am. i'll be back with a look at how much snow to expect in just a few minutes. it's time for local news that matters! "everybody is so heartwarming, it's a wonderful experience. " " how a siouxlanan hospital ... i i making christmas a little brighter for those who help others... even on holidays. "get out of the use and get some fresh air.." what to do after the presents are open? some siouxland families head to the movies and, college sweethearts find out they're a perfect match, not once... but twice. "and, we both said, 'i'm a-, well, i think i'm a-.'" jenna: good evening and merry christmas. thanks for

your day with us, im jenna rehnstrom. tim has the holiday off. we rely on our doctors and nurses to be available to us when we need them the most... and that includes holidays. but that means some couldn't be home with their families today... which is why unity point health st.t. luke's made sure their patients and employees would have a great christmas. lukas voss was there today. he shows us how folks were spreading good cheer today. nats: piano playing vo: st. luke's unity point health cafteria seemed just a little bit more festive today as they brought back their anual tradition of a free christmas dinner for everyone ... including those working and their families. sot: "it means a lot. i don't get to be with my family on christmas so then we have other times to do it. it' nice you know, patients are here and they need us so i get to be with them and my family as well." "i think it goes above and beyond because you are where you want

a pleasure to be in that position." leah glalao, chief operatatg officer at the hospital simply brought everybody. sot: " mom and my dad and my husband andour four children are alalhere today. it's important for me to be here so that it's a way to give back to those that are missing christmas day with their families so that they can take care of people here in siouxland" nats: serving and especially grandma ... who is in charge of everybody's favorite ... the cake ... enjoys this day. sot: "today is a special way to give to others just to help make christmas a little happier for people that have to work here at the hospital." sot / tag lukas "doctors, nurses and patients they all have to spent christmas at st. luke's ... but with a little bit of holiday cheer and a couple of big hearts even a hospital can feel a little bit like home ... reporting in sioux city ... lukas voss ... abc9 news. jenna: there are plenty of folks whose jobs d d't stop just because it's christmama

firefighters are all still on the job. in des moines, local firefighters stood by in case any problems arose. they say it's hard to be away from home for the day, but it's their duty because emergencies don't take a break for the holidays. ahman douglass, des moines fire department: "theemotional tug just comes when you realize that you're not going to be around your family for 24 hours." ashli formaro, flight nurse: "it's nice to see everyone and spend christmas with all our co- workers. at night, it's always nice to see all the christmas lights from up above. it's a little different perspective." first responders and other emergency personnel working today say they know well in advance they would be working on christmas day, sometimes a year or more, so they can schedule family time around that. jenna: an iowa city man man is charged in connection with a series of burglaries... after a christmas eve crime spree. 20-year-old jerome brooks was arrested after five car burglaries andone home burglary early yesterday morning. police say he stole a tv, laptop, and a wallet, along with some prescription medications.

street for a reported burglary from a home. police said the victim heard a door slam and discovered a tv, laptop, and wallet were missing, among other items. brooks was also found with marijurana. jenna: president obama took time from his vacation to send his season greetings to the american peope today. merry christmas, everybody! this is one of our favorite times of the year in the obama household filled with family and friends. michel obama guest starred in the weekly address today, wishing americans a merry christmas, as well. the presidential power couple also took time to thank the troops overseas saluting our service members and families. president obama urged americans to treat each other with witit love and compsion this holiday season. the president. . caring for those on society's margins: the sick and the hungry, the poor and the persecuted, the stranger in need of shelter - or simply an act of kindness. that's the spirit that binds us together - not just as christians, but as americans of all faiths. that's what the holidays are about.

vacation in hawaii, the first lady was volunteering last night, taking phone calls from surprised kids and their parents calling norad's santa tracker hotline. mrs. obama has taken part in this for six years. a merry christmas the world as millionscelebrated the birth of christ. (( pope nats)) at the vatican pope francnc urged israelis and palestinians to talk peace. in bethelehem, the center of the violence, a quiet holiday. in britain crowds waited hours for a glimpse of the queen who reflected on the meaning of christmas. ((sot queen elizabeth)) at this time of year, few sights evoke more feelings of cheer and goodwill than the twinkling lights of a christmas tree. jenna: christmas has become one of the most important release dates for movie studios. and, many siouxland families

of their tradition today. the promenade cinema 14 was busy today, with people lines up to see new releases... or maybe finally take in star rs. for some people, it's a good excuse to get out of the e house... while others have made it a tradition to take in a fun movie with family. "i think it's just a nice way for a family to do something together after you've eaten and hand out the presents. it's just a fun thing to do." "just seems like a good day everybody is couped up christmas eve and christmas day that's kind of why we wanted to get out of the house get some fresh air." "s ome of the kids have to leave tomorrow morning so it was our only chance to go on christmas day." "joy", starring jennifer lawrence came out today... as did "concussion," starring will smith. but, the main draw during this christmas season is still the new star wars movie. jenna: in the aftermath of torn giftwrap and excited unboxings it's time now to play with

but not so fast, you may have to do some set up before you get your gadgets up and running. abc's becky worley hasome top hacks for your very "techy christmas". " new tvs, gaming consoles, and drones- these were some of the top gifts this year let's start by maximizing that new tv -- most have specialized viewing modes becky on cam sport, cinema, vivid? no -- just say no to all those crazy modes. standard mode is the best option in almost all living rooms unless you have a super dark man cave, then go for cinema. also, many come preset to dynamic mode- turn that off. as this youtube video perfectly illustrates it will change the back lighting on the fly as scenes get darker and brighter and it's super annoying. nats - gaming another hugely popular gift gaming consoles- a few musts- hardwire it- wifi can cause slow downs and while my mmo first person shooter r ills are seriously weak even i know? "yououot lag- you get fragged" and this is the one time to change the mode on yoyo tv- gaming mode will reduce the amount of screen processing and keep your graphics up to speed with the game. nats

got an ereader like the kindle- first- did you know you can eborrow an ebook from your local library all remotely and free. and another trick if you see a long article online, you can send it to your kindle to read later, even offline. you just install this browser extension and then start sending those tldr oo long didn't read) articles to your device. also whether you got a new tablet or maybe a wearable you want to set up your charger now and think about it a little bit do it nearly otherwise it'll look like that by vantines day. ahh - so much better kids get new devices from santa? kids: "awesome!!" 2 words for you- parental controls. i have programs ourpact and dinner time for android to give you a remote kill switch haha!!! finally my most controversial advice ever- you do not need the manual- i am giving you permission you can take this thing and throw it away. all that stuff is online now and you need the extra space. happy holidays america- go forth and get geeky"

of giving during the holidays. one man giving his wife a prerent that's priceless. details when we return. (fred) we'll see mainly snow tonight and tomorrow, but a bit of rain or ice may m in. the 7-day forecast shows a cooling trend and another storm possible on monday.

present from her husband this year... a kidney. but,t was a bit of surprise that the two were a perfect match... again. mark carlson reports.s. " (kristin thelelder/received kidney) "i mean i think we have been soul mates from the beginning, we met the first day of freshman week at st. olaf college he was still 17 and i was 18."

thelanders married in 1976 and a short time later adopted two kids. these days wayne is the orchestra director at iowa city west high school, and kristin is a professor in the u-i school of music. for years kristin has battled polyscystic kidney disease -- which was getting worse with time and about to force her onto dialysis when the couple made a discovery. (wayne thelander/donated kidney) "kind of an ah-ha moment, we both said, oh you're a negative, well i think i'm a negative, and that was like a big nice surprise that we both had the same blood type." doctors at the universitytyf iowa hospitals and clinics decided the best treatment for kristin was a kidndn transplant right a a the holiday season began... and wayne was her perfect match. (dr. alan reed/university of iowa organ transplant center) "in the distant past, only people who were genetically related would donate organs, but now it's becoming far more common for people that are not genetically related to do it, so

friend to friend and anonymous donors." (kristin thelander/received kidney) "i never dared count on wayne's kidney, at least my head never did, my heart kind of thought it seemed like it was meant to be." wayne thelander/donated kidney) "to me it's a selfish decision to do this because i want to spend more time with her, and i want it to be quality time rather than being worried about being hooked up to a dialysis machine, or how that impacts her life." this christmas the couple says they're feeling great, and their health is great too -- all thanks to a very unique gift. (kristin thelander/received kidney) "i say i'm 100 percent norwegian but i have a swedish kidney (laughter)." in iowa city, mark carlson" (jenna) fred, what can we pect tonight?

expect tonight? (fred) more snono 2 line super: : fred hexom fhexom@kcaututc om (fred) the hd r rar shows snow aoss siouxland.he darker blues indicate areas of heavier snow from sioux center to norfolk. so far, sioux city has about 0.5" stanton, ne 2" and sioux falls about 2.5". roads are becoming snow covered, and road conditons will deteriorate overnight, espeically in the north and west, where heavier snow is expected. the port neal welding company skycam hd shows the scene in downtown sioux city from the ho chunk centre. 32 has been our high today and 26 the low. 29 is our sioux city temperature with a northeast wind at 6 miles per hour. local temperatures are in the 20s mostly with lower 30s in omaha. wind chills are in the teens and 20s. visibility is quite low in orange city--only a half mile--due to the snow. a powerful cold front is driving tonight's snow. you can see that the air behind the front is only -1 in minot, nd. along the front, snow is widespread on radar. the heaviest snow will fall in the yellow shaded areas, west ofofinneapolis to rapid city and sioux falls. that's where a winter storm warning is in effect until 6 pm saturday.

shaded areas indicate a winter weather advisory until 6 pm tomorrow. the stormcast hd shows the front sliding through siouxland tonight and tomorrrow. snow will be widespread overnight, then will taper off tomorrow morning. the front moves away sunday, allowing that cold air behind it to move into siouxland. another system will be moving in monday. this will provide a good chance of snow and maybe sleet. the snow forecast shows that in addition to what has already fallen, and additional 1-3" of snow will fall across most of the northwest, with an additional 4-6" in yankton and sioux falls. south and east of sioux city, snow will be much lighter--less than 1" generally. tonight's low will be 28with snow and possibly some ice. tomorrow's high will be 35 with rain, sleet, and snow in the morning, then tapering off by afternoon anan evening. windsdsill be breezy tonight and tomorrow.the 7-day shows that cooldown, with highs in the 20s next we, and only 18 wednesday. we have a good chance of

will be strong with that system. stay tuned if you have travel plans. (jenna) thanks, fred.

still to come after the break - the hawkeyes are spending christmas in california. we check in with iowa as they prepare to face stanford in the rose bowl. tim plus....we take a look at the abc9 plays of the year. alex joins us next with the best of the best from the

spectacular year for athletes in siouxland. in girls hoops, unity christian, pierce, crofton and newell-fonda won ste titles. on the boys side, , winnebago took home top honors. heelan in girls soccer.....western christian in volleyball....spirit lake and mmc on the gridiron. all state champs. withour further ado, i present to you the abc9 top plays of the year. " " alex 2015 was a great

athletes....the same can be said about the hawkeye football team..... 12-1 regular season......first trip to the e se bowl since 1 11. yesterday afternoon, iowa landed in southern california after a flight from cedar rapids. in just seven days, the hawkeyes will face off with stanford in the rose bowl. with this week full of game prep, the guys will be unable to celebrate their families. beathard, that's ok with him. "as much as i would love to be home, being with family on christmas, ive kinda gotten used to it. a row that i haven't christmas and obviously it stinks, a good time to spend with family and its year, but if you are season and you want tolay in a good bowl game, then you dont want to be home on christmas at the same time."

rose bowl special called "dream season" right here on abc9. finishing with some nba action...former iowa state head coach fred hoiberg leading his bulls against the thunder... end of the first...jimmy butler nails the buzzer- beater......merry christmas bulls fans! as for russell westbrook....he thinks butler should be on the naughty list for that. 2nd quarter now...kevin durant....no doubt! the triple brings okc within seven.... later in the game...bulls looking to close it out and they do....pau gasol the putback....bulls

widespread snow in siouxland, with the dark blue showing heavier snow. tonight's low will be 28, with snow and

will be 35 with rain, , sleet, and snow w the morning, then tapering off by afternoon and evening. winds will be breezy tonit and tomorrow.the 7-day shows that cooldown, with highs in the 20s nt week, and only 18 wednesday. we have a good chance of snow and sleet on monday, and the wind will be strong with that system. stay tuned if you have travel plans.

and now abc's "jimmy kimmel live."

tonight --