Axios Des Moines

April 29, 2026
✍️ It's Wednesday. On this day in 1940, Anne Frank sent her final letter to her international pen pals based in Danville, Iowa, per Notes on Iowa.
🌤️ Weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 60 and a low of 42.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Des Moines members Sara Carmichael and Larry James!
Today's newsletter is 1,028 words — a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: Drake clinic's unknown future
For years, Drake University law students gained hands-on experience with criminal cases through the university's Wrongful Convictions Clinic, but the clinic's future is uncertain following the sudden firing of its director.
Why it matters: The clinic, which started in January 2021, provides legal services to people who say they were wrongfully convicted while giving law students hands-on experience.
- It operated in partnership with the state Public Defender's Office.
This semester, Drake students were forced to find new internships, leaving clients with less help.
- "It just felt very abrupt," says Kaille Simmons, who is in her last year of law school and plans on becoming a public defender. "Everyone kind of struggled on figuring out what the next steps were."
How it started: Erica Nichols Cook helped open Drake's Wrongful Convictions Clinic and became its director following her years as a public defender in Iowa and Illinois.
- Through the clinic, students could learn about post-conviction work, meet clients and earn hours needed for their law degrees.
For students like Simmons, that work was exciting — so much so that she continued the work for three semesters, including this spring.
- But a week into the semester, she discovered she would need to drop her case and move to a different course offering.
- Drake had fired Nichols Cook, saying she improperly took a $154,000 check, intended for the university, from a former client she helped exonerate, per a statement from the university.
- Cook said it was a misunderstanding that could have been resolved had the university taken the time to speak with her.
- A police investigation did not result in criminal charges, per the Register.
What they're saying: In a statement to Axios, Drake University notes that it is working on "charting a sustainable path forward for the Wrongful Convictions Clinic" and hopes to resume operations next semester.
- Eight third-year law students in the clinic were moved into other courses in the curriculum.
- "We understand why they may be disappointed by this change. While this impact was unforeseen and unfortunate, the actions we took were necessary," per the statement.
The big picture: The loss of Drake students' help this semester has been a significant adjustment for the State Public Defender's Office, Nichols Cook tells Axios.
- Students helped screen potential clients, file motions and conduct research for cases.
- "The clients have definitely felt their absence," Nichols Cook says. "They liked working with students and feeling like they had a team."
What's next: Drake is having conversations with the office to find a "mutually beneficial solution moving forward," per a statement, though nothing has been finalized yet.
2. Scarpino's is coming back
Scarpino's pizza will return this summer at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, more than 50 years after going off the market.
Why it matters: The revival brings a rare piece of the metro's culinary history back to the public.
Catch up quick: The fairgrounds grocery store is expanding.
- Owner Mark Graziano told Axios earlier this month that a new addition was also relaunching a well-known local pizza made from scratch.
The deal wasn't finalized and Graziano couldn't reveal the pizza until this week.
Flashback: The pizza dates back to the 1960s, when the Scarpino family ran a restaurant in a former two-bedroom home at 73rd Street and University Avenue in Clive that had been expanded with multiple additions for the business.
- Ken Scarpino was widely known as the host, frequently breaking into song, marching, ringing bells and honking horns, according to newspaper archives.
Yes, but: Scarpino's Pizza House's business declined after road construction altered access to the building.
- It closed in 1970, and the building was destroyed by a fire three years later.
State of play: Marty Scarpino, Ken's son and a former longtime owner of Jesse's Embers, tells Axios that he made the family pizza and gave it away a few times during the pandemic.
- He's not looking to restart the pizza house business, but he partnered with Graziano because people responded so positively to his earlier giveaways, he said.
Dig in: The signature pizza will be made with the Scarpino family's sausage recipe and a house-made sauce.
- "There's a lot of meat on it," Marty said.
What's next: The pie's modern debut will be at the Goodguys car show on July 3-5, and again at this year's fair, Aug. 13-23.
3. The Ear: Catch up on the news
🛍️ West Des Moines City Council approved a potential incentive of up to $110 million for the redevelopment of Valley West Mall. However, progress may be stalled due to long-term leases with existing tenants, including JCPenney, which is committed to staying. (KCCI)
💵 State Auditor Rob Sand released a reaudit report of Des Moines Public Schools, which found $46 in unsupported reimbursements to former Superintendent Ian Roberts and $2,000 in questionable disbursements.
- Roberts also hid a conflict of interest with a school vendor the district hired, according to the report. (WHO-13)
👀 Meanwhile, Roberts published a book on Monday, while awaiting his sentencing at Polk County Jail. (KCCI)
🏢 Krause Group wants to renovate the Butler Building — which previously housed Gas Lamp — into a commercial and residential building.
- The company also wants to renovate the former Jefferson Apartments into 60 residential units and turn a former Sherwin-Williams Paints store into a parking lot. (Des Moines Register)
🧑⚖️ A federal judge ruled he had "little choice" but to allow the deportation of a Bolivian asylum-seeker from Iowa to the Democratic Republic of Congo. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
4. Worthy of your time: Get permission to pet
Today is International Guide Dog Day, and our very own editor, Chloe Gonzales, regularly volunteers with service dogs.
- To date, she's raised eight dogs and is a master potty trainer.
Dogs are cute, but here are tips from Guide Dogs for the Blind on how to treat a working dog:
- Don't pet or talk to a working dog without asking the handler first.
- Don't offer food, other distracting treats or toys.
- Keep your own pets leashed and at a respectful distance.
Between the lines: These are good rules if you see a pet dog, too.
Chloe's thought bubble: It's also tough to get puppies in training to focus, and trainers need all the help they can get to set them up for success.
🫁 1 free thing to go: Get tickets to a short documentary and Q&A with Mike Welsh, the Iowa scientist whose work transformed cystic fibrosis into a manageable condition.
- Tonight at Varsity Cinema in DSM, starting at 7pm.
This newsletter was edited by Chloe Gonzales.
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