the downward trend is the cause behind the closure of a teen pregnancy child care facility. "at one point many years back we were the worst in the state for the amount of teen pregnancies. school officials in muscatine say a partnership wiwi the locacaymca is partly to thank for the decrease in teen pregnancy there. tim: we wanted to know what teen pregnency numbers look like here in sioux city... abc9'seborah souverain joins us now with the answer.... deborah? deborah: tim while teenage birth rates are on the decline across the state....that trend is moving slower here in woodbury county. according to the iowa department of public health....woodbur y county is in the top 25 percent...when it comes to teenagers giving birth. while woodbury county's numbers remain high...they are down about 56% from their peak back in 2009....when 207 teens gave birth. officials say

why less teens are becoming pregnant. "there are several theories out there; everyone knows about teen mom show that was on mtv, whether or not that had an impact. there is more birth control that is available and accessible to teens there are a variety of things that occured at the same time," said michelle lewis, siouxland district health deborah: despite the decline in teenage birth rates...officials say child care services for young pareres is still a much needed resource in woodbury county. i stopped by the west high infant center...on the campus of west high school to see how the center is helping teenage parents. coming up at six...you'll hear from a student athlete...who says the on campus day care...makes juggling parent life much easier. reporting live in studio deborah souverain abc 9 news. jenna: a single mom getting back on her feet got a big early christmas present. 3rd district

corrections in sioux city have been buying christmas presents and other necessitits for tabatha houck and her famimi. they helped her load her car to this afterno with gifts and also box after box of diapers. tabatha has been getting help from the welcome home program. she now has her own place for she and her four daughters and says she's incredibly thankful for the help she's recieved. tabatha houck of sioux city says, "it does really mean a lot to me that you chose my family out of everybody in sioux city and my girls are going to have a very merry christmas because of them and i just want to thank them for their help." tabatha says she hopes things just keep getting better for her family so she won't need the help next christmas, but she's sure glad someone's looking out for them right now. tim: today from the race for the white house.... a former governor, familiar with the campaign trail himself, spent his morning right here in sioux city former vermont governor howard dean is supporting hilary

dean, who was part of the 2004 democratic presidential primary... met with mrs clinton at this morning,. to enjoy a double diget lead in iowa over bernie sanders. today dean told clinton supporters that the concncpt of alalpeople being created equal, doesnt fit with candidates from the republican party. " the message we have seen from the other side of the aisle is, lots of money we care about you much more than anyone else. if you believethat in this country dead," said howard . before his event, dean joined me in studio for a discussion on the race. he told me hillary clinton can offer global perspective that no other candidate can. "i don't really expect any of the other people running for president to understand becasue they have never been in that chair, they've never been sitting next to the president while they assassinated asasa benladen. that kind of experience you can;t have adn i'd like to have that kind of experience in the

howard dean. you can hear mr. deans full remarks sunday morning at 9am, right here on abc9 on "this week in siouxland". jenna: later in the week, hillary clinton, bernie sanders, and martin omalley will hit the debate stage in new hampshire. and you'll be able to catch that debate right here on abc9 this saturday at 7pm. abc's david muir and martha raddatz will moderate. tim:m: and speaking of debabas, tonight the republicans are holding their final presidential debate before the iowa caucuses. and donald trump enters the night enjoying a large gap between himself and his republican rivals, in an abc news/washington post poll of likely republican voters, trump is retaining his national lead, and even adding to it, tim: netting 38 per- cent support for his party's nomination. that's up a slight 6 points from last month. ben carson, and jeb bush are seeing a decrease in their supporter accoring to the poll, while ted cruz and marco o bio have enjoyed a slight booststn the past few months, receiving 15 per- cece and 12 per- cent of pollers

lead is what's behind other campaigns coming after him donald trump: and they're all coming after me. who's going to attack trump first? ll it be this one? you know he's taken down seven so far. so far everyone that's attacked me has gone right down the tube so that's good. tonight's debate will be held at a theater that was built for the show phantom of the opera. trump will occupy the center podium... flanked by cruz, bush, and christie on one side and carson, rubio, and fiorina on the other. jenna: as mentioned, the top gop candidates are in las vegas tonight to square off on the debate stage reporter michael stevens is at the venetian with a preview. it's been building for sometime now. local and national media outlets have been out here along media row off of las vegas boulevard for hours doing live reports for stations all over the country. on top of the media there's been a lot of people trying to get

spectacle... and weweh in on tonight's debate. sot ((bill kedzior sot ((julie orey sot ((jack hegna sot ((bill kedzior sot ((julie storey sot ((bill kedzior sot ((jack hegna " jenna: a person was

a person was lled last night after a church youth van carrying about a dozen passengers collided with a car in nebraska. the car had two people in it. one of them died in the crash and the other was hospitalized in critical condition. . about a half dozen of the people in the van were taken to hospitals. but their injuries were not considered life- threatening. the sheriff explained what happened. (sheriff kevin stukenholtz/

sheriff's dept.) they were attempting to turn the van around, they missed their turn, so they were turning around on 109, and a southbound passenger vehicle collided with them. there was also another injury. a firefighter directing traffic in the area was struck by a car. his injuries were not life- threatening. tim: an early morning pickup versus semi acciddent tody in osceola county has claimed the life of one person. the sheriff's office says the accident happen just after seven, one mile east of sibley. police say 33 year old patrick webb was driving a pickup that went out of control after hitting some ice. the pickup truck slid into the path of a semi truck driven by 60 year old edward wood. webb was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead. wood was not injured. jenna: sioux city's north high is looking for a new band director. lucas sursely (sirs-lee) turned in his resignationfriday, for an undisclosed reasononccording totollison benson, the district's communications dirctor a meeting for parents of band members was held on monday night

assistant band director, faith hall, will be serving as the interim direct . jenna: the iowa department of natural resources is askng the public's opinion on a proposed alcohol ban on all state beaches. the dnr is considering a ban on alcohol year round at beaches in state parks and recreation areas. it would also create a 200 foot land buffer around areas where the ban would take place. those looking to provide their opinion on the matter are asked to email the d-n-r. jenna: their contact information is listed on our website, that's uiouxlandmatters dot com tim:& from improved food and garden programs, to expanded youth activites... a 1.2 million dollar expansion for iowa state univ extension is providing new opportunities in sioux city. a ribbon cutting ceremony was held this morning at their new office located on southern hills drive here in sioux city. cooridinators of the program say, students aren't going to be the only ones to benefit from the new facility "this building will be a resource for all

additional classroom space that we have, the teaching garden outside, and our learning kitchen we'll be able to offer more programs to more residents of woodbury county and also serve more youth out of this building." woodbury county extension moved into the new facility back in november. which includes a classroom large enough to host up to 100 people, . jenna: still to come... siouxland familes need your help... but time is running out to buy christmas gifts for operation toys. how you can help, coming up. fred: (fred) light snow is coming, as are strong winds and cool temperatures. your forecast is after the break. stawith us!

rain and snow tonight, then light snow tomorrow. fred: a winter weather advisory will be in effect tonight and tomorow for the light blue shaded eas in northern and western siouxland. the hd

snow north and light rain south. you can see the fog on the port neal welding company skycam hd from the ho chunk centre in downtown sioux city. 35 was the low today and 38 the high. 38 is our temperature in sioux city with drizzle. local temperatures are in the 30s. winds are southeast at 10 to 25 miles per hour. wind chills are in the 20s and 30s. relative humidity values are as high as 100 percent. that's resulting in fog, reducing visibiliy to less than 5 miles across the area. the satellite and radar shows the system

storm warning is in effect in yellow, can be expected. the a mix of light rain we have a chance of light snow tomorow as winds pick up. the snow forecast shows less than 0.5" for most of siouxland, but a band of heavy snow may set up in the west. o'neill could see many inches, but that narrow heavy band location a bit. your forecast for tonight isor a low of 33 and light rain and snow with fog and breezy winds. tomorrow will be

snow. northwest winds will gust to 40 miles per hour. the 7-day forecast shows a cooldown the rest of the workweek, with friday's high of only 24. any snow won't last long, though. next week's highs will be above freezing starting saturday, so a white and less likely. tonight's ask fred prize is 4 tickets to q102's birthday bash featuring echosmith and andy grammer! om or enter on the abc9 news facebook

fred post. fred: tim: jenna: (tim) thanks, fred. (fred) you bet. tim: if you want to help out a family in need, you can also do that through the salvation army's operation toys. there are just two days left to donate. what you need to do is drop off a new, unwrapped toy at any sioux city bomgaars, the salvation army, or downtown at the abc9 studio. the salvation army will collect them on thursday and then parents get to come pick out christmas present for their kids. a new study takes a look at how anti-depressants may affect unborn babies. a closer look when we return.

take anti depressants, and now new research suggests a link between antidepressants during pregnancy and autism. abc's dr. timothy johnson. has more. " time when women think twice about everything they put into the bodies. and medicines... are no exception. now, re searchers at montreal are possible link between antidepressant use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders in their subsequent children.

mothers-to-be and their children. researchers found d this increased risk was most pronounced in women taking these antidepressant drugs in later in pregnancy. but how much does this risk really go up? for women in their second and third trimesters, the risk of autism was doubled. but doctors responding to the study are quick to point out that even in these pregnancies... less than two in a hundred kids ends up with autism spectrum disorders. and for women who are egnant who need depression treatment, skipping meds can put both them and their babies at risk. in other words, it's a complicated question that needs to be thoroughly discussed between woman and her doctor. with this medical minute, i'm dr. timothy johnson." after the break... hollywood heavyweights got to see a sneak peak of the highly anticipated star wars: the force awakens. their reaction,

big shots last night to see the force awakens.. which is expected to be a record breaking affair thursday midnight abc's elizabeth hur has more. " ((nat)) trailer clip: "star wars: the force awakens" ththforce has awakened.. and the first reactions to the latest film in the star wars franchise... pheonomenal.. ((sot)) "incredible!!?it was so satisfying!! it was great, i'm sorry it's amazing, it's wonderful everybody is going to love it?" these mega fans.. were out in full force for the star- studded hollywood premiere... the film's stars including harrison ford.. carrie fisher and newcomer john boyega.. also there.. for what could be the biggest movie opening of all time.. yes.. star wars is

installment.. left even those in the film.. in awe.. ((sot)) greg grunberg, acacr "i'm a han solo guy. i love han solo. that was like a dream. for me to be actually on the set working with harrison ford.it's just a dream come true. you got to be kidding me. and i caught myself at times with my mouth a gape. you know, j.j. is like 'dude, we're shooting the move here'." for the rest of us.. the force awakens will be available in a record 41-hundred theaters.. starting thursday night.. and so far.. no spoilers. official film reviews are embargoed until midnight wednesday, and the stars on the red carpet were also staying tight- lipped. ((sot)) harrison ford, actor "it's hard for me to talk. keeping my mouth shut is easy." sot - lupita nyong'o "i have really enjoyed the secrecy. n: why? l: it's been fun. it's been a power trip. (laughs)." sot - daisy ridley: "the reaean we're keeping it a secret is so people can enjoy the thing. liz hur tag: so no spoilers.. but and there's even an app you can download for your phone.. that will filt spoilers out of your social media timeline.. called.. obi quiet.. eh, abc news, ny . " tim:

and breezy winds. tomorrow will be windy, and we have a chance of light snow. northwest winds will gust to 40 miles per hour. the 7-day forecast shows a cooldown the rest of the workweek, with friday's high of only 24. any snow won't last long, though. next week's highs will be above freezing starting saturday, so a white chistmas looks less and less likely. tonight's ask fred prize is 4 tickets to q102's birthday bash featuring echosmith and andy grammer! to enter, email fhexom@kcautv.c om or enter on the abc9 news facebook page under the ask fred post. jenna: world news tonight with david muir is next with the breaking news tonight with david muir is next with the breaking news - bomb threats sent to two of america's largest school systems. los angeles closing all schools today - abc's brian ross is on the case,