downtown as much as possible" sioux city crews hussle to clear the streets in preparation for a busy new years ev "their job is not to follow the national polls." despite poor poll numbers, rick santorm tells sioux city voters they can trust him this election season. and, if you haven't signed up for health insurance under the affordable care act and need help... we'll help you get your questions answered. jenna: good evening and thank you for

rehnstrom, tim has the night off. tomorrow and midnight, siouxland will ring in the new year. 2015 brought in plenty of snow... busy now clearing before the city gets busy tomorrow night. abc 9's bria bell is out in downtown sioux city with more jenna: on how the town is getting ready for you to ring in the new year. bria: jenna, serves as one of the busiest days for some businesses, and downtown sioux city was preparring for the large number of people expected to be out tomorrow evening. some bars and taxi services are offering customers freebies to bring in the new year. "it's just kind of a night where everyone goes out a night to celebrate and have a good time and bring in the new year," said mettleton. new year's eve is tomorrow night and sioux city is gearing up for the thousands of people expected to be out celebrating while bringing in the new year. winter storms

city wants to make sure roads are clear for drivers to get to and from their destinations. "there's going to be alot of people out having a good time trying to make the possible," said pickens. buffalo alice sees a nice sized crowd during the holiday expecting to serve and more. the owner says that though it can be a fun time, she people get home people to use free cab service offered by sioux city attorney ed keane. "with all that, we try responsiblity about drinking and driving. we all know that it's a problem for a lot of us. we do support ed keane, [he] does taxi rides all new years eve and we're big supporters of that and we hope people take advantage of that because it's a great offer that he does," said mettleton. the free taxi cabs are offered through siouxland taxi serivce and can only be used to go home. "they get a free ride home and we'd like for people to call and take advantage of it ...and maybe save some people

save some people from some trouble," said dawdy. bria: now there are some stipulations for the free ride. when calling in you have to state that you want the ed keane free ride and you need to make sure your destination is within at 15 mile radius. reporting live in sioux city, bria bell abc 9 news. jenna: rick santorum says despite poor poll numbers nationally... he thinks iowans will be independent thinkers come caucus time. the republican candidate was the guest at a private event tonight in sioux city. about thirty people were here to hear from the former senator who talked about national security. he also says he's one of the only candidates who will fight for the american family. santorum is polling about one percent in the polls, but says that the race is

"seventy-five to eighty percent of iowans won't make up their mind till the last month, we're not even in the last month yet. they're job is not to follow the national polls, they're job is to analyze the candidates and lead. don't settle for who the establishment or the money people say you should vote for, but vote the person who you believe should the candidate to go up against hilary clinton and should be the next president." santorum also made stops in holstein and sioux center earlier today. jenna: new details surrounding the car accident that has 29 year old mellisa ebert facing two counts of attempted murder. jenna: court documents in the case reveal that prior to crashing head on into oncoming traffic ebert stated she would kill both her passenger and herself. authorities say ebert was traveling with damien johnson september 9th when the two got into an argument. the crash resulted in both johnson and the driver of the oncoming car suffering serious injuries ebert's blood alcohol content was point oh-eight eight percent.

counts of attempted murder and is set to be in court january 15th in plymouth county. jenna: we're learning a fire that destroyed a sloan apartment building was started by a stove top left unattended. that fire broke out around 10 a-m yesterday morning on buckley street. two women jumped out of second story windows to excape the fire. today we talked to the first responder who was first to arrive. woodbury county deputy todd peterson tried catching the second woman who was jumping to safety. "a lot of things went through my head at that point in time. the first thing that i was thinking is, i didn't want her to fall and land on her neck, [that] was the main thing. i ran over to where she was and told her that i was the only one there and probably not going to be able to catch you by myself, and at that point, she dropped out of the window," said peterson. peterson says everything happened in an instant and had to react quickly. happened in an instant and had to react quickly. he thinks the woman's injuries could have been worse if he was not there to

of her fall. "from the looks of the building, i mean, they probably didn't have a choice. the way the smoke and flames were coming out of the building...if i was put in their situation i would have probably done the same thing...yeah, if they wouldn't have came out that window they probably would have been killed in that fire," said peterson. the names of the women are not being realeased, but they're believed to be in their early 20's. their injuries were non-life threatening. jenna: our local blood bank could really use a boost this time of year. the weather and the busy holiday season have hurt their supply. folks over at the lifeserve blood center say the blood supply has dipped to a critically low level recently due in part to the cold and snow. they had to cancel several mobile blood drives on monday, due to the weather... and that's left them with a shortage for some critical blood types. " it is great to see donors in our center right now but we could always use more. right now 5 of the 8 blood types are in critical need which means there's less than a one day supply and that's really, that's kind of frightening for us because new year's eve is coming up and there's

more of a bump in blood supply need during that time." says claire deroin with lifeserve blood center. lifeserve blood center supplies blood units to more than 11 hosptitals in the tri state area. you can donate at their location by hobby lobby. jenna: sioux city's public museum is taking a look at a piece of sioux city's past... when it comes to shopping habits. they have a new exhibit about three old department stores in town. back in the 1800's, martin's, davidson's and pelletier's (pella-tear's) department stores sold everything from clothing to manuractured goods. and, back then, sioux ci was hotspot for regional shopping - state wide. "we have a lot of photographs on display and the photographs are amazing just to see downtown sioux city and how it has changed." the exhibit is free and you can see it through march 6th. jenna: today was a big travel day for iowan making the trip out west to show their support for the hawkeyes at the

the des moines airport had hords of people boarding flights... mostly commercial... to get to california. but there were also three charter planes headed straight for los angles to watch the big game. karl heimberger, "this is a lifetime opportunity and of course when i heard they were going to the rose bowl, i was like, i have to go." sean and amanda panken, "we're super excited to go to the rose bowl. we were already going to vegas and it just so happened that the hawkeyes got the chance to go to the rose bowl so we're excited to go see them down there." we'll have more from bowl preps in california... coming up a bit later. jenna: there are new year's resolutions... but this one seems a little extreme. johnston, iowa miles in the near year. this comes after a mayor paula dierenfeld. she asked residents to donate bags of food to the local food bank... and for every bag -- or ten dollars nated -- she'll run a mile. so far -- residents enough items for her to run a minimum of 97 miles. paula dierenfeld,

most fullfilling part of course is the response we've gotten from the community last year 31 bags this year over 100 bags the generosity in this community is absolutly amazing " people in johnston have through tomorrow to make their donations, if they tomorrow to make their donations, if they want to keep raising the ammount of miles their mayor has to run! jenna: health insurance experts say health insurance enrollment through the affordable care act is going smoothly this year. but, if you haven't signed up yet and still have questions, we're giving you a chance to get your questions answered. here's more in your health matters. all u-s residents are insurance coverage under the affordable care act. enrollement started november 1st, but you have until the end of january to sign-up for coverage so you don't get penalized. through "healthcare.gov", there are plans at different cost levels based on income and family size, and you may also qualify for financial assistance when purchasing these plans. nick clasen, centers for medicare & medicaid services says, "this year there are four issuers, including coventry, that

from, so there will be very different networks depending on which issuer you go with, so there's more options, many more choices, so you want to make sure to take the time and make sure to get in as soon as possible." nick clasen from the centers for medicare and medicaid will be one of several experts manning a phone bank at our station on tuesday. he'll be able to answer questions about enrollment through the marketplace. nick clasen says, "some consumers, when going on-line to apply for coverage, may have a little bit of trouble understanding how to report their income or their household and family size, but there is in-person assistance available, so in addittion to the phone bank we're doing, there are local assisters that people can find and sit down one-on-one with to get help." and, nick says people are taking advantage. right now, more people in iowa, nebraska, and south dakota are enrolled through healthcare.gov than last year. jenna: if you'd like to

bank, you can call in on tuesday, that's january 5th from 4-7pm. just dial: 712-277- 2345 if you want a one-on-one in person meeting, both sioux city hospitals, as well as the community health center offer services. we have their information on this story at siouxland matters dot com. jenna: still to come... well take a look at the u-s-s iowa thats coming up next (fred) we have some cold nights ahead! your new year's forecast isn't a bad one, but the real warmup will come for the weekend! stay tuned! " " jenna:

preparing to face off with stanford on friday, iowans are already flocking to california to enjoy some sunshine and some good ol' fashioned football, while they're in california iowans can tour the u-s-s iowa free of charge, jon schaeffer brings us more from the u-s-s iowa. " " we're here on the u.s.s iowa where earlier i got the chance to walk around the battleship which is now a museum for visitors to come out and see. it's a great

engine room, the boilers, even fdr's tub. let's take a look. down the stairs we go-- joined by u.s.s iowa curator david way-- steps taken by thousands of marines and sailors decades ago. there was a 1500 member crew during the 80's the cold war era in world war two when they had to several anti- aircraft guns the crew size swelled up 2800. compartment by compartment we make our way through the historic battleship-- one of the best ever built. these were the fastest class battleships ever commissioned-- 33 knots about 40 miles per hour. it's been around the world-- and hosted one of the most well known presidents in history. ...of the normandy invasion." there's so much history in the metal-- and the rivets-- and walkways of this battleship. by the time we had to finish-- there was one last surprise in store-- "fire in the hole boom..." tomorrow they will have a pep rally for iowa fans right here on the u.s.s. iowa they'll be firing off the five inch gun which makes an even bigger boom than the one i got to set off today. reporting from the l.a. waterfront-- jon schaeffer (fred) we have a very cold night ahead, jenna! 2 line super: fred hexom l.a. waterfront-- jon schaeffer (fred)

2 line super: fred hexom fhexom@kcautv.c om (fred) the hd radar shows that the snow is gone. vermillion picked up 2.0", yankton had 1.5", as did cherokee, while storm lake and the north side of sioux city had 1.0". downtown sioux city picked up 0.7".

the port neal welding company skycam hd shows the scene from the ho chunk centre in downtown sioux city. 27 was the high today and 11 the low. in sioux city, we have a temperature of 11 degrees. note the dew point of only 6 degrees, indicating dry air that will allow our air temperatures to dip to the single digits tonight. local temperatures are in the single digits and teens. winds are west at 5 to 10 miles per hour. wind chills are in the single digits. zooming out, there is nothing but cold air to our west and north. we have single digits in rapid city and fargo. that means a continued cold pattern, since our winds will be from the northwest tonight and tomorrow. the midwest satellite and radar shows clearing skies. the stormcast hd shows decreasing clouds and a cold night tonight, then increasing clouds tomorrow. new year's eve and new year's day will be seasonally cool, but dry and quiet, with more sunshine friday and saturday. your forecast tonight is for decreasing clouds and a low of 2. the last time we were that cold was march 6, when we dipped to -6. tomorrow, clouds will be increasing with a high of 23. the 7-day forecast shows 12 new year's eve, then 29 new year's day friday. saturday will warm to 36. after 20s monday and tuesday, we'll enjoy 30s again tuesday and wednesday. there will be no additional snow over the next week. (jenna) thanks, fred! (fred) you bet. coming up in sports...briar

you bet. coming up in sports...briar cliff wrapped up the holiday classic with a bang tonight. we'll have the highlights from the newman

nelson's briar cliff chargers have found the form that made them gpac favorites in the preseason. bcu has won 9 straight heading into tonight, and the high-flying offense is averaging 103 points per game. chargers, looking to add to that figure tonight hosting waldorf. and what a start here...bryan forbes, pulls down the board and gets it ahead to austin homan for the slam...bcu up early. next trip down...forbes, he can dish and shoot...he had a double-double tonight wieht 13 points and 12 boards. later in the half, it's homan, driving the lane and fighting through the contact...he had 15 points tonight. that would lead the team if it weren't for clay harreld...he was 7 of 12 from deep for a team high 25...chargers win it big, 98-78. earlier in the day, the morningside men, taking on

men, taking on jamestown. but right out of the gate, brequan tucker...finds some space in the corner he connects and the jimmies get on the board first. morningside answers back...adebayo babalola...bull dozes his way to the hoop and the guys in maroon take the lead. then the outside game comes alive...ryan tegtmeier...rises and fires on the triple to put morningside up a pair. and then tegtmeier again...he had a game high 31, including 6 of 10 from downtown and the mustangs snap a five game skid with a 90-88 win. coach jamie sale looking for his 400th win at morningside, as the stangs take on number 10 jamestown. we pick it up in the fourth quarter...jessica buck...she gets to the rack for jamestown...2 of her game high 18. but they trail by 20 because morningside was firing on all cylinders...jordyn wollenburg...mon ey on the wing three makes it 66- 43. and then the extra pass from

up taylor bahensky for the triple from the corner to make it 73-51. the second unit for the stangs, just as effective...audra corbit, the freshman from lcc, 2 of her 11 points off the bench...11 stangs scored today and they cruise, 79-63. one other game played today at the newman flanagan center. fourth ranked briar cliff was all over waldorf, 98- 49 this evening. emily kay led the chargers with 14 points, but 15 different players scored today, and five of those were in double figures. some more college hoops...nebraska opening up big ten play at home this afternoon against northwestern. early on, benny parker catches and shoots from the wing...he tickles the twine and the huskers out to a 10-6 lead. the wildcats retake it later in the half, but andrew white, drives hard to the rim, takes the contact and finishes, nebraska back up one. then the huskers, end the half in a flurry...white...hit s the triple...he had 22 to lead the way for the scarlet and cream.

double-digits in the second, but dererk pardon, had a man's game...28 points, 12 rebounds and northwestern storms back for the 81-72 win. iowa state wrapping up non conference tonight against two win coppin state. as expected, the cyclones had no issues, rolling 104-84. all five cyclone starters were in double-figures, including monte morris who racked up a double-double. isu opens up conference play on saturday at number 3 oklahoma. chris: kirk ferentz is known as a straight-laced, no nonsense conservative coach. but this year, iowa fans have enjoyed a more aggressive new kirk. from going for it on fourth down and pulling out fake field goals, new kirk has helped lead iowa to its first appearance in the rose bowl in 25 years. today ferentz and stanford head coach david shaw had their pre- game press conference, and ferentz stressed that old kirk and new kirk aren't that different. kirk ferentz--"it's really not a news concept necessarily but it's just something that we

every coach, no matter where they are in the country, they look at where they are at and what is most realistic and what gives them the best chance of winnning." kickoff in the rose bowl game...4 pm on friday over on espn.

your forecast tonight is for decreasing clouds and a low of 2. tomorrow, clouds will be increasing with a high of 23. the 7-day forecast shows 12 new year's eve, then 29 new year's day friday. saturday will warm to 36. after 20s monday and tuesday, we'll enjoy 30s again tuesday and wednesday. there will be no additional snow over the next week.