Officer saves almost 200 Runza dessert coupons to treat kids at Lincoln rec center. Runza does him one better

Lincoln police officer Luke Bonkiewicz has a fun tradition with his two young children. On weekends they'll stop at Runza for kids meals, and each time he receives coupons for a free dessert. After three years of Runza stops, he had collected nearly 200 coupons, and instead of holding onto them for his family, he decided to treat children at a Lincoln recreation center. When he talked with Runza about redeeming his big collection of dessert coupons, the restaurant made him an even better offer. Runza provided an upgrade that enabled Bonkiewicz to treat more than 50 kids to mini Runza sandwiches, applesauce and cookies. He dubbed the event a "Runza Rendezvous." Nearly a dozen other officers joined him to host the special lunch last week at the city's Belmont Recreation Center. The Lincoln Police Department's chief and assistant chief joined them. Bonkiewicz, the department's resource coordinator, said the lunch was a great way for officers to connect with kids. He said that oftentimes when officers interact with children it's because there's been trouble with the kids' parents. "This a way to interact in a positive way,'' he said, "to show ourselves as role models."