federal and state officials are restricting access today to the oregon refuge that's still being occupied by an armed group. this, a day after one of the occupiers was shot and killed during a traffic stop. eight more, including the group's leader, were arrested. ncb's pat dooris is at the scene with the latest.

yet you've arrested some one who is not even here, what do you believe anymore. well i believe in the constitution so that's why i'm still standing here" at 3am we got notice that the fbi and state police had started to shut down all the roads in the area and they are not letting anyone in. anyone can leave but of they leave they will be identified and searched and then certainly not allowed back in. and one of the side effects here are the ranchers who are still trying to work in this area. and it has some people very frustrated. gene / local rancher "i thinks it gonna be ridiculous because i think it's gonna come to an end that's not gonna be pretty" so the big question today is what is the next move on behalf of the police. will they sit at the road blocks and wait for people to leave until there aren't any left or will they take decisive action and move in. we'll be here behind police barricades waiting to see. near burns, oregon im pat dooris nbc news. >> an inmate has been listed as

facility in sioux city. the department says 26-year-old jacob petty didn't return tuesday from an outpatient treatment program. petty has been in the work-release program since october. he began serving a 10- year prison sentence for robbery in woodbury county back in 2008. > weather ad-lib today will present more sunshine and nice weather, but with a couple of twists as a little disturbance moves through the area. ahead of it, with calm winds and moisture at the surface, some patchy freezing fog will be around but should burn off fairly quickly as winds increase out of the southwest throughout the morning. as our little boundary sweeps across the area, in addition to the winds picking up a bit, a very brief light mix will be possible in some of our northernmost counties during the midday hours. the vast majority of the viewing area though, will be mild with temperatures reaching well into the 30s to near 40 with some decent sunshine. we'll see more of the same 30-40 degree temperatures over the next few days including this weekend with

night/sunday morning. a more potent system looks to move in early next week giving us some decent snow chances next monday night and tuesday which could make for an interesting caucus night/groundhog day, so we'll have to wait and see how that plays out. see graphics. >> five days out from the iowa caucus and donald trump isn't backing down from his threat to boycott tomorrow's republican debate. ted cruz, who is in a deat- heat with trump in iowa, is challenging him to go one-on-one. cnn's sunlen serfaty reports.

warriors." trump claiming unfair treatment from fox news moderator megyn kelly. (donald trump/(r) presidential candidate) "megyn kelly is really biased against me, she knows that i know that, everybody knows that, do you really think she can be fair at a debate?" fox news standing by kelly while trump walks. (megyn kelly/fox news host) "trump is not used to not controlling things. but the truth is he doesn't get to control the media." so how will his power play fair with iowans just before the first votes are cast? the rnc responding to trump's move, telling cnn "obviously we would love all of the candidates to participate but each campaign ultimately makes their own decision what's in their best interest." but ted cruz, trump's main opposition in the gop race, says not so fast. (sen. ted cruz/(r) presidential candidate) "apparently megyn kelly is really really scary. donald is a fragile soul." the texas senator issuing this challenge to the front runner. (sen. ted cruz/(r) presidential candidate) "if he's unwilling to stand on the debate stage then i would like to invite donald to engage in a one on one debate with me anytime between

trump putting the final nail in the coffin tuesday night after fox news released a tongue and cheek statement -- poking fun at trump's threats to back out... saying in part "we learned from a secret back channel that the ayatollah and putin both intend to treat donald trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president." (sen. ted cruz/(r) presidential candidate) "they can't toy with me like they toy with everybody else, so let them have their debate and let's see how they do with the ratings." >> secretary of state john kerry is in china to push chinese officials to do more to rein in north korea's nuclear activities and urge them to decrease tensions over disputed parts of the south china sea. kerry is wrapping up an eight-day, around-the- world diplomatic mission in beijing today. he's pressing chinese officials to take a firmer stance in demanding that north korea end nuclear testing. china is north korea's main link to the outside world, and american officials say beijing isn't doing enough to persuade north korea to

nebraska governor pete ricketts was involved in a minor traffic accident this morning, but was not hurt. police say the nebraska state trooper driving the governor also wasn't hurt, but the driver of the other vehicle was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries. police suspect the other driver failed to yield the right of way and struck the governor's van. it happened about eight blocks from the capitol building in lincoln, shorlty before seven this morning. an unusual sound has filled one street in niagara falls, new york for the past few months. it's an instrumental rendition of the university of iowa fight song. for eight hours a day, the song has played from an empty building. no one seems to know why the song is playing -- but one nearby business owner... just hopes it stops. alex haight has the story:

niagara falls. confused? you're not alone. (david giusiana/owne r, wine on third) "i'm not really sure. i don't know what really started it." wine on third owner david giusiana says over the past six months, an instrumental version of the fight song has played from a vacant building across the street from his restaurant every day from 3 to 11 p-m. for the first few weeks, he had no idea what the song was. (david giusiana/owne r, wine on third) "our manager, tim mehzir, finally decided to use shazaam and identified that's what song it was so no, no one really paid attention to it." while the noise didn't serve as a nuisance inside the restaurant, giusiana said it affected customers who ate on the patio over the summer. he says people who live above

have also been bothered by it. (david giusiana/owne r, wine on third) "some of our residential tenants upstairs have filed complaints and the police have been here." niagara falls police say they have responded to the location several times over the last few months, but say they have not been able to get a hold of a representative from smokin joes, which owns the building. even if they did, giusiana says he doesn't think any laws are being broken. (david giusiana/owne r, wine on third) "they've not really violated the law in the fact that they've played between 3 and 11, and it's not so loud that they... again, what violates the noise ordinance, i believe." third street got a reprieve from the music tuesday afternoon, one day after a niagara gazette article on the phenomenon got likes of deadspin and sports illustrated. giusiana thought the coverage helped stop the music for good, but wine on third workers say it returned at 6:00. now, giusiana hopes whoever is else to play. (david giusiana/owne r, wine on third) "on the one hand, music on the street wouldn't be bad, but i fight song repeated every 50 a positive thing." >> that was alex haight reporting from niagara falls, new york. norfolk police are investigating a robbery at street in norfolk. police officials tell news channel nebraska that the hotel was robbed at gunpoint

morning. police say they are looking for an african-american male who left the scene on foot. police say that they are currently investigating the incident and that some schools in the area have chosen to put themselves on lockdown. norfolk superintendent jami jo thompson confirmed to news channel nebraska that all elementary schools in their district as well as the junior high and middle school have been placed on lockdown as a precaution. norfolk catholic schools and christ lutheran schools have locked themselves down as well. we will be updating this story as more info becomes available. after a cold morning, ben says we'll start melting some of that snow today. stay tuned for his forecast, coming up next. here's the scene in spencer, where it's

ben... the sun is trying to make an appearance...

today will present more sunshine and nice weather, but with a couple of twists as a little disturbance moves through the area. ahead of it, with calm winds and moisture at the surface, some patchy freezing fog will be around but should burn off fairly quickly as winds increase out of the southwest throughout the morning. as our little boundary sweeps across the area, in addition to the winds picking up a bit, a very brief light mix will be possible in some of our northernmost counties during the midday hours. the vast majority of the viewing area though, will be mild with temperatures reaching well into the 30s to near 40 with some decent sunshine. we'll see more of the

over the next few days including this weekend with a chance of a light mix saturday night/sunday morning. a more potent system looks to move in early next week giving us some decent snow chances next monday night and tuesday which could make for an interesting caucus night/groundhog day, so we'll have to wait and see how that plays out. see graphics. >> > coming up.... business leaders from across

sioux city by the hundreds this summer.... and it's the middle of winter, but siouxland farmers are getting the info they need for the upcoming growing season. 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. where women receive equal pay and a living wage is paid to all.

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.

president barack obama plans to ask congress for $12 billion over a decade to help feed schoolchildre n from low-income families during the summer. the white house says the request will be in the 2017 budget proposal obama plans to send lawmakers next month. nearly 22 million low- income children receive free and reduced- price meals during the school year. but just a fraction of these kids receive meals when school is out. it's only january, but siouxland farmers are getting prepared for the upcoming growing season. iowa state university extension and outreach has been hosting a crop advantage series around the state this month, including this one in le mars. at these workshops, farmers can get the latest information to prepare for the season. one isu agronomist says

indicate profits will be slim for many this year. 13 topics discussed at the workshops focus on creating revenue while managing margins. "they get a lot of unbiased information [and] local data that i can, hopefully, put on my farm to make my farm profitable," said luke homan, a farmer from southeast of remsen, iowa. there are two more workshops in the series, including one tomorrow in carroll. the other is friday in moline, illinois. nominations are being taken for this year's "south dakota governor's ag ambassador award." officials with the state agriculture department say nominees should be people who have worked hard to promote agriculture in south dakota. the award will be presented in june at the governor's agricultural summit in brookings. nominations are due by february 29th.

stocks were slightly higher in midday trading after oil shook off a morning slump and climbed three percent. more than 5-hundred iowa business leaders will come to sioux city in june. they'll be here for the 113th iowa association of business and industry conference. it's been ten years since the last conference was held in sioux city and a-b-i leaders say they're

siouxland. conference-goers will have the chance tour sioux city locations, including downtown, the orpheum theatre and the american popcorn company. a-b-i's president says it's a great opportunity to showcase sioux city's growth to others from around iowa. "there's so much energy and so much excitement in sioux city that really led to a resurgence in our group. we wanted to build on that. we knew there was a ton going on in greater siouxland that our folks haven't seen yet. we want to bring all those corporate ceos and business owners back to the region," said mike ralston, president of iowa association of business and industry's (abi). the conference runs june 14th, 15th and 16th. still ahead on news four at noon... a nebraska cat uses up at least one of its nine lives. meet "stormy"... who was lucky to be saved after she became frozen to a storm

okoboji skycam... a kitten in nebraska is recovering after she was frozen to a storm drain. the kitten - nicknamed "stormy" - will lose a leg out of the ordeal but she's lucky to escape with one of her nine lives. erin murray has that story.

humane society "like her paw was basically like out like this because it was so swollen." two of her legs are badly injured. dr. elizabeth marriott/nebr aska humane society "her rear leg if fractured, so today we're going to do surgery and get x-rays done to her and see what we can do to fix that." as doctors remind us though, this little kitten is lucky to even have made it this far. erin murray/repor ter "appropriately named stormy because on sunday the little kitten was frozen to a storm drain, like this one. people at the animal shelter believe that she may have tried to crawl in here to get out of the cold." dr. elizabeth marriott/nebr aska humane society "this is probably one of the more severe cases, because she was like dangling, so she has a fractured leg with that as well, in addition to the frostbite." from her cage, she's first taken into x-rays. and after a few different angles, the fracture is actually determined to be a break. x-ray technician "the break is right here in the hock." her back leg will have to be amputated. but for a kitten, the doctors assure us she will be able to adjust easily back to normal cat

and as for adoption, the humane society says her rescuers will be the ones to give little stormy a forever home. >> that was erin murray reporting from elkhorn, nebraska. doctors say stormy was most likely a stray and went to the drain to keep warm. still ahead, details of a conference to advance

there, there's a conference coming up that you won't want to miss. here to tell us a little more is janet and diane. thank you both so much for being here. the iowa women lead change second annual conference is coming up. talk about iowa women lead change, what do you do? we are a 501c3 non profit whose sole mission is to advance women's leadership skills. to do that you have a conference coming up. who is going to be speaking at the conference? we have four phenomenal speakers of national reputation including winona leduke who is a harvard graduate, native american, environmentalist. we have two speakers, one who's working on communicatio n skills. another one whose expertise sheila heen is on helping people with difficult conversations, providing feedback, really reducing conflict in the workplace. this is great for women young, old, different professions. give us

will be on tuesday february 16th at the marina inn in south sioux city, at the main hotel. it will start at 9 am to 4. lunch will be provided. women will start out networking then they'll hear our speakers, then have lunch. there's a student track which is great for colleges. there's a ceo breakfast so that women know that we are trying to enhance the skills of ceo's, how they can help women rise in the workplace. this is also good for women who don't work outside the home. it's helping women with conflicts, be better communicator s, know how to work with people of all ages. we think there's something for all women at this conference, men are invited as well. that's tuesday february 16th at the marina inn. thank you both so much for being here. thanks for