Mitch Matthews will host his next “Big Dream Gathering” on Sunday at Prairie Life Fitness in West Des Moines. Intended to give people a safe place to dream with no sales pitches, no hidden agendas and no cost to attend, Matthews and his wife, Melissa, have been holding the gatherings for four years. “We just ask that people come to post at least one big dream, and write on at least one other person’s dream sheet,” he said. Noting that big dreams are recession-proof, Matthews said some people who have attended past gatherings went on to launch businesses and nonprofit organizations, run marathons and help children living in poverty. “We’ve seen a lot of people go after their big dreams even with hard economic times,” he said. The free event is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. at 4875 Mills Civic Parkway. West Bank is the presenting sponsor.

Dave Kurns, director of business development with Meredith Corp., has been selected to receive the James W. Schwartz Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism and Communication from Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. The award is the highest honor conferred by the Greenlee School and is named after James W. Schwartz, who was department chair for 13 years and also served as president of the Association for Education in Journalism. Kurns, a 1982 Iowa State journalism graduate, will be honored on Oct. 29 during homecoming activities in Hamilton Hall.

Everybody Wins! Iowa, a volunteer literacy organization dedicated to increasing children’s success in school through reading and mentoring experiences, has elected four new members to its board of directors. Summer Evans of Des Moines, Matthew Grohe of Des Moines, Paritosh Kasotia of West Des Moines and Carol Millar of Ankeny were elected during the organization’s annual meeting on May 10. Everybody Wins! Iowa matches elementary school students with volunteers from local businesses, corporations and community organizations, who read aloud one-to-one for one hour, once a week to the children.

Terry Branstad’s gubernatorial campaign is expected to announce a major endorsement during a news conference today at the Iowa Capitol. The event is scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m. in Room 116.

KCCI

The Carlisle City Council Monday decided to suspend Fire Chief Scott Burger without pay for six months. Beginning May 11, Burger, who has been suspended since April 29, will also not be allowed to go on medical calls for one year. Burger’s suspension began after a Carlisle resident complained about his behavior on a medical call. A police report from April 29 indicated Burger was intoxicated during that call. Records show he blew a 0.152 on the Breathalyzer test at the fire station after he returned from the call. Burger refused to comment about his suspension Monday night. More than a dozen members of the Carlisle Fire Department showed up at the council meeting to support him. The council, which met with Burger in a closed-door session for more than two hours, will vote on whether to approve his reinstatement once the six months is over. It has appointed the assistant fire chief to take over the chief’s duties for now.

Two children died as a result of a crash in Ankeny last week that injured six people. Carson DeJoode, 5, died at Iowa Methodist Medical Center on Thursday. His sister, Claire DeJoode, 5 months, died at Mercy Medical Center on Friday. Their mother, Heather DeJoode, remained in critical but stable condition at Mercy on Sunday. Her son Chase, 3, was in fair condition at Blank Children’s Hospital and was wearing a neck brace. The driver of the pickup truck who police said hit their van Thursday afternoon, Kevin Dalasta, 46, remains in the hospital. Records show that in the past nine years, Dalasta has been involved in four crashes, including one that happened along Iowa Highway 415. In that incident, witnesses said Dalasta rear-ended an SUV, flipping it over and injuring a mother and her 11-month-old daughter. Dalasta’s father told KCCI that he has had medical issues in the past but declined to provide further details.