cbs 2 iowa dot com. iowans are now just days away from kicking off the presidential nominating process with our first in the nation caucuses. the republican candidates have their last chance tonight to make their case in a prime time debate- but their front runner won't be on stage. stage.cbs 2 news reporter kevin barry is at the debate in des moines right now and joins us live with what viewers can expect. most iowans who take part in the political process every four years pride themselves on hearing candidates -- and often times - even taking notes. tonight, donald trump breaks tradition and plays by his own rules -- leaving the rest of the field to have his own event. before tuesday - the late week trump/cruz showdown was the battle to watch tonight. trump supporter -tiptoni think cruz is a snake to be honest and i think trump is gonna walk all over him. but trump saying he'll opt out has sparked up a debate about what

want. while some iowan's want to see policy comparisons, others don't want moderators and other candidates getting in the way of their guy guywell that megyn kelley. when she talks you can tell right off shes against him. the result is an environment he controls completely where he can say what he wants unchallenged. trump supporter at the same time? oh that's good. he'll draw the crowd over there. yeah. yeah. i like that. hahaha. he's smart. i have full faith and trust in me donald trump to do the right thing and i'm behind him 110 percent. former george w bush white house press secretary ari fleischer says marco rubio could have an opportunity tonight to make it all abut him and ted cruz...and make up ground heading into the caucuses monday night. in des

another celebrity came to the corridor today to campaign for one of the leading democrats. actress susan sarandon spoke at a luncheon in marion on behalf of senator bernie sanders.the event at m-j's was put on by women for bernie. sarandon says he's the best candidate to change the status quo of politics. "if you're gonna make a difference it's going to be tough and it needs for all of us to stay engaged, once this man becomes president of the united states." states."the latest quinnipiac poll released just yesterday has sanders and hillary clinton in a dead heat just 4 days out from the caucuses. temperatures will continue to warm up the next few days. today highs were well above freezing across eastern iowa with a few clouds. clouds will stick around tonight and we'll have some clearing. temperatures will fall tonight

right now.. several leaders in johnson county are back home. home.the group headed to a community in texas earlier this week to find alternatives to putting people behind bars. cbs 2 news reporter mellaney moore learned what the leaders hope to incorporate in johnson county. county. leaders in johnson county are bringing back some ideas from san antonio police. police. 23:22:12 san antonio deploys a technique called referred to as cit, which is crisis intervention team. markus says instead of what may be considered a traditional police response, the c-i-t is

with a mental illness, homelessness, substance abuse or developmental disabilities. disabilities.23:23:53 there's some techniques that you can use to deescalate a situation that probably should be taught to all of our police officers. markus says the next step is to get these people to local services who can help them. them.23:36:58 we have a lot the pieces and we have a fair amount of collaboration, we just haven't gotten it cohesive in a strategic way. peckover says there were several reasons for the tripa&jail overcrowding, cost reduction and to get people the help they need.four police officers from johnson county are still in san antionio for the week week23:42:12 it's giving them the skills to interact on the streets, giving them the skills to know, how do i even know that this is a behavioral health crisis and then how do i best deescalate the situation and then where can i take these people.markus says those skills can be used immediately when officers get back.coordinating the continuum of services and care

city police say some people are in a cycle that doesn't improve and it will be better and more cost effective to treat them rather than incarcerate. incarcerate.23:29:52 it's kind of a continuum of care in terms of progressing people away from some of the challenges that they face personally, get them the treatment they need, get them some skills and get them again to be productive members of society.look livemarkus says everybody who went on the trip is going to get back together in february to talk about the next steps.covering the corridor in iowa city, mellaney moore, cbs 2 news. the old water tower one in north liberty, is no more tonight. crews took it down today - blocking off several roads while cranes dismantled the tower. the city says it hasn't been used for several years and became impractical to keep up. a local theater is celebrating its first year of fun tonight and looking to its future

lived up to its name and hopes to continue giving back to the community it calls home. home.cbs 2 news reporter joe huisinga joins us now with more. the giving tree theater could still be considered a newcomer to uptown marionbut the community has welcomed them with open arms. arms. we felt like there was an opportunity in the marion area specifically to start something and so we just kind of lept and went for it. 9 for the last 12 months giving tree theater has been putting on productions while performing good deeds for others. it has been a whirl wind, part of our mission is to give back to the local community so we actually donate a portion of or proceeds to local human services non profits.12so far giving tree has given more than 10 thousand dollars to area groups like foundation 2 and the ronald mcdonald house. but each show benefits a different organization.each cast will take a vote and decided and discuss and let us know what they come up with then we reach out to that

let them know. 10now the cast of upcoming show harvey has decided to give their proceeds to the abbe center for community mental health. the focus on good theater and good causes has helped giving tree grow into a popular play house and as they move into their second year they want to keep the spotlight on their core mission.we're not looking to take over the theater world or anything or go to broadway. we want to here in marion and just put on good shows. the comedy harvey opens tomorrow night at 8 o'clock and runs for the next 3 weekends.joe huisinga, cbs 2 news if you're looking for something to do with the kids during these cold, winter weeks - but don't want to break the bank - we've got an idea for you! starting next weekend, coral ridge cinemas will begin its "kids dream winter film series."every friday, saturday and sunday through march 20th, they'll offer a series of family-friendly films, with admission just 3 bucks per

as well. the general manager says, it's an opportunity for families to spend time together, in a good-old fashioned way. 13.42.06 the point of this whole film series is to get people to come out and enjoy time as a family at a time when, you know the holiday season have passed, things have slowed down, so it really gives them an opportunity to bond, doing something that people have been doing for many years, going to movies 13.42.21.12 ** **you can find a complete schedule - and list of movies - for the kids dream winter film series on our website. some sad news tonight about a long-time local broadcaster broadcasterk-c-c-k radio personality mark yother passed today after a sudden illness. yother was a broadcaster for more than 40 years and worked for the american forces radio network while serving in the military. he began his career at k-c-c-k as news director, and later hosted a daily music show, as well as the movie review program "talking pictures." his humorous commentary, "got a minute,"

nearly 6-thousand episodes.

hmm hmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together [ cheering ] i've got some real estate here in my bag counting the cars on the new jersey turnpike they've all come to look for america [ cheers and applause ] all come to look for america all come to look for america all come to look for america

tomorrow on cbs 2 this morning. as republican candidates duke it out for the last time before the iowa caucuses, we'll recap their final message to iowans.what donald trump had to say during an unpridictable night in des moines.see you at five. time now for this week's c-b-j report, and joining us live from the corridor business journal is reporter chase castle.chase,

building on the northeast side of cedar rapids is under knew ownership? the building known as the "graffiti building" in cedar rapids has been sold.the midamerican aerospace location on blairs ferry road is going to become the new randy's carpets & interiors.the new store will double the showroom and space and have about six times as much warehouse space. that's a big upgrade from the store's current location on cedar point road.midamerican aerospace, meanwhile, which supplies aircraft parts, will move into the former kmart on 16th ave. that move will also qualify for tax assistance from the city. you also have some new information about the restoration of an old theatre building in the newbo district. district.like the midamerican aerospace move, the ideal theatre may also be getting some tax incentives.the cedar rapids city council is considering giving tax increment financing or tif

led by business owner john jelinek, who plans to convert the space into a reception hall. the theater was built in 1916, and damaged during the 2008 flood. the tif would be worth about $20k over 10 years. in that time, the restoration would generate, meanwhile, an estimated $60k for the city. and yesterday, the iowa workforce development office presented some interesting findings about job-seekers in the corridor.the state office found that those unemployed in the area typically wouldn't accept any job that pays less than $10 an hour.employed workers who'd consider changing jobs, meanwhile, wouldn't accept less than about $14.50 an hour.that news comes as multiple cities in johnson county, most recently tiffin, wrangle with a new county minimum wage. linn county board members, too, are talking about raising the wage there ahead of the state and federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.but overall, that's probably a good sign for the local economy, and suggests employers may need to be more competitive with wages.

for more in-depth coverage of these stories and more, be sure to check out monday's edition of the corridor business journal. warmer temperatures today, but there's some snow on it's way to eastern iowa. iowa.chief meteorologist terry swails is here now with the details in your most accurate forecast. temperatures have been near and above freezing for a few days and the warming trend will continue through this weekend. then our attention is turning to the potential for a strong winter storm next week in the midwest. for today, temperatures were above average and above freezing for

temperatures will warm up through the weekend with highs nearing the 40 degree mark and could be above freezing this weekend. after that, there will be a change in the pattern... a big dip in the jet stream coming early next week which could be a winter storm. first there could be a weak system on sunday with some rain and snow, then a strong system increasing rain and snow chances on monday night into tuesday which could be significant snowfall, but

exact numbers right now. we'll continue to update you here and on cbs two iowa dot com slash weather. first we can focus on the nice warm up this weekend to above 40 degrees, rain and snow on sunday and then snow chances really ramp up with the potential winter

coming up in sports sports brad smith has his lions pouncing on the mat because of his motto -- keep moving -- at lisbon -- the ed thomas coach of the wek is next. "cbs 2 news connects with you. call us at 1-800-222-kganemail us at news at cbs 2 iowa dot comconnect with us on facebook

in an up-and-down season of college basketball, the hawks have stayed a float by simplying winning -- and winning big -- but tonight it get's tougher iowa's on the road taking on 8th ranked maryland -- who hasn't lost at home -- but that's alright with the hawkeyes -- because they'res just something about getting a win in enemy teritory that

"i think for anybody you feel like you've overcome a lot, accomplished a lot... you have to really communicate with each other, and you've gotta pull each other over, and help and support one another on the floor." floor.""everybody's doubting you -- nobody expects you to win on the road. it's very rare to win on the road... to get a road win -- it feels a lot better." that game just tipped off and right now the xxx lead x to x -- but again it's very early in the game -- when brad smith was in jr. high grade he was cut from his 7th grade basketball team -- and ever since that moment -- he's been all about wrestling -- smith is currently in his 2nd stint as the head coach of the lisbon wrestling team and he takes down life and wrestling with a simple motto -- keep moving brad smith -- our ed thomas week when it comes to lisbon wrestling -- brad smith always

"he's always got his mind right in the practice room knowing what he wants to get done every day." day." "he's a pretty intense guy.. he gets worked up in the room, during the meets." meets." "when it comes down to the nitty gritty time... it's a different animal."but so is smith -- -- an intense guy -- who's full of wrestling knowledge -- "it's crazy how much he knows... he knows absolutely and everything else about life --- for 38 years, he's been coaching his grapplers not only on the mat -- but off it moving "i want them to look forward to the next day and always make the next day better." because like an opponent -- sometimes the real world takes you down -- "one match at a time, one day at a time, one move at a time... so i think you can take that away living life one

past.""there are days when you don't even want to be here, but when he starts talking to you, putting the pressure on you, you are going to give 100% no matter what mood you are in." in." "coach smith has been the heart and soul of this program and it all builds on him."on match... -- and one move -- -- at a time in lisbon we will be right back to take one last look at your forecast

temperatures will fall tonight and we'll be colder than last night with lows near 20 degrees. tomorrow a mix of sun and clouds with highs above freezing. the warm up continues through the weekend with the potential for a winter storm early next week. thanks for watching your cbs 2 news at six. "entertainment tonight" is up next.we hope you'll join us tonight at ten. until then...enjoy your evening. evening. there are those who say we cannot defeat a corrupt political system and fix a rigged economy. but i believe we need to lift our vision above the obstacles in place and look to the american horizon. to a nation where every child can not only dream of going to college, but attend one. where quality healthcare will be a birthright of every citizen. where a good job is not a wish, but a reality.

and a living wage is paid to all. an america where after a lifetime of labor, there is time for rest and grandchildren. a nation that defends our people and our values, but no longer carries so much of that burden alone. i know we can create that america if we listen to our hearts. and that journey begins here in iowa. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message, and i ask you to join with us at the caucuses on monday night.

the american people can't afford to wait for ideas that sound good on paper... but will never make it in the real world. the grandmother who has to choose between paying for medicine and paying rent... can't wait. the single mom who desperately needs a raise... can't wait. the student with a mountain of debt can't wait. we can make real progress, right now. i'm caucusing... i'm caucusing... i'm caucusing for hillary clinton. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. car repairs, home improvements, a family trip... it's not easy to afford them. what did marco rubio do? he put $22,000 in personal expenses on a republican party credit card. rubio's bad judgment caused a scandal and for five years rubio refused to release the credit card records. marco rubio: skipping major votes... all over the place on immigration... bad judgment. marco rubio: just too many questions. right to rise usa

content of this message.