeny →
Southwest 3rd Street, Ankeny - Dungeons & Dragons →
1250 SW District Dr., Ankeny
2:00 pm - Drop-In Pickleball →
Albaugh Family Senior Community Center, 150 NW Ash Drive, Ankeny
9:00 am - Movie & Make →
1250 SW District Dr., Ankeny
10:00 am - Social Cribbage →
1250 SW District Dr., Ankeny
1:00 pm - September 2026 Special Meeting →
USDA Service Center, Large Conference Room, 1513 N. Ankeny Blvd. STE 3, Ankeny
1:30 pm
Friday September 25
Saturday September 26
Sunday September 27
Monday September 28
📣 Ankeny Shout Outs!
Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!
Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.
Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.
💬 Chatter
What your neighbors are talking about on social media
- Walmart posted a job opening for Stocking Team Associate in Ankeny. Apply here.
- Hy-Vee Supermarket posted a job opening for Aisles Online Shopper in Ankeny. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Ankeny here.
🗞 Nearby News
Johnston
- Network/Server Administrator - Randstad Digital - Johnston, IA, US (dice.com)
- Iowa National Guard event brings awareness to veteran suicide rates (who13.com)
- Johnston and Grimes join dozens of cities suing fire truck manufacturers • Iowa Capital Dispatch (iowacapitaldispatch.com)
Polk City
- Central Iowa service providers push to keep navigators as pilot ends (desmoinesregister.com)
Ok Ankeny! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!
-- The Patch AM Team
P.S. The answer to today's riddle: The inside and the outside ! (Thank you James M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!
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