very light out of the east so it will be a calm day with the high climbing to about 26 here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance of seeing a few more flurries or a very light snow overnight tonight with minimal or no accumulation expected. friday is looking like a mostly cloudy day but it should be a couple degrees colder following a weak cold front that will pass overnight tonight. saturday is going to be on local five news midday.... an arrest has been made in the hit and run case of isu freshman student emmalee jacobs. we'll take a look at the investigation that led to the arrest. elias: oil prices continue to fall across the country and wall street is preparing for the effects. we'll take a look at how the fluctuations could affect your family finances, coming up. elias: republican presidential candidate donald trump got a special endorsement this week from a former vice presidential candidate. "local 5 news midday in hd starts now. we are iowa" elias: good morning and thanks for joining us for

johnson. elias: another state gives the go ahead for the bakken oil pipeline...but still need a decision from iowa. elias: the decision from the iowa utilities board looks to be the one to decide if the project gets built. the north dakota public service commission approved it wednesday. the pipeline would carry crude oil from north dakota through south dakota and iowa into a refinery in illinois. the iowa utilities board is still deciding. they're holding another set of public meetings next month. meanwhile, those against the pipeline plan to hold a protest today at the state capitol. local five will continue to follow this story as we await a decision from the utilities board. elias: the earlham community has elias: the earlham community has less than two weeks to weigh whether a major project for the school is worth investing in. last night, residents gathered to

addition onto the school, which would include four locker rooms and classrooms, and transform the practice gym into the new main arena for competition. commmunity members say the district already has enough debt on the football stadium, and shouldn't add any more. those for the project say it's time to act while interest rates are low. jeff lillie, earlham mayor: "that's as big a part of our infrastructure as streets and everything else that the city provides. without a strong school, the city wouldn't be what it is." mary jobst, earlham resident: "the gym floor looks to be in great shape, i didn't see anything falling from the ceiling, we had no problem finding a place to sit. i just don't see anything that's an emergent need that has to be met now." elias: the community will need to have at least a sixty percent majority for the vote to go through. if it gets approval, the project could start as soon as next spring and could be completed in about nine months or so. elias: new details on a grant aimed at

lives of iowans... elias: the iowa department of public health will receive more than six- million dollars aimed at improving c-p-r in iowa. the bilk of the funds will go toward placing automated c-p-r machines in ambulances and hospitals across the state...as well as training for their use. a limited number of such machines are in use in iowa, and have shown positive results. the machines are more consistent than humans, with studies showing that two people can only perform uninterupted c- p-r for five to ten minutes due to fatigue. the automated devices typically run about ten- thousand dollars...making it difficult for smaller e-m-s agencies and hospitals to purchase. elias: meteorologist sam schrier joins us again with a look at your forecast. sam weather adlib: it was hard to call yesterday warm, but for our highs definitely felt better than it did earlier in going to be a very isolated flurry sitting right in the mid very light out of the

here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance of seeing a few more flurries or a very light snow overnight tonight with minimal or no accumulation expected. friday is looking like a mostly cloudy day but it should be a couple degrees colder following a weak cold front that will pass overnight tonight. saturday is going to be a bit warmer with highs back in the lower 30s and the sun should finally start shining! sunday is going to be even better than that with highs in the mid 30s but not as much sunshine. the next big snow chance will happen likely on monday with temps falling back into the 20s the rest of the week elias: it has been just over a month since the hit and run death of a iowa state

a man in custody. emmalee jacobs was on her way to a final exam around seven a-m december 14th...when she was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of ash avenue and lincoln way yesterday, ames police took a cy-ride bus driver -- 23 year old benjamin clague from gilbert. he's been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and failure to obey a traffic control device. elias: local 5's nikki davidson has more from ames on why the investigation led to him. nikki: ames police say they had no suspects in this case until a few weeks ago... when they recieved a crucial piece of evidence from a cyride supervisor... (nat bus passing) as dozens of cyride buses make their way given moment... there recording their every sound the bus makes. and it's the audio from the empty bus 23 year old benjamin clague was driving that morning near the intersection of lincoln way and ash avenue that led to his arrest... 5:59 you don't see the

from the bus what we believe is striking emmalee turning the corner... police say clague had a yellow turn arrow as he turned off lincoln avenue... meaning he should have yeilded to pedestrians... but they believe on the dark and rainy morning... the front bumper struck 18 year old emmalee jacobs in the crosswalk police say what happened next in the video was another clue... 5:23:11 after the intersection of the next stop, you can see him getting out of the bus, in the rain doing a walk around, a visual inspection which is not normal behavior. they say clagues route later that morning took him right past the accident scene... and they believe he had to know he was the one that had hit jacobs... 2:54:02 if he would have stopped within minutes of the accident and reported it, it would be totally different. it's been an emotional day at the cy ride office... 3:23:14 particulary for cyride, this shakes us to the core, the

transit system is have something happen like this. coworkers and supervisors say they considered clague a good worker.. 4:17 he's been employeed by cyride since oct 2013, a little over two years, hes been a good driver for us. and hope to do anything possible to prevent this from happening again... 2:59:00 once we understand what happened we'll look into the internal processes and see if theres anything we can do to make our service safer. nikki: ames police are still looking for people who may have witnessed it to come forward, if you have any information you are urged to contact them. in ames nikki davidson local five news we are iowa. elias: local 5 spoke with emmalee's father in urbana. he says the family didn't know until yesterday that a cyride bus was allegedly involved. they sent us a statement thanking police for their help, and told us while the news doesn't ease their pain, it does help answer some questions. as for benjamin clague, he's

he'll be in court this morning at 11, and local 5 will be there too. elias: coming up on local 5 news midday... the chicago police department is looking for help to address the issue of gang violence throughout the city. elias: and... oil prices keep on sliding down. we'll take a look at how this downward trend is affecting wall street and how long it will last. elias: next.... tax time is approaching! we have some tips on how to keep your identity safe as you file your taxes.

"your wathcing local 5 news midday in hd with elias johnson and we

accurate forecast. this is local 5 midday. we are iowa" elias: it's hard to believe -- but it's that time of year. tax time. but that also means thieves are on the hunt -- to steal your well earned refund. before you file your taxes -- there are some things you need to know -- that can keep your identity safe. mary moloney explains. " --reporter pkg-as follows-- millions will soon put their most sensitive personal and financial information in the hands of uncle sam. that's why it's so important to choose a tax preparer wisely. the irs says to look for an irs preparer tax identification number. avoid people who base their fee on a percentage of your refund. and note if your preparer doesn't ask for receipts. not asking enough questions about deductions and credits could be a warning sign that something is wrong. also -- never sign a blank tax return. tax time is also prime season for identity theft. never give your

online unless you started the conversation and confirmed the identity of your tax professional or an irs employee. if information on your return is missing or wrong -- that could also be red flags. common examples of identity theft from tax returns -- finding out more than one return was filed for one person in a year. or seeing more tax owed or refund offset for a year you didn't file. another seems like a good thing -- but it's not. irs records pointing to more wages than actually earned. it could mean someone is using your information -- to steal your money." elias: sam is back now... sam it was hard to call yesterday warm, but being back in the 20s for our highs definitely felt better than it did earlier in the week. today is going to be a very similar day with an isolated flurry

"now, we are iowa's most accurate forecast with meteorologist sam schreier. certified by weatherrate the independent weather experts" sam weather adlib: it was hard to call yesterday warm, but being back in the 20s for our highs definitely felt better than it did earlier in the week. today is going to be a very similar day with an isolated flurry possible and highs sitting right in the mid 20s. the winds will be

east so it will be a calm day with the high climbing to about 26 here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance of seeing a few more flurries or a very light snow overnight tonight with minimal or no accumulation expected. friday is looking like a mostly cloudy day but it should be a couple degrees colder following a weak cold front that will pass overnight tonight. saturday is going to be a bit warmer with highs back in the lower 30s and the sun should sunday is going to be even better than that with highs in the mid 30s but not as much sunshine. the next big snow chance will happen likely on monday with temps falling back into the 20s the rest of the week sam: elias:

an artist in wisconsin has become known for his snow sculpture each winter....and its no surprise he decided to go with yoda this year. others have also decorated their yards with unique figures made from snow....such as a horse and a sleeping dragon. those passing by the sculptures say the sights have helped brighten their day, which has made the artists feel appreciated. elias: still to come on local five news midday... the animal rescue league is on with a special furry guest.

arl the animal rescue league of iowa (arl) is iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for many thousands of pets each year. the arl serves people and pets from across the state of iowa through its programs, which include pet adoption, humane education, pet behavior training, spay/neuter, animal cruelty intervention and much more. history the arl has grown dramatically since its founding in 1926 - expanding its programs that serve both people and homeless animals across iowa. the most obvious growth is the number of animals the arl provides shelter and care for each year. intakes have increased from a few thousand animals a decade ago to more than 15,000 animals in 2013. through our

spay/neuter programs, in the past few years we have begun to see a decrease in the number of animals we care for, but our work is far from over. other areas of growth include the arl's programs designed specifically to address the reasons animals end up in shelters, including spay/neuter, behavior training, and humane education programs. the arl's positive reinforcement training program has expanded to offer year-round classes, as well as free behavior advice for dogs, cats, rabbits and other pets. the shelter continues to spay and neuter all dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and pigs that are adopted from our shelter. in addition to the animals that come through the arl's doors, the arl also serves the people of iowa through its many services. mission to promote animal welfare, strengthen the human-animal bond, and prevent the

" you're watching local 5 news midday in hd. we are iowa" : elias: on your money now elias: for the millions who got new

a-a hopes you have been registering flying them. the agency opened droned registration last month, with february 19th., those who have registered by the end of today will have the five-dollar fee waived. registering will provide drone owners with an i-d number that has to be placed on the device. elias: and finally...there's a new flavor of oreo cookie. nabisco's cinnamon-bun flavored cookies officially hit the market. buzz about the flavor's release has been circulating for three months. fans rejoiced on social media when the cookies were spotted in stores. the company also says it will be re-releasing red velvet oreos in time for valentine's day. elias: and stocks are falling in asia this morning -- after another wild day here with the dow tumbling 250

this, as oil prices are also plunging to the lowest level in more than a decade -- abc's rebecca jarvis is here to explain it all " this morning - wall street preparing for another day of wild swings?after plunging wednesday. grfx the dow...dropping 566 points? before clawing its way back to close down 249 points. the culprit behind the collapse? tanking oil prices. now $28 a barrel - the lowest level in 12 years? grfx welcome news for consumers?. the national average for a gallon of gas this morning, $1.87? the majority (78%) of americans paying less than $2/gal at the pump (source: gas buddy) grfx but that good news for consumers is also a significant blow to the energy industry?which lost 100,000 jobs last year? and now risks losing even more if oil prices stay this low. tim anderson: the market can handle bad news but it can't handle uncertainty?so not knowing where the bottom is in oil causes a lot of angst

managers. investors also concerned that a slowdown in china, the world's second largest economy, could hit industries here like construction, technology, and manufacturing? grfx the turbulence sending u.s. stocks down almost 10% for the year? wiping out more than $2 trillion in value. grfx for the typical retirement savings account, that's a loss of nearly $8,300. (average 401k $91,800.00 (source: fidelity) -- down $8,291.44 - based on s&p drop of 9.03 percent since the start of this year.)" elias: coming up on elias: coming up on local 5 news midday... the nfl is making history this week, as one team hires the league's first- ever full-time female coach. elias: next.... republican presidential candidate donald trump received an endorsement this week from a past vice presidential candidate. but just how important are those endorsements on the campaign

" you're watching local 5 news midday in hd. we are iowa" elias: good morning and thanks for joining us for local 5 news midday...i'm elias johnson. elias: with eleven days to the iowa caucuses...futur e voters are learning how it all works. elias: seventh graders at mc-combs middle school held their own mock caucus for both parties.... both classes went with hillary clinton for the democrats....whil e ted cruz and ben carson won the republican vote. students were taught how both parties approach the caucuses. "students want to inform their parents, those who are not informed about this. they take what we teach them and go home and they talk about it. and, as a result of that, the parents will get interested and they will want to go out and represent and caucus."

schools across iowa have been hosting mock caucuses for the past few months to educate students about our first in the nation status and how it all works. elias: out on the campaign trail, presidential candidates are trying their best to win support...and one way to gain moment has been picking up endorsements... whether it be a celebrity, an organization, or even fellow politicians... the latest big endorsement....t hat of sarah palin for donald trump... but how much can these endorsements help campaigns? local five's chief political correspondent amanda krenz takes a closer look. "sarah palin sound.... "stomp on our necks... chill" sarah palin's endorsement of donald trump made headlines. trump: i think endorsements, depending on who... are valuable. political experts say trump's right, and palin's endorsement might help him out. rachel 31:08 i think among trump supporters it's a huge endorsement.

subtle endorsement from katy perry to hillary clinton rachel 35:20 katy perry appeals to a certain group of people, tha'ts a group that hillary clinton would liek to energize, young voters. and there are endorsements that are smaller, like lindsey graham endorsing jeb bush. 34:58 it may cause people to take a second look at jeb bush. rachel payne caufield say endorsements... big or small... politicians or celebrities... make a statement. 32:04 more than anything an endorsement signals positions are and the level of comfort that somebody has with your candidacy. could an endorsement change a voters mind? possible. it's more of a existing support. mechanism to supporters to say this is our candidate." elias:

weekend, the des plans to official endorsements...o party. the register's editorial board met with each of the candidates, with the exception of and ted cruz, who declined an invitation, before making their decision. elias: weather when the snow problems...but luckily some kentucky teens decided to forego staying warm inside....and help others. they took call after call...driving all over the area to help anyone in need. the jumped batteries, pulled cars out of the snow....and dug stuck cars out. and the trio did it for free. elias: millions of americans...braci ng themselves...pre paring for ng themselves...pre paring for record-breaking snowfall this weekend. this

mid-atlantic.. trying to clear roadways..after light snowfall created a traffic nightmare. airlines offering refunds and waivers before the storm cancels flights. abc's ray raimundi has the latest on how the eastern seabord is preparing. "script: ray intro: this isn't even the main event...and major cities on the east coast....are attempting to clear roadways this morning...after round one of snowfall literally crippled roadways and left motorist stranded. (pkg) overnight-- chaos on the roadways. motorist slamming and crashing into one another. the aftermath of a combination of untreated roadways and light snow....which literally wreaked havoc across mid- atlantic states sot: "so i drove home from work and i'm not used to driving in snow, so it was pretty rough driving home, it took a while" (nats: of car tires sliding on roads) the less than two inches of snowfall -- crippling enough in

of the free world. president obama's return to the white house -- delayed -- after his staff was forced to change plans due to the weather. in west viriginia....utility companies bracing themselves for impending power outages. sot phil moye / spokesperson appalachian power: "the thing that has us worried abotu this storm is the depth of the snow and potential for wet snow...." some 15 states this morning...under winter storm watches...from as far south as north carolina to as far north as boston. this...as the i-95 corridor braces for a potentially historic blizzard...aimed right at the nation's capital, new york, and philadelphia. sot hogan: "we don't want to overreact, but we encourage people to start getting prepared." tag: this morning -- dc snow teams are tripling the amount of plows and snow trucks. state officials are urging everyone to take extreme precaution. this -- as we brace for the major storm -- which is less than 48 hours away.> "

meteorologist sam schrier elias: meteorologist sam schrier joins us again with a look at your forecast. sam weather adlib: it was hard to call yesterday warm, but being back in the 20s for our highs definitely felt better than it did earlier in the week. today is going to be a very similar day with an isolated flurry possible and highs sitting right in the mid 20s. the winds will be very light out of the east so it will be a calm day with the high climbing to about 26 here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance of seeing a few more flurries or a very light snow overnight tonight with minimal or no accumulation expected. friday is looking like a mostly cloudy day but it should be a couple degrees colder following a weak cold front that will pass overnight tonight. saturday is going to be a bit warmer with highs back in the lower 30s and the sun should finally start shining! sunday is going to be even better than that with highs in the mid 30s but not as much sunshine. the next big

monday with temps falling back into the 20s the rest of the week elias: we turn now to a historic fire in the nfl. a woman breaking through the "grass" ceiling. becoming the league's first full time female coach. abc's ryan smith is there with the story. " this morning - the nfl making history!! the buffalo bills tweeting the revolutionary news "breaking: kathryn smith is the bills new special teams quality control coach, the first full-time female nfl coach!" the new coached started as an intern for the new york jets in 2003 and spending 12 seasons with the team - working her way up to be an assistant to head coach - rex ryan. ryan sending smith his well wishes saying "kathryn smith is going to do an outstanding job based on her knowledge and strong commitment. i'm excited and proud for her with this opportunity" smith is the latest woman to make strides in the world of sports - just last year - the nfl breaking down boundaries by bringing the first ever female ref - sarah thomas - to

nat pop - sarah rhomas ref and the nba making huge strides in 2014 when they hired becky hammon - their first female assistant coach in the league's history hammon sot: 16;16;02;27 i'm just incredibly grateful obviously to the spurs organization as for kathryn smith - football and female fans alike all seem on board with tweets overnight reading "love this!" and "about time!"" elias: and take a look at this today...back here in iowa, people are lining up for the big game. monday's game between iowa state and kansas is expected to be a big one....and some i-s-u students have already gotten in line to get good seats. they set up camp outside hilton coliseum...despit e having a few more days to go before game time.

we'll have a lot of blankets hopfully getting some heaters as well and we also have some friends that bring us food and hot choclate anything we need so elias: again the game's not til monday. and some of these students started camping this past monday night, right after the cyclones knocked off number one oklahoma. all: (reax) elias: we take a look at your national headlines now.. michigan seems to have more than just water problems, elias: on wednesday, 88 of detroit's 97 schools were closed due to high numbers of teachers calling in sick in protest.

been voicing concerns over dilapidated school buildings, bulging class sizes, all while their paychecks state officials would try to fix the problem... detroit has been dealing with debt problems for years, even filing for banktruptcy. elias/otsl: police department is the cook county department to target gang violence. leah hope has more on this effort. superintedent and the approach cpd interim superintendent i think its going...plagued by violence the agency's executives announce plans to work together with better efficiency targeting and prioritizing areas with violent crime and illegal guns. tom dart cook county sheriff we've been...highest level on down this new initiative will start with traffic stops and arresting those wanted on warrants on the

around austin and garfield park. rev. ira acree greater st. john bible church there could not be a worse time to add more police to the street pastor ira acree is minister in austin. he tells us he is deeply troubled by the violence but this latest strategy - he says - is the wrong approach.. rev. ira acree greater st. john bible church i've never seen it like this...all time low black youth project 100 has advocated for less policing in communities of color and more resources following several high profile cases of questioning police conduct. jasson perez the police have been....safer...build trust...with the community...doesnt keep police accountable despite some concerns, the initiative with target the westside again tonight. last night cpd says they confiscated two guns.

neighborhood leah hope abc7 eyewitness news>" elias: still to come on local 5 news midday... (weather) sam has the details in central iowa's most accurate forecast next.

"now, we are iowa's forecast with schreier. certified by weatherrate the independent weather sam weather adlib: it was hard to call yesterday warm, but being back in the 20s definitely felt better the week. today is

similar day with an isolated flurry possible and highs sitting right in the mid 20s. the winds will be very light out of the east so it will be a calm day with the high climbing to about 26 here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance of seeing a few more flurries or a very light snow overnight tonight with minimal or no accumulation expected. friday is looking like a mostly cloudy day but it should be a couple degrees colder following a weak cold overnight tonight. saturday is going to be back in the lower 30s finally start shining! sunday is going to be even better than that with highs in the mid sunshine. the next big happen likely on falling back into the week sam: elias:

you're watching local five news midday. we'll be back after this with a new apple coming to your local hy-vee store.

place for this interview: fred wescott, president, honeybear brands kelly cell: 651-206-9852 email: kellyp@newswo rthycommunicati ons.com des moines gets rare taste of next national apple variety local apple lovers asked to weigh in before pazazz apple becomes national star minneapolis, january 7, 2016 - local apple lovers speak up now. des moines has been selected as one of a limited number of cities across the

winter apple, that many retailers believe will become the next truly national variety following the best- selling success of honeycrisp. pazazz from minnesota-based honeybear brands will be available exclusively in hyvee stores. in addition, samplings and demos start at select locations from january 21-23. apple lovers are being asked to weigh in on pazazz's special blend of starches and sugars that help create the variety's unique flavor profile as well as its explosive crunch with every bite. "des moines residents love and know their apples," says don roper, vice president, sales and marketing, and one of honeybear's dedicated team touring the country to gain feedback from customers and retail partners. "we're eager to hear what customers and retailers think of this year's pazazz crop as well as its "wow" taste and crisp, juicy texture. all of that

to us and our growers as we fine tune pazazz for what we expect will be a national roll out across the country in 2017." des moines is one of a select number of locations handpicked to sample and sell pazazz in january and february. other retailers include markets in arizona, colorado, florida, georgia, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, new york, north carolina, ohio, seattle, south carolina, texas, utah, washington and ontario, canada. a descendent of the popular honeycrisp but with a flavor profile all its own, pazazz has been in careful development by honeybear brands for more than seven years. the star of the company's renowned varietal development program and a great late season apple, pazazz was developed to offer retailers a premium variety to drive sales beyond the fall peak season. the variety is harvested in late fall targeting the right balance of sugars and starches that offers an ideal

through march. as starches convert to

pazazzit was hard to call yesterday warm, but being back in the 20s for our highs definitely felt better than it did earlier in the week. today is going to be a very similar day with an isolated flurry possible and highs sitting right in the mid very light out of the east so it will be a calm day with the high climbing to about 26 here in the metro. we could see a flurry at times today but we have a better chance

flurries or a & test test test test test% >> announcer: you asked for it and we heard you loud and clear. it's a an hour pked with our

michael's getting things statarted