A flock of baby ducks trapped beneath a storm drain in Des Moines' East Village were happily reunited with their mother thanks to the vigilance of nearby construction workers and local business owners.

Cassie Sampson, the owner of East Village Spa, was walking down Locust Street with an employee when they ran into Arin Hummel and Karen Brady, owners of the Ephemera Design.

Along with an employee of music venue Wooly's, Hummel and Brady were directing cars to steer clear of a distressed mother duck standing in the road. The mother's ducklings cried out from below the storm drain and those gathered called animal control for help.

Before animal control could arrive, however, help came in the form of construction workers employed by Dig America. They had the tools to remove the storm drain grate and systematically rescued each of the 15 ducklings. Even after the last duckling fled deeper into the sewer drain, the workers removed multiple drain covers until it was rescued.

Brady, who has experience rehabilitating ducks, worked with one of the employees at East Village Spa to guide the ducklings and their mother to a grassy area where they could be reunited safely.

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