...and continue to grieve the loss of evelynne's twin sister, elizabeth, who was stillborn exactly one year ago. "nobody wants to go through what we went through," said lisa cotter, mother. the cotters' grief led to an act of generosity. they fundraised for a cuddle cot to donate to unitypoint health st. luke's, in sioux city. "a cuddle cot's main task is to preserve time," said suzie gosch, unitypoint health st. luke's registered nurse. "it's actually a cooling unit that lies in the bassinet. the infant is placed on top of the cooling blanket temperature that is much lower than normal." that slows the body's changes after death. it's something the cotters didn't have in their time of need. "in a perfect world this thing would sit unused at the hospital forever," said jeremy cotter, father. "but, we know this isn't a perfect world. hopefully, people who do have to use it can get some comfort from it." the unit is the first for st. luke's... "when a family loses a baby, to be able to have this option i think

gosch said. ...and is a gift that will benefit families for years to come... all in elizabeth's name. "we're celebrating her birthday," said jeremy cotter, father. "and, this is her birthday present to the hospital and to other families. it feels good to do that." >> through their "gofundme" page, the cotters raised enough to buy the cuddle cot... and donate $2,700 dollars to the neonatal intesive care unit at st. luke's. that where evelynne spent the first month of her life after the emergency c-section. by the way, the cotters had enough money to buy the "cuddle cot" within the first month of fundraising. for the last few weeks, i've followed the cotters as they embarked on this journey to give other parents the tools to cope with their own grief. and, i want to thank them for opening their lives,

i'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me to tell their story. (sheila) shifting gears... we got to see some sun today but is another mix very far off? chief meteorologis t ron demers is here to tell us more. weather ad-lib once we got through the morning clouds, much of siouxland got to finally enjoy a little bit of sunshine with highs staying above average in the 30s and 40s. the steady north breeze that we felt today will stay with us tonight and tomorrow as well and then it becomes windy on thursday. we'll see more clouds move in during the day on wednesday which could give us a chance of a late day mix that could linger into the nighttime hours as well. a plea hearing has been set for

charged with killing his mother. jonathan neunaber has a hearing set for monday afternoon. he is charged with first degree murder in the death of esther neunaber in july of 2014. the bodies of both esther and her husband donald were found in their farm home near akron. authorities say donald died of natural causes. he has pleaded not guilty in the case. in january he was found competent to stand trial. nebraskans who oppose the death penalty are launching a statewide campaign. the group retain a just nebraska will announce the next phase of its campaign tomorrow at the capitol. they will ask voters to reject a proposal that would keep the death penalty legal in the state. lawmakers abolished the death penalty in may, but supporters responded with a petition that would bring the issue to the public in november for the general eleciton. the iowa house passed several bills expanding gun rights in the state.

would allow children under 14 to use handguns with parental supervision. the house voted in support of five gun bills now headed to the senate. transgender advocates protested at the south dakota capitol today. they urged governor dennis daugaard to veto a bill that would require students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex at birth. governor dennis daugaard says meeting with transgender people "put a human face" on the bill that would make south dakota the first state to pass such a law. but the governor said after today's meeting that he will still have to weigh both before deciding whether he will daugaard previously said that he knowingly met a transgender the argosy casino sailed away from sioux city over a year ago. but, the floating casino's legal battles continue. the iowa supreme court referred an appeal, by the belle of sioux city, a penn national gaming subsidiary that operated the argosy, to the iowa court of appeals in december. that appeal centers on the iowa racing and gaming commission's

extend the riverboat's gaming license. instead, the i-r-g-c awarded that license to the hard rock hotel and casino, and its non-profit partner missouri river historical development. the argosy riverboat was removed from the missouri riverfront and sold to a shipyard in illinois. (matt) today's the day the belle is heard before the court of appeals. (sheila) the appellants and appellees met at 2:30 at the iowa judicial branch building in des moines. that's where we find ktiv's tommie clark with live link 4. and tommie, give us the latest on the legal battle from today? matt and sheila, right in the iowa judicial branch building behind me, lawyers from both sides made their arguments to the court and now we're awaiting their decision. they were heard by a three-judge panel. those judges say they will make further deliberations and then come out with their decision as soon as possible. this all surrounds the belle challenging two decisions entered by the district court in polk county affirming the decisions of the racing gaming commission to solicite new bids and to award that license to the hard

license to operate the argosy casino. i spoke with attorneys from both sides who say they felt the judges were very well informed and they're looking forward to the decision. i'll have more details tonight on news 4 at ten . matt and sheila? (matt) thanks tommie. it's something you can't avoid when on the street. but sioux city crews are working to make the drive easier. ktiv's tiffanynyane has the details. matt and sheila, potholes can make a drive and today, i was out with sioux city street crews as they showed me the pcess behind fixing the problem.

sioux city field services. "i do have a crew that's dedicated 365 days a year to potholes." and those potholes are not small in numbers. in 2015, field service crews tched up more than 3 3 thousand potholes. this year, they have already filled more than three-thousand of them. so how are they fixed? it begins with one crew clearing debris from the holes. then, they will use a sealant that will hold in the asphalt that the second crew fills. "they'll put the hot mix into the pothole and do the proper compactions and leveling." su "sioux city street crews say it takes about a minute to prep and fill potholes like this one. and depending on the weather and need, they fix about 50 to 400 potholes a day." "this time of year with the moisture that is in the ground, and the amountntf traffic that contities to beat up these potholes, a pothole, once we repair it, it could last anywhere from a day to a week to a month." a lot of that momoture comes from the above average snowfall sioux city experienced this winter.

streets where buses and emergency vehicles need a smooth ride. but they say the goal is to keep bumps out of the road.>> now there are about 13 crew members during the day and about six to ten at night that fix city potholes. they say one way that pepele can help make things easier for them is calling or emailing about pothole issues and giving them space if you see them out on the streets. matt and sheila? still to come... bishop heelan is one step closer to beginning construction on phase two of the school renovations... which includes a

once we got through the morning clouds, much of siouxland got to finally enjoy a little bit of sunshine with highs staying above average in the 30s and 40s. the steady north breeze that we felt today will stay with us tonight and tomorrow as well and then it becomes windy on thursday. we'll see more clouds move in during the day on wednesday which could give us a chance of a late day mix that could linger into the nighttime hours as well. thursday is likely to be

highs in the mid 30s. then we'll see some nice warming from friday into saturday as move from the 40s into the 50s briefly. sunday turns a little cooler and will give us another slight chance of a light

(matt) mouthwatering meals were tempting tastebuds at the siouxland center for active generations. ktiv's own t.j. springer was there taste testing some of the food featured during "cruise week." the "cruise ship" set sail to greece to judge some of the delicous breads, appetizers, and deserts. judges sampled things like baklava, and greek olive loaf. entries were judged on their taste and presentation. after a full week of fun, members will finally "return home" from their greek cruise this friday, february 26th.

what incentive would you give your kids for reading? one nebraska principal did

schools are one step closer to beginning construction on phase two of the renovations. phase two of bishop heelan's renovation project will encompass a new gymnasium, science labs and a media center. bishop heelan recently received a 1 point 4 million dollar grant from bishop heelan alum donald gill toward the construction. the remaining funds will be put toward college scholarships. "their tremdous committment to the people of sioux city and siouxland in general, so we are most greatful," said bishop heelan president jim tschann. the 10-million dollar project will be adjacent to the new fine arts center completed in august 2014. no date has been set for the start of phase two. one nebraska principal promised his students that he would kiss a pig if they met their reading goal...and they did! norfolk catholic elementary schoho principal bill lafleur challenged his students to a

read 265 total readers any day during january. if the number was met or exceeded he would in turn kiss a pig. his students fulfilled their end of the bargain by reading 266 readers twice during the month. "it's just important for me to connect with the kids any way i can to show them i will do whatever it takes to get them excited about their education, to get excited about reading," bill lafleur said. the principal said it was a great to get the teachers and staff involved because it helps them achieve the goals together. south dakota agriculture secretary lucas lentsch says he'll leave his post next month for an opportunity in the private sector. lentsch has served as secretary of the south dakota department of agricultureince april 2013. he previously served as th department's director of agricultural development. governor daugaard and his leadership team are beginning a search for lentsch's replacement. brad's here -- it's been a great year for the briar cliff men. the chargers won the gpac title and are the top-seed in the conference tournament.

and, the hawkeyes prepare for wiscononn on wednesday -- a team iowa's hasn't beaten in three

the gpac, the briar cliff men's basketball team has already clinched a spot in the naia national tournament in missouri. the chargers are the tournament, which starts on wednesday night. briar cliff will host eighth-seeded northwestern in round one.

plpl and are 27-3 overall. bcu is just two wins away from setting the school- record for wins in a season, which was set in 1979. the chargers lost in the first round of the national tourney last season, but hope a good run in the conference tourney will propel them to bigger things. "what we've talked to the guys about is our approach to the conference tournament is one, we want to keep trying to play at a high level as we can, keep thth momentum tt we've builup over the past few months," said briar cliff head coach nic neon. "and then secondly it's about positioning ourself for the best possible seed at the national tournament. we want to go down to branson and be in as favorable condition as we possibly can be." briar cliff, who's 4th in the new naia poll -- and northwestern play at 8 o'clock wednesday. morningngde is number-1-1n the new women's poll and host st. mary at 7. the 8th-ranked hawkeyes are back home on wednesday night to play wisconsin. iowa has won 16 straight at carver-hawkeye arena. wisconsin started 1-4 in big ten play, but have won eight of their last nine. the badgers had a coaching

bo ryan, but are 10 and 5 under new coach greg gard. the badgers have beaten the hawkeyes five straight times and ioio is looking for morere balanced scoring behing jarard uthoff and peter jok. "i kind of give my guys the green light," said coach fran mcaffery. "so it's not like i'm going to turn so and so loose. mike can shoot it when he wants sapp can shoot it when he wants. woodbury really understands how he's effective scoring the ball." "t"ty're gogog to play hard, they're going g play physical," said freshman nicholas baer..they have some great, talented bigs that can n retch you. nigel hayes and bronson koenig are their leaders and they do a realll nice job off leading them." iowa and wiscons tipoff at 8 o'clock wednesday on the big ten network. iowa state lost for the third time in five games last night -- with a 97-87 loss at number-14 west virginia. the 17th-ranked cyclones continue to be last in the big 12 in points allowed and were out- rebounded for the tenth straight game. the mountaineers bench outscored the ioio state reserves, 69 9 10. abdel nader leisu with 23 points. iowa state, who is now 19-9 overall and 8-7 in the

on saturday afternoon. there is plenty of high school basketball on the schedule tonight. in iowa, class 1a and 2a boys teams continue district play. 2a winners will be just one win away from the state tournament. in nebraska, class c and boys teams are ssll in sub-district action. we'll haveveighlights and scoreses from each state tonight at ten. . the iowa girls state tournament brackets will ne complete after regional finals tonight. in class 5a, sioux city west will earn a state trip -- if they can upset third-ranked ankeny centennial. we're in ankeny for the highlights. spencer visits second- ranked harlan in class 4a. in nebraska, the top- ranked south sioux city girls start district play at home against grand island. e dakota valley girls start districts -- agaiait canton. we'll sort out the winners and

tonight on k-t-i-v and n-b-c, hollywood game night starts at 7 followed by chicago med at 8 and chicago fire at 9. then tonight on news four at ten.... nevada republicans hold their caucuses tonight, and donald trump is warning his supporters to keep an eyeyout for "dishonest stuff." at a rally in sparks, trump says "if you see something going on that's fishy with the paper ballots, report em to the police." tonight: partly cloudy. low: 24 wind: n 10-15 mph tomorrow: late day mix? high: 40 wind: n 10-20 mph

et is up next... don't forget to go to ktiv-dot- com for all of your news, weather, and sports... see you

tonight ins an erin andrews court ca >> her most private moments recorded through a peephole. >> why she's now bringing the hotel forhe stalking scandal. then inside charlie sheen's legal battle with denise richards. >> $55,0 a month tax free. >> her allegations of disturbing texts. >> kloe kardashian getting