this is ??? . all this morning, tv- nine is live from the newly completed hancher auditorium. it will officially open tomorrow with a ribbon- cutting. but we have an all-access pass this morning to take you on a tour through this expansive new building. the project after the 2008 flood destroyed the old hancher building. we have a camera up at the top of the balcony. take a look. this auditorium can seat 18-hundred guests. and this season's program is packed with a list of start-studded performances...from steve martin and martin short to the book of mormon. it's the first time hancher will welcome back broadway since 2008. we have so much to show you

joins us now with your first alert forecast. plan on the rain to exit the area very quickly this morning leaving the daylight hours dry and quiet. temperatures will bounce back into the lower 80s south and upper 70s towards the north. our next area of low pressure is not far off though, and will begin to impact our weather beginning tomorrow. plan on some showers and storms in the area friday night. this weekend continues to look great with highs into the 70s and lows into the 50s. the plan weather-wise for saturday night continues to be unchanged with clear sky and comfortable temperatures for football into the 60s.today: gradual clearing. wind: nw 5-15. high: 82 tonight: increasing clouds. wind: light e. low: 62 tomorrow: showers and thunderstorms likely. locally heavy rain possible. wind: s 5-10. high: 78 tom. night: lingering showers and a few thunderstorms. wind: nw 5- 10. low: 57

the auditorium we're in is just huge. if the audience happens to look up during a show, they'll see something quite unique ... this ceiling. of course, creating all this didn't happen overnight. let's take a look back on how it all st the original hancher opened in 1972. it was named after virgil hancher, who served as the university of iowa's president for from 1940 to 1964. it hosted world-class artists, student performances and community productions. but the massive 2008 flood badly damaged the building. the iowa river crested at a record 31 and a half feet on june 15th, damaging hancher and 19 other university buildings. the u-i decided to completely replace

it opted to build the new hancher near the old location, but higher and out of the flood plain. the u-i said goodbye to the old building in september 2011 when crews built a special stage for a farewell to hancher performance. work on the new building started in december 2012. after months of disputes over fema funding, the federal agency decided to pay 270 million dollars to help replace hancher, the school of music and art building east. demolition on the old building started in because hancher didn't exist as a building, it didn't go away. for the past eight years, plays concerts and other performances have been happening at other venus on campus and across the state. here's a look at the progress on hancher, the building, in may 2014.. last year, people on campus were able to become part of the building when they signed a steel beam that crews lifted into place. that locked those names into hancher history. the last of hancher's traveling

earlier this year in february. and then in june, the u-i box office officially started selling tickets for its first season in the new building. all that, of course, brings us to today...and the future of performing arts at hancher. in this brand new building, everyone wants the perfect seat for the show - comfortable with a great view of the stage. hancher executive director chuck swanson told us about the lengthy thought process that went into designing the house. the experience here at the new hancher. chuck, how many seats are there - what's your capacity for a show? c: 1800. and the orginal hancher had 2,500 seats. and we discussed this a lot. at one point we talked about 2,100. but then we finally decided on 1800. when we decided on 1800, the architect said we hit a sweet spot architectually, asthetically and acoustically. and nicole, i sit in here and i couldn't be more happy. n:

seafoam green seating, the seats themselves are comfortable and you've got lights to really add to the experience as well. c: i've got to tell you, choosing the seat was probably one of the more difficult decisions to make. because everyone has such a personal preference. we looked at seats for a long, long time and we finally just said, that's the seat. and i'm so glad with what we ended up with. and the aisles - there's so much room. and i have to say, and i mean it from the bottom of my heart, every seat in this house is going to be a good seat. you're going to be able to see. you're going to beable to hear. and when people come to the theatre now, it's all about the experience. you know, people pay a lot for a ticket. and they want to see and they want to hear. and the same for the aritst. you know, from the artists' standpoint on stage, of course, that's the best seat in the house, but the artist wants to look out, they want to see people. they want to feel connected. and so the chemistry between the artist and the audience - it's going to be like

for now, though, we'll send it back to the studio, where tv-nine's brea love has this morning's top stories. on, even during a relocation process after a damaging fire. the owner of the diner style restaurant in cedar rapids has to decided to reopen at different place for now. fire crews believe a small vent fan overheated in the ceiling above the dishwasher on tuesday afternoon. most of the roof is gone and smoke damaged the rest of the inside. tomorrow morning the restaurant will open at 6:30 at daisy's garage just down the street. owner richard pankey wants to

then after 11 during the weekdays or after 1 on the weekends, daisy's garage will take over offering lunch and dinner. pankey tells tv-9 that this seems like the best solution to keep customers and his staff happy. " 1:11:21, "so hopefully the same riley's crowd will go down there, eat off the same riley's menu at daisy's garage, same staff will be down there, so nobody loses a job, everyone can go down there and there's ample seating."" pankey says he hopes to re-open riley's at its do at least 3 months to fix the building. a family in waterloo was forced out of their home after a fire. it started around 7 last night at 108 east parker street. everyone inside got out safely. the house does appear to be a total loss. in a tv-9 follow-up this morning.. a former cedar rapids substitute teacher has pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee. 24 year old mary beth haglin

interview with tv9, she admitted she had a relationship with a student at washington high school. the investigations of the teacher- student sex scandal led to last month's resignations of washington principal ralph plagman and activities director mike johnson. the meals on wheels program in johnson county says it is running short of funds, but not ideas. the group managing the service kicked off a new fundraising campaign. it's called "refueling meals on wheels." the agency says for each $2.50 shortfall in funding. it says part of the problem is delayed payments from the privatized medicaid program. "'"we've had to relocate our offices and part of the reason for that is because of the medicaid slowdown in payments our receivables have basically almost tripled since the state switched to medicaid managed care," "

service because it felt a moral obligation to feed and do wellness checks on the elderly in need. let's go back now to nicole, chris and kaj, all live at hancher. thanks, brea. for decades, the joffrey ballet has helped iowa kids find their connection to performing arts. and now, that tradition is continuing on this brand new stage. we'll explain, still ahead. plus, we'll also take you behind the scenes wher have the chance to practice their routines before heading out on the big stage. but right now, here's a look at today's opening farm markets. good

hancher auditorium on where we're exploring this brand new building ahead of its ribbon- cutting tomorrow. plan on the rain to exit the area very quickly this morning leaving the daylight hours dry and quiet. temperatures will bounce back into the lower 80s south and upper 70s towards the north. our next area of low pressure is not far off though, and will begin to impact

some showers and storms in the area for friday and especially on friday night. this weekend continues to look great with highs into the 70s and lows into the 50s. the plan weather-wise for saturday night continues to be unchanged with clear sky and comfortable temperatures for football into the 60s.today: gradual high: 82 tonight: increasing clouds. wind: light e. low: 62 tomorrow: showers and thunderstorms likely. locally heavy rain possible. wind: s 5-10. high: 78 tom. night: lingering showers and a few thunderstorms.

on stage. for years, the university of iowa has maintained a strong relationship with the joffrey ballet. still ahead, hear from one former joffrey ballerina who enjoyed performing at hancher so much, she decided to stay. it's ---. for those of you just joining

university of iowa campus ahead of it's opening tomorrow. building this auditorium has been a process eight years in the making. and now that it's done, the u-i

performed by the joffrey ballet will happen on this stage this december. as kcrg-tv nine's brea love reports, this marks a new chapter in a long, collaborative history between hancher and the joffrey. for more than 40 years the university of iowa's hancher auditorium and the joffrey ballet have had close ties. ballet dancers graced the hancher stage for the first time in 1974. 36:19 "at that time, a university presenter having a dance company on campus was unheard of so really, we were kind relationship with the joffrey" over the years, the joffrey would hold summer residencies and even hold the world premiere of its nutcracker right in the heart of iowa city. 36:57 "i'll never forget it was december 10th of 1987 when that curtain went up everybody was so excited, and so proud." that

would go down in history. that year 65 iowa children auditioned, rehearsed, and preformed with the joffrey on stage, and also had the once in a lifetime opportunity to preform in washington d.c. 38:24 "all these 65 iowa kids went to the kennedy center for three weeks, and now those kids are 30 maybe almost 40 years old, and they talk about it. their parents talk about it, but even these kids remember that as one of the best experience." for the ballet's 35th anniversary in 200 different. 39:32 "we decided as a gift to the state of iowa we were going to take the joffrey ballet on a tour around the state and had free outdoor performances." that was former joffrey ballerina britta lazenga's last season with the ballet. now after almost a decade she's working at hancher. 47:16 "when we had the river to river tour, it was like a spiritual

weather anyone could ask for the and the audience could really see what would happen on stage because there were no wings the backdrop was the beautiful iowa landscape." she says as a dancer.. being able to see the audience enjoy the ballet will always hold a special place in her heart. 48:26 "that's one of the wonderful things that made the joffrey what it is, they brought ballet do that on the brand new stage by premiering the joffrey's new rendition of the nutcracker in december. 50:35 "it's a new building, but you know all of this newness at the same time at the foundation is love and dedication to the building and the arts." in iowa city, brea love, kcrg-tv nine news. hancher will also hold those auditions for iowa children who want to

shows, auditions, and more is on kcrg dot com right now. what can we expect weather-wise today? stay with tv9. it's . now, one last look at this

area very quickly this morning leaving the daylight hours dry and quiet. temperatures will bounce back into the lower 80s south and upper 70s towards the north. our next area of low pressure is not far off though, and will begin to impact our weather beginning tomorrow. plan on some showers and storms in the area for friday and especially on friday night. this weekend continues to look great with highs into the 70s and lows into the 50s. the plan weather-wise for saturday night continues to be unchanged with clear sky and 60s.today: gradual clearing. wind: nw 5-15. high: 82 tonight: increasing clouds. wind: light e. low: 62 tomorrow: showers and thunderstorms likely. locally heavy rain possible. wind: s 5-10. high: 78 tom. night: lingering showers and a few thunderstorms. wind: nw 5- 10. low: 57 now, here's diane macado and nick watt with this

np today's "techbytes," apple says hit the road, jack. the company confirms that the iphone 7 will not have a head phone jack. >> the new iphones will have a second camera, more memory and will come in two shades of black. the iphone 7 and the apple watch 2 will also be water resistant. apple will start taking orders tomorrow. you might be wondering how you're going to listen to music on your iphone that will plug into the lightning port and an adopter. >> or you can order apple's wireless earphones that go on sale next month for $700. tim cook's surprises were spoiled first when amazon put up a page with accessories for the iphone 7. >> it happened again when apple's own twitter account

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this is kcrg-tv9 news early morning news. if you're just joining us this morning, we're touring all through hancher, which will officially open tomorrow. and right now, we're in this brand new rehearsal room. it's where musicians and performers will have the change to practice ef this, of course, is what performers will see once they step on the stage...just imagine it all filled with 18-hundred people in the audience. before we continue on our tour, meteorologis t kaj o'mara joins us now. kaj, what do you have for our hancher forecast? plan on the rain to exit the area very quickly this morning leaving the daylight hours dry and quiet. temperatures will bounce