Category: CNN Regional

By KCCI Staff

Click here for updates on this story

    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Five-year-old Madi Seivert of Granger celebrated being cancer-free after completing her final chemotherapy treatment at Blank Children’s Hospital.

Madi, diagnosed with leukemia at age 3, spent 806 days undergoing 19 procedures, seven blood transfusions, and countless chemotherapy treatments.

Last year, Madi became one of the first children at Blank Children’s Hospital to receive Blinatumomab, a revolutionary immunotherapy drug that is now part of the standard care for treating leukemia.

“The fact that it happened when we were in the middle of treatment and she got to do that was life-saving,” her mother, Ashley Seivert, said.

According to Blank Children’s Hospital, 35 children have received the drug, and survival rates are now approaching 96 to 97 percent.

Madi’s smile returned as she prepared for the emotional moment, surrounded by family, friends and her medical team.

“Chemo is done, and you get to ring the bell,” the staff sang, as the group serenaded Madi with applause and cheers.

“I am so proud of you! You did so good! You’re done,” her mother said.

Her parents expressed their gratitude and relief.

“Very proud. Relief. Just thankful that her body was able to handle all the treatments,” her father, Marty Seivert, said.

Madi will start kindergarten in the fall, a milestone her parents cherish deeply.

“We got preschool graduation pictures done, and seeing her in a little cap and gown, I was like, we will see her in a cap and gown when she’s older, too,” Ashley said, tearing up.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Patrick Talbot

Click here for updates on this story

    ENID, Oklahoma (KOCO) — One month after an EF-4 tornado destroyed the Gray Ridge neighborhood in Enid, a Polish exchange student and her host family are reflecting on the tragedy and the bond it forged between them.

“I just remember us just standing in the ruins of the kitchen. And just in the middle of all that getting rained on, and we just all hugged, and we’re just thankful to be there and thankful to be able to hug each other,” said Zofia Konczalska, a foreign exchange student from Poland.

Zofia rode out the tornado in the basement with her host family, Kurt and Ashlyn Young.

“We thought it was over. I said, ‘Girls, stay here. Let me go up and check.’ And I made it up the stairs, I got into the center part of my house, and I could still hear things hitting the house, so I turned around and raced back downstairs, and in my turning around, I saw something that I didn’t like seeing out the front window… there was nothing,” said Kurt Young, Ashlyn’s father.

Cyndi Young, Ashlyn’s mother, was not home when the tornado struck. She said it took hours before she could reunite with her family.

“I couldn’t get off base. It was locked down. And, you know, the whole nine yards. I didn’t see them until it was almost two in the morning before I actually saw them,” Cyndi said.

Zofia’s parents, who were in Poland at the time, woke up to a call from her at 3 a.m.

“There’s a difference of seven hours between Poland and here. So they got a phone call at 3 a.m., and just from Zofia’s voice, they already knew that something serious happened and something really bad happened,” said Grażyna Konczalska, Zofia’s mother.

Her father, Mariusz Konczalski, shared their limited knowledge of tornadoes.

“It was a very weird feeling because in Poland all we knew about tornadoes was from movies. So it was never something that we really thought that it would touch us since we don’t experience them in Poland,” Mariusz said.

Since the tornado, Zofia and the Youngs have grown closer, forming what she describes as a “real family.”

“I think most of all is just us really staying like a real family. Like, we did everything together. Like we’ve had to live in some temporary houses that we were all really close together, like we weren’t before. And, I mean, I feel like we just made the best out of, like, the worst,” Zofia said.

On Friday, Zofia and Ashlyn graduated from high school, with Zofia’s family traveling to Oklahoma to celebrate the occasion.

“Celebrating it all together here after this situation, it makes us realize what’s really important and just slowed us down a little bit from everyday things. You know, like the fast world that’s going on and just appreciate the time together that we have,” Grażyna said.

Zofia plans to attend college in South Carolina, while Ashlyn will attend the University of Central Oklahoma. Despite the distance, both are determined to maintain their friendship.

“I think we’ve both been dreading this day. Yeah, actually. But I think we’re going to for sure stay in touch forever. Because she’s not only my best friend, but my sister,” Zofia said.

“We’re not going to separate. That’s just not happening because I’ve never met somebody who’s always been there for me. And like, somebody I can always talk to about everything,” Ashlyn said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Meagan Halbardier Moore

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — An Albuquerque cat café says a delivery mix-up cost it more than $2,600 in donated cat food after packages meant for the business were repeatedly sent to a UPS store across the street and never reached the café.

Catopia Cat Café, near Wyoming Boulevard and Paseo del Norte, rescues cats and helps them find homes. Owner Sandy Dierks said the nonprofit-style business has helped about 2,200 cats get adopted since opening in January 2019.

Dierks said she first learned there was a problem when she went into the UPS Store across the street to mail a package, and an employee recognized her by her phone number.

“He said, ‘Oh, you’re with Catopia?’ And I said, ‘I am,’” Dierks said. “And he said, ‘Well, we’ve been getting your packages, and you’re not picking them up.’ I said, ‘Oh, I didn’t know we had packages.’”

After looking into it, Dierks said she discovered a donor had been sending monthly bags of specialized cat food since November 2022. But the packages were addressed to UPS instead of Catopia’s address, leading the deliveries to the UPS store.

“It’s not a small loss, it’s a huge loss,” Dirks said. “And in rescue, everything counts.”

Dierks said the donor was receiving notifications that the items had been delivered to the “front desk” and believed Catopia had received them.

Instead, Dierks said, the package were treated as unclaimed.

“She had signed up for monthly deliveries of a 16-pound bag of Science Diet cat food that was supposed to come to us,” Dierks said. “That’s three and a half years of monthly packages that we did not get.”

Dierks estimated the total loss at about 41 bags of cat food, at roughly $64 each.

“It was really upsetting to me to learn that it had been going on that long,” she said.

Dierks said the loss has been especially difficult because Catopia relies heavily on donations to keep operating. She said every dollar the café receives goes back into caring for cats.

“We could have done a lot with that food,” Dierks said. “If every dime that comes in here we spend on the cats, we could have done more medical for them if we weren’t having to pay for food.”

In a statement, Casey Sorrell, community and public relations manager, said The UPS Store location is owned and operated by a franchisee and that the store reported receiving “a few packages from an online retailer” for someone who was not affiliated with the store and was not a mailbox customer.

According to the statement, store staff tried calling the business listed on the packages, but got no response or were unable to leave a voicemail.

“The store in question followed its policy regarding unclaimed mail and packages,” the statement said.

Dierks said UPS offered Catopia $300, but she does not believe that is enough.

“I just think, you know, even if they had made a little effort, like if it’s truly a mistake and they’re just overwhelmed and can’t keep up, I get that,” she said. “But this was mistake after mistake for like 41 deliveries.”

Dirks said the address issue has now been corrected and future packages are being sent elsewhere to avoid another mix-up. She is also asking donors to let Catopia know when they send supplies so staff can track the deliveries.

She hopes this story serves as a reminder for people to follow up on donated items, especially when they are sending gifts that the recipient may not know are coming.

For Catopia, she said, every donation matters.

“We just really appreciate them and hope that they know that every little bit helps us,” Dierks said. “It’s really important.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lillian Donahue

Click here for updates on this story

    TEMPE, Arizona (KNXV) — Dozens of gentle giants filled the plaza of Friendship Village Healthcare Center in Tempe on Saturday to answer the wish of a Valley woman in hospice.

Angie Pierce has been a long-time owner and fan of the massive breed. However, she said she can no longer have her own due to cancer.

“I used to raise Great Danes in Florida. I no longer have one, so I just fell in love with these dogs and wish I could have them again,” Pierce said.

Pierce said she had one wish: to have a Great Dane visit her.

The Regal Dane Rescue worked with the community meetup group, the AZ Dane Army, to surprise her with more than 30 Danes on Saturday afternoon.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Cameron Polom

Click here for updates on this story

    COOLIDGE, Arizona (KNXV) — Last year, ABC15 met Imagine Coolidge Elementary Principal Erik Collins after he paid off a promise to students by sleeping on the school roof after they completed one million math problems at home. This year, the students raised the stakes — and so did he.

After challenging the school to complete three million math problems throughout the year, students rallied together with families and teachers to hit the milestone months ahead of schedule.

Along the way, administrators dressed in inflatable costumes, students turned their principal into a human ice cream sundae after reaching two million problems, and now, the final celebration literally took learning to new heights.

To reward students for crossing the three-million mark, Principal Collins is taking a paramotoring flight over the campus while students cheer him on from below.

Administrators say the challenge has strengthened study habits, increased family involvement, raised test scores, and made learning feel exciting instead of intimidating.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Patrick Talbot

Click here for updates on this story

    EL RENO, Oklahoma (KOCO) — The El Reno community is mourning the loss of four individuals who died in a crash early Friday morning, including two seniors who graduated this year.

Brad Palmer and Quincy Jones graduated from El Reno just days ago, Haliegh Salazar graduated from El Reno in 2025, and Kiercy Hickson was the fourth victim in the crash.

The group was killed after a suspected drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 40 near Czech Hall Road in Canadian County crashed into the vehicle they were traveling in.

The victims were described as a close group of friends with bright futures ahead of them.

A memorial has been placed on the interstate near the crash site to honor Brad and Kiercy. Flowers, pictures, and stuffed animals have been left to commemorate their lives.

GoFundMe fundraisers have been set up to help the families of the victims with funeral costs and other expenses.

GoFundMe pages have been created for Palmer, Salazar, Hickson and Jones.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kathryn Merck

Click here for updates on this story

    MILWAUKEE (WDJT) — A course created to combat gun violence in Milwaukee is nearing completion for its first class.

The initiative is called “I Will Not Die to Gun Violence” is a 10-week program for adults and young people involved in gun related cases. The goal is to make them re-evaluate their lives and rehabilitate those who are on dangerous paths.

Monte Mabra is leading this program, because on December 15th, his brother, Latroy Harris, was murdered at Dee’s Elegance Bar.

“It hurts,” Mabra said. “He was shot 15 times. It all started over a fight. It’s real taboo for me to the point where I’m fighting tears.”

On Sunday, May 24, CBS 58 got a look at a week of the curriculum that simulated a funeral service for a young boy in Milwaukee. Students were able to discuss the perspectives of the victim’s family and the perspective of the victimizer.

Mabra said 10 students will graduate next week. Some found the course online while others were directed to the class through a court order.

“It’s a great way to break certain cycles and how to educate my children better,” said Dan Cross, a student. “What they’re able to do is make it relatable and provide actual feedback so you can actually take it and create action with it.”

Antonio D. Brown has been charged with Harris’ murder. He was arrested in April, after months on the run from police, and will make his first court appearance on Friday. As his family prepares for a difficult week in court, Mabra says his family is finding peace in this program.

“I never wanted physical revenge,” Mabra said. “I just wanted to give back where it would save lives, not take lives. It’s coming to fruition.”

For questions or information about the initiative, Mabra can be contacted at votfc@att.net or you can call 414-306-2107

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Gracie Palmer

Click here for updates on this story

    FAIRVIEW, North Carolina (WLOS) — A local high schooler was recognized on Sunday, May 24, for earning her Girl Scout Gold Award, but her project is making an impact far beyond the ceremony.

A.C. Reynolds High School freshman Chloe Button created emergency communication packs for the Fairview Fire Department and nearby churches to help communities stay connected during future disasters.

The packs include radios, chargers, flashlights, and other emergency supplies.

“So, there are radios in there, the charger for the radios, a flashlight if power goes out,” Button said.

Button handed out the packs during her Girl Scout Gold dedication ceremony.

Fairview Fire Department Battalion Chief TJ Hill says the project addresses a major issue the department faced during Hurricane Helene.

“It’s very, very important to us because one of the reasons Hurricane Helene, we ended up, everybody was kind of trapped in their own place and no communications,” Hill said.

One of the most meaningful items in each pack is a card honoring Chloe’s late brother, Nathan Button.

The project was inspired by Nathan, who was killed by a distracted driver the night before Helene hit the area.

Chloe says that when her mother was flown to Charlotte for organ donation surgery, the storm made communication impossible.

She says that tragedy motivated her to help others avoid the same fear and uncertainty during emergencies.

“I hope people feel safer knowing that they have somewhere to go to and somewhere that we’ll be able to communicate and get them the help that they need,” Button said.

The radios at the fire department will serve as a backup communication system. Emma’s Grove Baptist and Oak Grove Baptist churches each received two emergency packs.

“[It will leave] a big impact on the community for sure, especially as many as she spread throughout the community,” Hill said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Keith BieryGolick

Click here for updates on this story

    FLORENCE, Kentucky (WCPO) — Randy Flexner points into the backseat of his car.

“There’s my kitchen,” Flexner said.

He walks around the front, reaching inside.

“And here’s my coffee counter,” Flexner said.

He pulls out a baby blue cup that says: Let the adventure begin.

Flexner is in the parking lot of Florence Christian Church. Because church officials run a program that offers free showers for people experiencing homelessness.

And Flexner knows it costs $18 for one at TravelCenters of America and $17 at Flying J.

“Being homeless is hard enough,” Flexner said. “Being grimy makes it feel all the worse.”

Inside the building, in what used to be storage space, Danielle Woods folds laundry. She’s been volunteering at the Fresh Start Shower Ministry for two years now. Before that, after her mom died, she mostly lived in the woods and took showers here for nine months.

“Mondays was our favorite day,” Woods said. “Because two days without a shower is kind of wild.”

Now, she’s found housing and tries to help people get into rehab. She says her work here helps her stay sober.

“We make ourselves a family,” Woods said. “Because they don’t get treated like human beings out there. But you come in here, and we treat everyone the same — whether we like you or not.”

She laughs and throws a load of clothes into the washer. Woods tells me that her daughter is now in her second semester of college. She smiles while telling me her GPA is 3.0.

Beyond showers, volunteers here wash clothes for people and try to connect them to other services — including dental visits, haircuts and medicaid assistance. In the courtyard, there’s a half-gallon of chocolate milk on the ground. Under the bench, there are a pair of black socks. A bottle of milk from Chick-fil-A sits on top.

This is just outside Pastor Susan Diamond’s office.

“All I can tell you is that when people get a shower, they feel human,” Diamond said. “We’ve seen lives change.”

In the last year, the organization says it’s had more than 12,000 visits. And now that summer is approaching, Diamond tells me they need help more than ever. Because other programs offered by county officials during the cold weather have subsided.

“Every person deserves grace, and that is what we’re here to do,” said Sam Combs, the operations director at the shower ministry. “To provide grace for folks that oftentimes are looked down upon.”

Outside the front door, Flexner pours a bottle of water into an empty McDonald’s cup. Then, he throws a blanket onto the ground. His dog, Lois, tries to eat my camera’s microphone.

He offers the dog a piece of fried chicken from inside the church.

“It feels like I’m in the right place,” Flexner said. “I’m happy.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Rob Cardwell

Click here for updates on this story

    HANOVER COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — At Cold Harbor Elementary School in Hanover County, two teachers share more than a hallway — they share a history that spans decades.

Elementary teacher Sophie Johnson and first grade teacher Stacey Duke work in classrooms right next to each other. They coordinate their lessons, including phonics, and support each other’s students. But their connection goes far deeper than professional collaboration.

Johnson went to elementary school at Cold Harbor Elementary — and she learned in the very same classroom she teaches in today.

“It’s amazing. It felt like coming back to my own home. I feel very attached to the room now and, um, it just feels like my own, the same but different,” Johnson said.

Her teacher back then was Duke, who now works right next door.

Johnson said her early days as a student were not easy.

“I was a little bit of an emotional mess. I didn’t want to leave home. I was so happy just to hang out there all day, but her being there really comforted me. She’s amazing at being there for her kids emotionally and she really loves her kids, and I felt that love when I was in her class,” Johnson said.

Duke remembered those early days, too.

“Her mom reached out to me and said that she was nervous. And she came in and helped me set my classroom up during teacher work week,” Duke said.

The confidence Duke helped build in Johnson carried her all the way back to Hanover County as an educator herself — one focused on passing that same love of learning on to her own students.

“Helping my kids learn to love learning and make them want to come to school every day and excited to be there and to learn,” Johnson said.

Now, teaching side by side, both women say they hope to leave a lasting mark on the next generation of learners.

“I want them to walk out of my door feeling like they had a great second grade year this year, or in her case, kindergarten and first grade, and that I was part of that. It means a lot when I saw her name on the list and then she walked down the hall. It meant the world to me that I knew I had made an impact on her,” Duke said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.