pet mo announcer: you're watching kcci 8 news. stacey: next at 10:00, former kkk frontman backs the gop frontrunner. new reaction to donald trump's response. todd: robbery, chase, and crash. the extra motivation des moines police had to catch the thief in a weekend crime spree. >> the pain was so severe. stacey: plus 42-years of agony , and discomfort. >> it just took a couple of seconds to realize i had no pain. stacey: the solution an iowa man is fighting to share and his passionate plea to legislatures to make it happen. todd: tracking a wintry mix. kurtis here with what to expect overnight. kurtis: we had a little rain earlier. these areas in darker blue -- a wintry mix, kind of a sleek mix.

it will pick up a bit as the night goes along. here is where you will see some slick roadways. first, down south, just above the freezing mark. our trend for this snow, it is going to pick up a little later tonight, changing over to sleet, freezing rain, then all snow after midnight. by early tomorrow morning, the system pulling out. not looking for a lot of snow here into des moines. anywhere from 110 to about 7/10 of an inch. on highway 30, about 1-2 inches of snow. a narrow area around highway 20 and back into northeastern iowa. springtime returns in your 8 day forecast. details coming up.

alright. i disavow, ok? todd: endorsement controversy. donald trump disavowing former ku klux klan leader david duke's endorsement friday. but, when asked if he condemns white supremacist groups on sunday, he had no clear answer. mr. trump: i know nothing about david duke. i know nothing about white supremacists. and so, you're asking me a question that i'm supposed to be talking about people that i know nothing about. todd: trump now says he had a hard time hearing the question through his ear-piece. nationally, the opposition blasted trump for not immediately denouncing duke and his support. stacey: kcci's marcus mcintosh joins us with local reaction. marcus: we spoke to iowans today who say they are just as , surprised as trump's political adversaries that he didn't immediatly separate himself from duke and his comments. >> i can't believe trump didn't disavow that endorsement as soon as he heard about it. marcus: kcci political analyst

of immediate action to distance himself from duke is a mistake. dennis one of the things that is : crucial to the legitimacy of your campaign is to refuse support from people who are considered fringe groups or in some way illegitimate. marcus: goldford says the latest backlash may fall on deaf ears when it comes to true supporters who tend to stick with republican presidential frontrunner through thick and thin, because his message to them rings loud and clear. dennis we are living in really : angry times, and trump articulates the anger and resentment of people who believe they have been looked down on and forgot and disadvantaged by society's attention to people they don't think deserve it. marcus: those who oppose trump are not surprised by the controversy. >> i am not a trump supporter by any stretch of the imagination, but this, to me is , consistent with his view of the world and it is troubling. marcus: it is a view of the country that some find uncomfortable.

kind of shows, is america still in the place we were 400 years ago? marcus: duke originally detailed his support for trump in a facebook post late last week. he wrote in part, "i think he deserves a close look by those who believe the era of political correctness needs to come to an end." stacey? stacey: a new national poll gives donald trump a double-digit lead going into super tuesday. he leads second-place marco rubio 49% to 16%. ted cruz close behind with 15% support. on the democratic side that same , poll shows hillary clinton with a commanding 55% to 38% lead over bernie sanders. we'll be keeping a close eye on all the super tuesday competitions. trust kcci 8 news on air and online for the results. todd: new at 7:00 it's a bad , -- new at 10:00 it's a bad , idea to steal a car at knife point. it's a really bad idea when the car belongs to a des moines police detective. now, one man is jail after a saturday night crime spree across the city. >> clearly the guy wasn't a , genius or he would have

his risk of getting caught would have been much less. todd: 55-year-old laforest bennett did get caught and now he's in the polk county jail. it all started saturday night when police say he pulled out a knife and tried to rob patrick garcia in front of the embassy suites hotel downtown. bennett didn't get his wallet, but he did take his keys and raced off in garcia's toyota suv. but what the bennett didn't know was garcia is married to des moines police detective lorna garcia and the hotel was full of , hundreds of cops for the annual black and blue ball. >> it's unusual that kind of crime would happen because that place was crawling with police officers. todd: it didn't take long before police spotted bennett in the toyota. after a chase on the northeast side of des moines he lost , control, plowed through a hedge in a yard near hubbell and guthrie, smashed into a vintage corvette, and crashed through a garage wall. >> very upset, very upset. todd: john scott lives here and ran out to the garage to find the wrecked toyota and several of his prized harley davidson

>> it does concern me that -- me about people that steal, that harm us, that put is in jeopardy and in harms way, put a police officer in harms way. todd: luckily, no one was hurt but all the airbags deployed and , the battered suv is a total loss. police hope bennett learned a lesson -- don't steal, especially from cops. >> obviously, we're not immune to crime, but we were on top of it and had it in custody in probably about 20 minutes. todd: bennett is charged with robbery, theft, and eluding. he's being held on $40,000 bond. new at 10:00 the city of des , moines is backing off its crackdown on home day care businesses. last week, we first told you the city had received complaints kids. that prompted a city wide crackdown on day cares. tonight, mayor frank cownie says the city is going to slow down and take a look at zoning laws later this year. stacey: breaking his silence. justice clarence thomas asked a string of questions today for the first time in 10 years.

court has heard arguments since the death of justice antonin scalia. speaking of the u.s. supreme court, an important meeting tomorrow involves iowa senator charles grassley. kcci's steve karlin and photojournalist cortney kintzer are the only central iowa t.v. news team in the nation's capital tonight. steve joins us live. ok steve what's this meeting , about? steve: as you can see, the u.s. capitol building is under reconstruction. so, you might say, is the supreme court. this meeting is all about president obama's desire to bring a supreme court nominee before the u.s. senate. justice antonin scalia, as we all know, passed away unexpectedly on february 14. he was a staunch conservative. within hours of scully's death, senate majority leader mitch

senate would not hold hearings or votes for anyone the president may nominate. the president requested a meeting with iowa senator charles grassley. he is the committee chairman and the matter. initially, grassley did not respond, the late last week, he agreed. tomorrow, grassley, but got -- grassley, mcconnell, harry reid, and patrick leahy, a democrat, will all meet at the white house. it is the president's responsibility to nominate prospective justices in the senate's responsibility to approval reject a nominee based on their qualifications. the republicans say the next justice will be determined once the 26th elections are over and the new president is sworn in, in essence to give the people a say into the next justice is. there is also an ideological split on the court. of the eight justices left, four

they said they will meet tomorrow, but it will probably not change their minds. we will see. that is why we are here. we will have the story tomorrow at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:00. todd: and emotional goodbye hilton coliseum tonight. how cyclones fans honored their seniors. stacey: plus it's the remedy , finally giving him some relief. >> within a couple of hours my pain had gone to point where it was non-existent.

speaking openly about his stacey: a windsor heights man is telling his story to kcci in the hopes it pushes a new medical cannabis bill through the capitol. there is, once again, a battle over medical marijuana, or medical cannabis as proponents prefer it to be called. todd: tonight mark tauscheck , introduces us to a man who is taking a risk even telling his story. mark: the latest research into views on medical cannabis came out during this legislative session, showing 76% of iowans support a medical cannabis law of some sort. the owner of the company who did this research has a very personal connection to this issue. pain has always been part of bob lewis. >> whenever i'm asked to give a

told physicians in the past that my number 1 starts with your number 5 and it goes up from there. todd: -- mark: after a childhood filled with fatigue, headaches, and frustration, doctors finally gave him an answer that sounds like a punch line. his brain was too big, it didn't fit his goal. this caused fluid to envelop his brain stem and spinal cord. he had his first surgery at 21. >> exposed my spinal cord, and then drain the fluid. mark: that surgery began a forty year relationship. >> the pain was so severe. mark: with his constant companion. i'd have tears in my eyes and i just didn't want to be around anybody. mark: as he bit his employees in his windsor heights market research company, lewis says he has no feeling in his arms or upper back. >> and that's why i look like a drunken sailor when i walk. mark: he says pain has always

>> when you're around family and friends, you're feeling the pain so much that you are there physically but you're not present. you just want to be someplace else. mark: pain medications scared him. he claims he didn't want to numb himself so he sought relief, through simple aspirin. >> i took up to 12 aspirin a day. mark: lewis was resigned to this life of pain until a family trip to colorado last a state where august, medical marijuana is legally manufactured and distributed. he tried a patch on his back that released cannabis with a small amount of thc. he says within 90 minutes, he realized his life could change. absolutely feeling different >>absolutely feeling different than i had felt in 41 years and it took me just a couple of seconds to realize i had no pain. i was absolutely without pain. so i had to force myself to go

was still feeling so good. you have no idea what it's like, it's like the shackles are off. mark: but the shackles weren't gone. lewis didn't even try to bring any cannabis patches home to iowa. >> i didn't want to take chance of getting back here and being arrested because we had them in our bag. mark: several people did offer to bring him some, but lewis told them all he wanted to do this the right way, getting the existing medical cannabis law changed in iowa. >> there are a lot of us out there with intractable pain and we could sure use the help now. mark: lewis spoke about his experience in colorado at a sub-committee hearing this month. >> within a couple of hours, my pain had gone to point where it was non-existent. mark: he spoke knowing the bill introduced the previous week had had -- had been radically altered. the number of medical conditions that qualify for medical cannabis treatment reduced from 11 to 3. >> when i found out the intractable pain was taken out it was like a brick hitting me

mark: an interesting twist. as bob lewis testified before the sub-committee, he was wearing a cannabis patch. >> i don't think i would have like i did without it. mark: a friend had surprised lewis with a 30-day supply and there he was, at the capitol using an illegal drug to control his pain, even showing legislators his patch behind the house floor, fighting for a way to purchase more patches legally. >> emotionally, something has happened to me that, when i have that pain and there's nothing i can do about it it's like, i don't feel frantic, but i'm like oh my gosh, i can feel better , than this. thanks jim, for inviting me here, i appreciate it. mark: lewis now is trying to educate the masses through his personal story. >> i was pain free for first time in 42 years. mark: is employees claim to know what days he's wearing a patch. >> you can kind of see the

pain free. to help expand the medical cannabis law in iowa to include more medical conditions like understands the legal risks of speaking about his journey and >> bring them on. bring them on, mark. if they want to throw me in jail -- why would they? good for you, good for you. mark: bob lewis's research company quester traditionally serves clients in the food and banking industries, but they self-funded that poll of 1000 iowans on medical cannabis. it concluded 3 in 4 support a medical cannabis law. 67% think medical cannabis should be addressed this legislative session. todd: taking a live look outside rough. temperatures falling and the

kurtis: temperatures here in the metro hovering around the freezing mark. to the north, we are below freezing. 33 degrees. north-northeast winds at 10. going to get a little gusty later tonight and early tomorrow. this is the winter weather advisory to the north. you head over into marshall county, over in grundy county, and franklin county areas. winter weather advisory's to the north for accumulating snows and some blowing snows. here is super doppler 8. these areas in darker blue are snow. some ice palace, sleep, and even a little freezing rain in this area in purple. then, light rain for now as you head down into southeastern iowa. generally dry downtown. a mix changing terrain over toward marion county, and this

no right now. precipitation out there. snow should be over by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. 9:00 a.m., 26. new, winds gusting to 23. locations that have a little blowing snow. our average high is 42, and our high tomorrow just 32. going to be a colder day that we have been experiencing lately. i think you can see, there is that last little band that will pull through northwestern iowa. not a lot of this is going to pull into the southern part of the state. this area of low pressure spins on by. high pressure from canada brings us the colder air, but it also will bring us some sunshine later on tuesday into wednesday.

changing over to snow. still snowing to the north at 3:00 a.m. moving out of the state before sunrise. clouds thinning tuesday late in the day. tuesday, i think we start with sunshine and see some clouds move in a little later. here is another computer model. i showed you a general drawing earlier in the show. an inch to 2 inches on highway 30. a heavier batch of snow, 3-6 inches from dubuque over towards waterloo. a mix of snow here in the metro. 25 degrees. anywhere from a trace to 7/10 of an inch. tomorrow, 32. flurries early. we will bounds of into the 40's on wednesday. thursday, another system.

a little better chance of snow northeast. 40's friday, 50's saturday, 60's on sunday. more 60's next week. by tuesday next week, could be thunderstorms. stacey: next at 10:00 iowa's own , grammy winning heavy metal

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stacey: slipknot is coming home. they're set to headline lazer 103.3 radio's 20th anniversary party, august 5 at wells fargo arena. it will be the first time in 7 years the band has performed in des moines. the event will also feature marilyn manson and of mice and men. tickets go on sale this friday at 10:00 a.m. you can buy them through

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andy: i love senior night. i love seeing these college athlete to spend four years building up this tough veneer crumble when it all comes to an end in front of the fans and the family. the tears any emotion. always a great night. tonight, iowa state's version of that hilton coliseum. george liang -- georges niang saying goodbye along with abdel nader and jameel mckay.

nin -- niang with the patented hook. this was pretty. there is nader again. in traffic, no worries. steve prohm's team on a roll. look at the pass. niang to mckay. one of four georges niang assists. niang finished with 17. nader with 19 and five. cyclones role on senior night. tony: this was senior day, but really this was georges niang day. >> you guys mean everything to me.

i don't know i will ever experience something as great as i experienced here. the support, the love, the real love that i felt here. i was afraid for that to happen one last time. >> he didn't come here as a heralded recruit and he worked his way to an all-american. as a fan, you have no choice but to expected, because as a teammate, we all its -- we all respected. >> heading these people are extremely appreciative of it. georges is a guy that will always be around the program and will play for a long time. >> i am content with closing the chapter at hilton, because i left every thing i had up there. tony: it was emotional for all the seniors. still work to be done. next up, the regular-season

andy: that game is at 3:00 on saturday. kansas celebrated being number one in the country by beating texas night in austin by 30. ku on a roll ahead of saturday's showdown. the hawkeyes have their senior night tomorrow night. at home, 8:00 tip time. over at wells fargo arena was the start of the girls state basketball tournament. 1a taking the floor early on. scott reister has our coverage. scott: what a fun opening day at wells fargo arena. top teams across the state have showed up. check out the newell-fonda players with blue and their hair. defending champs can do whatever they want. third quarter, maggie rasmussen connects. in the end, the mustangs start to pull away. the mysterious blue hair plays

>> i will have to end up cutting my hair off. scott: the other 1a quarterfinal, mount ayr trying to mount a comeback against turkey valley. 15 seconds left, mount ayr down by three. they turn it over. turkey valley knocks out mount ayr. in class 2a, central decatur led western christian. but in the end it wasn't enough. the fun continues all week long here in downtown des moines. the bottom of the screen.

pella rools, 81-56. newton. watch this drive. the bucket and the foul.

we don't just serve any fish sandwich at culver's. we serve wild-caught, north atlantic cod. this cod grows in water that is cold, clean and pristine, full of flavorful nutrients, and that comes through in the fish. this is the way we ship it to your restaurants. it's not pre-breaded. so not only do we use the highest quality cod, but we still hand-batter it the old-fashioned way. that's remarkable. and we think we get the best fish filet sandwich because of that. this is the best fish sandwich in america.

kurtis: snow northern half of the state moving east. maybe half inch here in the metro at best.