good evening... thanks for joining us, tonight, i'm matt breen. sheila has the night off. new information about that monday afternoon vehicle fire near pierce, nebraska... and what investigators found inside the vehicle when firefighters put the flames out. the nebraska state patrol says it found two bodies in that burned out truck, and the incident appears to be a murder-suicide. prelimininary identification has been made on the remains and autopsies have been scheduled. the names of the deceased won't be released until the autopsies are complete, but the state patrol says they are believed to be from northeast nebraska. the first female firefighter to join the sioux city fire department is being remembered by family, and friends, as a "trailblazer". jeanne vakulskas died at her home, on sunday night, at the age of 63. tonight, family, friends and community members gathered at her visitation at the meyer brothers morningside chapel. they reflected on her legacy... not only as a firefighter, but also as a mother. "mom has always been very modest about what she accomplished," said jerry plathe, vakulskas' son. "and i know as a young boy

was just mom. you know she wasn't this figure that i you know that i realized what she accomplished later in life." vakulskas' funeral is tomorrow at st. joseph's catholic church in sioux city. that begins at 10:30 a-m. vakulskas served with the sioux city fire department from 1985 to 2007. jeanne vakulskas was 63-years-old. services are now set for a spencer, iowa wrestler, who collapsed during a meet over the weekend. a visitation for 18-year- old austin roberts begins at 3:00pm on sunday, december 27th, at the spencer high school gym. funeral services are set for 10:30am, on monday, december 28th, at the spencer high school gym. it was during the championship round of saturday's spencer invitational that roberts collapsed, and never got back up. this is video of a prior match,

today, the state medical examiner conducted an autopsy on roberts' body. results are pending further investigation. a soldier, with ties to siouxland, is one of six american troops killed in a suicide attack near bagram airfield in afghanistan. joseph lemm was originally from beemer, nebraska. he's the son of shirley lemm, of wisner. he was a 15-year veteran of the new york city police department and a member of the national guard. lemm was one of six u.s. troops killed monday when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into their patrol in a village near the airfield. during his time with the nypd, lemm was deployed twice to afghanistan and once to iraq. two years ago, he suprised his family with an unexpected homecoming in a reunion that was documented by a tv station in westchester, new york. lemm leaves behind a wife and three children. sergeant bowe bergdahl faced a military judge for the first time today since the u-s army decided to proceed with a military trial.

bergdahl was arraigned on charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. the charges stem from his disappearance in afghanistan in 2009 in which he walked off a base and was held by the taliban for five years. bergdahl was released in 2014 as part of a prisoner swap, in exchange for five detainees in guantanamo bay. bergdahl deferred entering a plea until his next court appearance in january, and d not decide whether he wants to face a court martial with a jury or just one judge. s/col. daniel king / spokesman for u.s. army forces command the judge explained sgt. bergdahl's right to be tried before a panel or a military judge, the judge also inquired if sgt bergdahl wished to enter any motions or plea at this time. sgt. bergdahl deferred all of these decisions to a later hearing." bergdahl will be back in court on january 12th. if convicted, he could face a sentence of life in prison. the weather could also grab some

overnight, tonight. ron, what can we expect? and, how could that impact travel? a stronger south wind combined with a little more sun today to make for a warmer afternoon as highs made it into the 40s. we do have some changes on the way though. tonight brinin with it a chance of some rain developing which could turn into a bit of freezing rain or even sleet toward wednesday morning. that chance of mixed precipitation could be with us for the first

treaveling this holiday season? if so, you might want to take steps to make sure that the "grinch" doesn't try to steal your stuf at home while you're away. twenty years agogomike nowlen's house was broken into. he moved, and has since learned to keep a much closer eye on the cars that drive by his house... and strangers in the neighborhood. sioux city police agree with nowlen's precautions. "know who's in your neighborhood. if you recognize that somebody's here that's not from your neighborhood bebe good witness," said sgt. scott hatting, sioux city police deptpt sgt. hatting says there are lots of ways to prevent burglaries. if you're expecting a delivery, have a neighbor keep an eye out for it. at night, keep your front porch light lit. hatting says burglars don't want to be seen. and, during the day, make sure you lock your doors before leaving the house. sioux city police also report a rash of car break- ins, and thefts. authorities say it's a arime

first, never leave any valuables in your vehicle. the majority of thieves check the car doors to see if they're open, so always lock your doors. and if they're able to get into the car, thieves will rummage around so don't leave a spare key in the vehicle. "it's one of those things, it's a preventable crime. you know a lot of these we get there we're like k we give tips when we get there, but unfortunately it's too late the party we're talking to. keep those valuables hidden," said sioux city police officer, sgt. scott hatting. sergeant hatting says the simplest way to avoid becoming a victim is to take anything valuable out of your vehicle. a georgia man, who's charged in the armed robbery of a north sioux city, south dakota. convenience store, says he's not guilty of the crime. the robbery happened back on december 1st at the casey's general store on river drive. 25-year-old mykel booth from atlanta was arrested in sioux falls. he faces several charges including first degree robbery, assault and grand theft. investigators say he threatened people inside of the casey's with a gun before taking off

no injuries were reported after a fire destroyed a trailer home in the emmerson bay area of west lake okoboji. the milford fire department was called to 1982 200th street monday afternoo officials say the trailer home was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. the cause of the fire has not been determined, but it's believed the fire started on the north end of the trailer. republican presidential round out 2015 with a visit to northwest iowa. the former pennsylvania senator will make two stops on december 30th. the first stop is a "meet and greet" reception at the leonard farm, on highway 59, just north of holstein, iowa. the event starts at noon. santorum is expected to address his pro-life stance, and his views on the economy, radical islam and immigration. republican marco rubio will campaign in sioux city next tuesday night. the rubio campaign says the florida senator will outline his vision for "a new american century" at the holiday inn, on gordon drive, at 6:45, on tuesday, december 29th.

making some big upgrades to its emergency services department. c-f industries presented woodbury county emergency services with a check for over 37- thousand-dollars at tonight's woodbury supervisor's meeting. the donation will be put toward three projects. it will pay for keynote speakers to come to both fire and e-m-s conferences this spring. 14-thousand-dollars will go to the regional hazardous material team vehicle at sioux city fire rescue. and 22-thousand will be used to purchase anhydrous ammonia detectors s r each of the fire departments in woodbury county that don't already have them. "it helps us. it helps reduce the amount of money we have to ask for from the tax payers. it gives#us new, modern equipment to work with and in the case of the safety speakers, it's an opportunity to come back and re- emphasize how important safety is for everything we do," said woodbury county director of emergency services, gary brown. the board was also presented with a thousand-dollar check from performance contractors. that money will be used too upgrade facilities at the climbing hill public safety center. still to come... how much

japan has announced what could be the country's first case of death by caffeine poisoning. details in tonight's healthbeat 4. > > a stronger south wind combined with my mom's name is irene,

adult daycare costs so much, i have to take my mom to work with me. eventually she'll require around-the-clock care. i worry about what the next step is. my mom deserves the best care she can get. so i met hillary clinton. i could tell that she was moved by my story... because she teared up. being able to pay for daycare... to know that my mom is safe while i work so that i can continue to support us. hillary clinton has proposed real things that could help us.

a little more sun today to make for a warmer afternoon as highs made it into the 40s. we do have some changes on the way though.

of some rain developing which could turn into a bit of freezing rain or even sleet toward wednesday morning. that chance of mixed precipitation could be with us for the first part of tomorrow w well. once that system moves out, things stay pretty quiet through our christmas eve. but on christmas day a system moves in again and, yet again, gives us a chance of that mix of rain and snow during the day. as conditionsnsool, we could see some light snow from friday night into saturday. then our more active weather pattern continues with another chance of snow coming our way from sunday night into monday and that one may be the biggest of the

we had a very special visitor at ktiv today. cade courtright is a senior at kingsley-pierson. he is considered the school's meteorologist and goes to school every morning with a news report prepared to give to everyone. cade doesn't let cerebral palsy stop in from having big dreams and we hope one of his dreams came true for him today as he got to appear on

engaging kid and we all had a great time getting to know him and his family today. still to come.... a local organization-- backed by an army of volunteers-- is helping make the holiday season a little

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the holidays are a time to give back to the community. ktiv's tiffany lane shares how one siouxland organization, and it's donors, are providing families with gifts for christmas.

little one." more than 540 local families will enjoy a christmas meal and presents under the tree this year. the salvation army of siouxland provided food as well as toys for more than one-thousand kids tuesday. "almost for 100 years, this has been an important part of the work of the salvation army to make sure that children have a merry christmas and that their families can gather together around the table on christmas day," major von vandiver, commanding officer of the salvation army of siouxland said. su "for many families here, they say christmas just wouldn't be the same without the kind donations from the community like this one." "it's been hard this year," said kayla waite, a resident of sioux city. "my husband was injured and so we're struggling a little bit. and it's nice to have people that help and so my kids will have a good christmas." "a three year old girl maybe, books." parents chose gifts for their children from all types of toys that were donated by tri-state residents and organizations. the salvation army also purchased food from its red kettle donations. "it shows that a lot of people

ones, when you're down and out, you need an extra hand helping you," said steve hanner, a sioux city resident. a message that leaves positive cheer during this time of giving. "thank you. merry christmas." in sioux city, tiffany lane, ktiv news 4.>> for anyone interested in helping out families for the holidays, you can still donate to the salvation army at their red kettle locations until christmas eve. they can be found throughout sioux city outside wal-marts, fareway stores and hobby lobby among others. there were dozens of volunteers from the community for the annual salvation army event. there were volunteers from thompson electric company, the woodbury county sheriff's office and keller williams among others. there was also help from the sioux city explorers and their mascot slider. volunteers say it was important for them to help out, especially during this time of year. still to come.... a new study shows two- year-olds know a lot more about electronic devices than you might think. see just how much some toddlers

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the country's first case of death by caffeine poisoning. the deceased was a man in his 20s. his family said that he had been consuming caffeinated energy drinks daily for the past year to stay awake at work. doctors say an autopsy revealed lethal levels of caffeine in the man's bloodstream and caffeine

a new study from ireland reveals the majority of two year olds ... know how to use touch screen technology. 91-percent of parents surveyed said their child was able to swipe the screens of smart phones or tablets -- and half could unlock the device. nearly two-thirds believed their toddler knew how to operate touch screen features - such as app icons for games. experts say this type of technology use is more like traditional play than watching t-v -- and could have a different impact on the developing brains of toddlers. brad's here -- with high school basketball. a lot of high school teams playing their final games before the break, including the heelan boys at lawton-bronson. and, iowa state tries for a big road win at cincinnati in a battle of ranked teams. sports fource is next.

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cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. the light from devices like phones, tablets, and tv's can be harmful to young eyes. we'll show you some ways you can help protect them. and have you ever had a package stolen off your front porch? we'll show you what delivery companies are doing to keep packages safe from holiday theives. seventh in the class 3a rankings this week after losing to sioux city east. the crusaders -- 5-2 -- were on the road at lawtwt-bronson. the eagles came in at 3 and 2. eagles trailing early in the 2nd quarter, at home. austin peters drives -- draws

-- and finds the open man -- nathan kneifl banks it in -- but the crusaders are up 29 at the break. 2nd half -- heelan not slowing down -- great ball movement by the crusaders -- elijah hazekamp gets an open look at the three -- drops it home. lawton-bronson, thoughstaying aggressive -- junior aj lefler -- puts it on the floor and takes it to the rack for the lay-in -- but it would be too little, too late. later -- crusaders running the floor -- deandre burnside -- with a couple nice moves -- perfect left handed finish off the glass -- burnside led all scorers with 27 points and helps lift bishop heelan over lawton- bronson, 84-61. just a few miles down highway 20, woodbury central hosting spirit lake. early in the 1st -- clay baldwin -- nowhere to go on the baseline -- kicks to brent bormann on the perimeter -- knocks down the triple -- wildcats out to a 5 point lead. a little later -- frankie ramos gets the feed from ryan kriener -- splits two defenders and banks it in -- we're tied. 2nd quarter -- bormann heating

triple to go -- but the wildcats unable to stop spirit lake on the other end. senior billy brown wide open from the wing -- buries it -- spirit lake takes care of woodbury central on the road, 71-53. don't forget the officials -- jerry buckstead working on his birthday as hinton hosted akron-westfield. the westerners in a close game in the third quarter -- bailey davis sinks the pull-up jumper. aw down by a point going to the fourth. the westerners get the lead back -- davis to ann hedlund under the hoop. it's 42-38 a-w in front. hinton tries to come back -- the dish to kailey burke -- she led the blackhawks with 25 points. but it's not enough -- brooke koele hits the open "j" and akron-westfield beats hinton 45-41. the m-m-c girls, 6 and 0 -- taking on 3 and 3 harris-lake park. late 3rd quarter, katherin ihnen chases down the loose ball and gets the basket and the foul, but the

quarter -- ashley hurd steals the ball -- then she passes it to sarah dreckman for the easy two, and m-m-c is up 53 to 24. late 4th quarter, aspen woodall deflects a pass and gets the loose ball as she goes up for the easy bucket, and the eagles win this one 55 to 36. iowa state drops six spots in the a-p poll this week -- to 11th - after losing their first game of the season. the cyclones didn't have much time to feel sorry for themselves, going on the road to play number-22 cincinnati. isu hasn't lost a true non-conference road game in three years. coach steve prohm and the clones had a 7-point lead at the half. 2nd half -- the lead went as high as 13. deonte burton -- with the bounce pass -- finds monte morris for the reverse lay in. morris finished with 16. just over two minutes left -- cincy up 1 -- troy ko-pain hits at the top of the key for the three.

under 20 seconds left, iowa state down one -- georges niang connects with abdel nader in the corner for the three -- iowa state takes the 81-79 lead. cincy has a chance to tie or win -- the 3 is no good -- the rebound is off too -- but one last chance is just off -- and iowa state holds on to win 81- 79. the 8-3 hawkeyes -- getting votes in the ap poll -- hosting 8-4 tennessee tech. iowa scoring at will in the first half -- mike gesell to jarrod uthoff for the drop-in. gesell had 10 assists. get it to the hot hand -- adam woodbury feeds uthoff for the 3 from the top of the key. he finished with 13 points. woody -- in a giving mood -- he finds anthony clemmons under the bucket for 2 easy points -- clemmons had 11. iowa playing good d -- gesell picks off the pass -- he takes it (all the way the other way) for the stuff - the hawks blow out the golden eagles 85-63. other men's scores -- nebraska bounces back from a loss to samford by beating

big red trailed in the second half. shavon shields and andrew white each had 19 points as he huskers improve to 8 and 5 -- while the panthers fall to 0 and 11. and drake gets back on the winning track, downing abilene christian 87-70. tonight: rain or freezing rain