Hearst sister station KCCI reporter Pepper Purpura arrived at a garden in downtown Des Moines on Monday expecting to cover what she believed was a routine assignment.

But the event she thought she was reporting on didn’t exist — it was all part of an elaborate plan. Advertisement

Unbeknownst to Pepper, her partner, Kai, had been working with the KCCI news team for weeks to pull off a picture-perfect surprise. When the moment finally came, photojournalist Mike Simmons already had the camera rolling as Kai stepped into the frame, dropped to one knee, and asked Pepper the question that instantly turned an ordinary workday into a life-changing one.

Pepper’s shock melted into joy as the surprise unfolded — a moment made even more special by the friends and colleagues who helped bring it to

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