under 40-grand. but does it justify the city council's pay increase? abc9's christina grijalva has more christina: tim-- the last time the mayor and council salaries saw an increase-- was back in 2000. now-- with the new proposal-- members are hoping the increase actually benefits the future of the city council. after many years of stagnant salaries-- the mayor of sioux city and council members may soon be getting a much- needed raise. "it's been about 18 1/2 years by the time that the wages go into effect, um it's way over due." under the plan discussed at the last budget meeting-- the mayor's annual salary would increase from 10- thousand to 15- thousand dollars. city council pay would jump from 85-hundred to 13- thousand annually. although it may not be a full time job-- council members put in between 25-30 hours a week-- and most of them have other jobs as well. "we believe that we should take car of our people and the only way to do that is to be in contact with them and that's how it woks for us." council members not only attend regular council meetings, but they have other city board meetings--

preparation before each session. so how does their current salary break down? with an annual salary of 85- hundred-- and 30 hours a week-- your looking at only $5.45 an hour. council member-- pete gretkin was initially against the pay increase -- but now thinks it could help the future of the city council. "if the salary increase incentivizes people, uh others interested, good, hopefully young people interested in city government and more importantly interested in the city and have invested commitment to the city, then so be it." when some sioux city residents were asked if the increase was fair-- they weren't sure. "if you look at it as kind of a part time job, i mean it's not like a city like chicago or new york or la, this is kind of a small town city." community input is something to be considered when making the final decision on the pay increase. "anything we can do to get more involvement for the community and the community involved in the decision making process...i'm still of the old

make decisions than just one person or maybe five in this case." christina: even though the council has voted on this-- nothing can take effect until the next general election-- making it at the earliest-- january 1st of 2018. reporting live in studio-- christina grijalva-- abc 9 news. tim: just one day after the federal government gave the go ahead for the state of iowa to move forward with an april first rollout of medicaid privatization, a state senate subcommittee is taking a look at the possibliity of overseeing the program, ensuring it maintains integrity. the packed meeting hosted 20 people testifying about their concerns, saying the transition is happening too fast.

could leave many recipiens "out to dry" and keeps the money away from those who really need it. sot carla dempsey, mason city resident "we paid them to take care of our individuals and our population on medicaid. now, we don't know. are they going to keep it for profit? are they going to give it back to the state of iowa. there's just so much at stake here, it just brings tears to my eyes honestly." the new medicaid program wil change the management of subsidized healthcare for 560 thousand iowan recipients. tim: iowa's former governor, chet culver, on the front lines of a rally at the iowa capitol today fighting against the medicaid change. culver actually organizing this day .... coming out of the political woodwork after politics. election bid to 2010. tim: going forward, it's no secret the state's new medicaid plans will affect thousands of wondering about children?

therapy center says it's still waiting to have questions answered before the rollout. abc 9's bria bell has more bria: tim, the owner of sioux city's therapy station clinic says many parents are not sure if their children will be fully covered. she's states the new allotted time for the switch over will only bring on more questions. tabitha rueter who owns therapy stations says parents of children who rely on medicard have been trying to be in constant communication with providers to be sure of what types of coverage will be issued with the new switch and not knowing is a huge concern at this point. "we paid them to take care of our individuals and our population on medicaid...don't know. are they going to keep it as profit? are you going to give it back to the state of iowa? who knows? there is so much at stake here it just brings tears to my eyes, honestly." according to one

therpist, parents have been very proactive in trying to get things in order before april first. bria: one of the problems parents say they're facing is not being able to reach someone from one of the privatized companies. reporting live in studio, bria bell abc 9 news. tim: february is a month that puts the spotlight on heart health issues. but, here in siouxland doctors and emt's are working constantly to make sure heart attack patients get the best care possible. part of that effort is called "mission: lifeline". it's a state-wide initiative to get ems services and hospitals on the same page to get heart attack quickly as that starts with field diagnosing a heart attack. mercy cardiology says, "so, they can actually do a 12-lead ekg in the field on patients with appropriate symptoms, transmit the information to the hospitals, so we can activate our systems and protocal before a patient actually gets to a center." coming up tonight at ten, jenna tells us more about how mission:

used in our area. that's tonight's your health matters. tim: hy-vee stores are recalling macadamia nuts. all hy vee brand two ounce packages of macadamia nuts with a best buy date of july 10th are being recalled due to a potnential salmonella risk. all 240 of hy-vee's stores carried the product and will be providing a full refund for the product. tim: it's that time of year, as you're driving you may hit one or twelve pesky potholes, city crews are working to fill holes as fast as they open up. we caught up with them while they were repairing roads. "i've got a couple streets, kings highway is about the worst on the route. looks like a minefield but you know you just got to take it slow and watch out that you don't fall in to deep." says postal driver larry mccaslen. nats "oh, this time of year it just varies on the weather. lately we've been busy probably doing two to three hundred

huebner. "we know drivers aren't the most patient of people for these things to get done, but do you think they're glad to know that you're trying to get them done as fast as you can?" "you get the occasional one that wants to run you over and get you out of the way." says huebner. nats "well as many of them as i've seen around they're doing a good job. they've got a limited crew so it'll get there. hopefully soon then later yeah that's always good." says mccaslen. nats "just this week we've probably used, i mean each trailer goes through three ton a day and today we filled up again and the night crews been doing it too, so we've probably been going through close to 10 ton a day." says huebner. "timetable, how long till you think you get done? roads completed?" "oh, i would say atleast a couple months if that." says huebner. tim:

needs tending to or some rougher roads in the area go to the city's website to report those problematic pot holes. coming up after seven decades. an iowan gets something he lost returned to him. details when we return... (fred) light snow is coming tonight, and breezy winds will remain in place through tomorrow. but a big warmup is coming saturday! see you after the break for the forecast.

down the owner of a. wallet the wallet had been buried under an oldmovie house's floorboards since 19-44 in nevada iowa.. the wallet containea boy scout card,

era ration stamps, an i-d and calendar that helped date it. clare mcintosh was reunited with the wallet monday. the now 85-year- old says he remembers losing it at the theater when he was teenager. (clare mcintosh/reunited with wallet) "i thought at first it must be some sort of a joke and i thought well, it couldn't be." it's believed a theater employee found the wallet all those years ago but took the money out before lodging it in the floorboards. tim/jenna/fred (tim) fred, what is the outlook for tonight? (fred) a half inch or less of snow. fred hexom fhexom@kcautv.c om (fred) the hd radar shows light snow mix in parts of siouxland. a time lapse of the port neal welding company skycam hd shows that we've had a definite

been our high and 24 the low. here's the picture live from storm lake on the skycam hd. 37 is our sioux city temperature. after a chilly start, we warmed up nicely today. local temperatures are mainly in the 30s. winds are north to northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour. the satellite and radar shows the light snow getting ready to move into siouxland this evening, and we also see a major weather system over the eastern fourth of the country. this system is responsible for a tornado watch over the east central us, from south carolina to pennsylvania. after several severe weather

today. in the past 24 hours alone, there have been over 20 tornado reports and almost 200 total reports of severe weather in the southeastern us. an incredible 150 reports of wind damage were reported. and, on the northwestern

where cooler air is found, we have winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings from illinois into michigan, including the south side of the chicago metro. up to 10" of snow will be possible in these areas! the stormcast hd shows

scattered light snow showers overnight. breezy winds will be with us again tomorrow before high pressure calms the wind down tomorrow night, paving the way for a warming trend and sunny skies friday into saturday. the snow forecast shows the potential for about a half inch of snow tonight along and just west of interstate 29. elsewhere, just a dusting or less of snow is expected. the forecast for tonight is for a good chance of light snow and blustery winds. the low will be 28. tomorrow, expect a high of 36 under mostly cloudy skies and a strong northwest breeze. the 7-day forecast shows a jump to 47 on friday and then 62 saturday, both with mostly sunny skies. winds will accompany a slight chance of light rain on sunday, then it's back to the 50s monday before a stronger cold front offers a chance of snow tuesday, strong winds, and a return to highs in the 30s. jenna/tim/fred (tim) thanks, fred. (fred) sure. still to come... a change aimed at opening up acceptance at one iowa school. why they've installed two all-gender

whdakota.... and now an iowa high school says it's ioffering two gender-neutral restrooms...sayin g it's an effort to support the school's l-g-b-t community. officials at the school say the restrooms are part of a movement to make students and staff members alike feel more accepted. emmy victor reports. "what once served as two separate faculty restrooms can now be used by anyone in the building. (zoey wagner, junior at roosevelt high) "it shows them that their identity is legitimate." the idea sparked from student zoey wagner who says that students there come from all walks of life. (zoey wagner, junior at rooselt high) "there is a transgender population here, and there is a population here that don't adhere to the gender binary in one way or another." the single unit rest rooms are privately located in the library - for staff to monitor the students that use it. (zoey wagner, junior at roosevelt high) "this isn't like - if yo are transgender, you have to use this in any way possible - it is just a second option." but not everyone who uses the space

will take time to get used to. (tyciera wells, junior at roosevelt) "a lot of people don't agree with transgender, so to say - so i feel like it's just different." principal kevin biggs says that if the change can make an impact on even one person, then its worth it. (kevin biggs, principal, roosevelt high school) "we have a responsibility to make sure that as the adults in this building to make sure that our students feel included, feel safe. and i actually felt ashamed that we hadn't thought about this before." " coming up in sports...the musketeers have lost eight of their last nine and today they made a big roster move. details on the trade up ahead. plus...the bandits open up their title defense this saturday night. we'll hear from coach strohbeen and the team on chasing down another ring

on saturday night the sioux city bandits open up their 2016 season, and will be looking to defend their league title from a year ago. there's been some turnover on the roster for coach erv strohbeen's squad, most notably at the quarterback position. charles dowdell, the cif mvp from a year ago has moved on, meaning former marshall quarterback aj graham will be under center saturday night. but with a strong core returning including all league players fredrick bruno, johnny bentley, and marlon lobban, the bandits have high expectations for 2016. marlon lobban--"it's always been that way for us and these coaches have never said anything other than championship. never said anything other than championship. they don't buy conference championship rings, they buy championship rings. we get a t-shirt, but they buy championship rings." erv strohbeen--"with the veterans we have returning and the guys that we have coming in from other teams and the rookies that we signed, they're all quality ball players. i think anything less than the highest expectation possible is a failure with these guys." kickoff between

omaha beef is set for 7 o clock the tyson. in other football iowa state coach paul rhoads is heading to fall. the arkansas defensive backs coach for the razorbacks. to the sec for the defensive coordinator at 2008 before joining the cyclones. nebraska also is filling out their staff, including a familiar name. john parrella, a former all big eight pick and 12 year nfl player will join the huskers as the defensive line coach, coming to lincoln from northern michigan. billy devaney, a former general manager for the rams will join mike riley's staff as the executive director of player personnel and special assistant. changes in cedar falls as well...the panthers named david harris their new athletic director today. harris comes to uni from iowa state where he currently serves as a senior associate ad.

officially start at northern iowa on march 28. chris: it's certainly been a rough year for the musketeers, especially lately as they've lost 8 of their last 9. today the team announced a major roster move, trading team captain ryan zuhlsdorf to dubuque. zuhlsdorf, a minnesota commit and tampa bay lightning draft pick saw action in 30 games this year for the muskies, notching 23 assists. he missed 10 games earlier this year with a concussion. in return the musketeers received pat holway, also a defenseman. holway, a maine commit and detroit red wings draft pick, has 7 points in 37 games this year. jay varady--"ryan's been an important part of our organization for a year and a half. he's our captain. it was a situation where a player became available, we thought that could help our team now and in the future. ryan's going to be going to college next year at the university of minnesota and we thought it was a good deal for now and in the future of the organization." the muskies return to action friday night at waterloo.

tournament gets underway tonight with six area teams in action in the mens and women's brackets. here locally, the top-seeded and number 1 nationally morningside women will host a game at 7 while across town at briar cliff, the charger women and men will play host to a double- header at 6 and 8.

moving through most of siouxland. the forecast for tonight is for a good chance of light snow and blustery winds. the low will be 28. tomorrow, expect a high of 36 under mostly cloudy skies and a strong northwest breeze. the 7-day forecast

on friday and then 62 saturday, both with mostly sunny skies. winds will accompany a slight chance of light rain on sunday, then it's back to the 50s monday before a stronger cold front offers a chance of snow tuesday, strong winds, and a return to highs in the 30s.

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