lukas voss ... abc9 news. thanks, lukas. also in iowa today... ted cruz spoke at a johnston shooting range where he talked about the second amendment. cruz spoke to voters about his stance on gun laws, saying more restrictions on guns is not the answer to the shooting epidemic in our nation. jenna: republican candidate chris christie was also in the state. the new jersey governor spoke at the iowa association of electric cooperative's annual meeting in west des moines this morning. christie spoke to voters about the importance of foreign affairs and dealing with isis. jenna: awesome biker nights is changing its venue e r next summer. the past 16 years on historic 4th street in downtown, sioux city, but that's all changing. today the board of directors for awesome biker nights announced they'll be moving festivities to the 'hard rock/pearl street district'. all major concerts will be at hard rock's battery park. awesome biker nights is set for june 16th through the 18th. still to come... preparations are being made for the upcoming big ten game. t

abc9's lukas voss met with him today and brings us more. pkg nats: show sound vo: andy sohm made a dream come true since his first days in the seminary ... on a trip to new york with friends from his parish he got the chance to attend a taping of abc's live with kelly and michael... but what he didn't know that he was going to become a viral sensation. sot: "i was nervous as can be again it was like it was going to here soon and it's going live and there was just an excitement in show to the people vo: his unusual dance impressed kelly and michael, but people all around the world. something sohm simply enjoys. sot: "the real real blessing has been all brought to so many people." nats: watching video. that joy translates because father andy ... as everybody calls him .... has a strong dancing. sot: "dancing for me has always been a real blessing i find a lot in dancing. i grew up things got stressfull and stuff and dance." and as an enthusiastic dancer myself ... i simply had to try. sot: "so you are already becoming a dancer ... ready for t

lukas voss ... abc9 news ... back to you jenna jenna: the texas teenager famous for the "affluenza" defense at his drunk-driving trial has been captured in mexico. ethan couch and his mother have been detained in puerto vallarta. they changed their hairstyles during nearly three weeks on the run, but were caught in a popular tourist area. authorities in texas said today they are in the process wf transfering couch's case from juvenile to adult court.. " " to be honest with you, we're going to breathe a lot easier when they're back in this country and we have them locked up here in tarrant county and that's the ultimate goal. the 18-year-old was wanted on a possible parole violatn after he was seen on this twitter video partying. two years ago couch was convicted and given probation for causing a drunk-driving crash that killed time after his lawyers claimed his upbringing in a wealthy family made him unable to distinguish right from wrong. couch's mother will be charged with hindering apprehension jenna: severe w

we have abc9 news reporter lukas voss in sioux city at hillary clinton's campaign rally event this morning. lukas what's the scene there at the center? lukas: hillary clinton is making another sweep through iowa. i'm at the carpenters training center in sioux city. it's no coincidence that the clinton campaign picked this location. labor secretary tom perez is joining clinton today to make his official endorsment for the former secretary of state. in a statement yesterday perez touted clinton's progressive record and fighter. he said clinton is understands the parents are talking about around the dinner table. lukas now, it hasn't been all good news for clinton. a quinnipiac university poll week showed those taking the poll found senator bernie sanders more electable than clinton against several top republican candidates. good news for the sanders campaign, but in presidential candidate in siouxland republican rand paul will be in iowa as well... making stops at fort dodge and mason city. his campaign stop in fort dodge will be held at the public library at 2:30pm paul's mason city event w

lukas voss ... abc9 news. jenna: there are plenty of folks whose jobs d d't stop just because it's christmama firefighters are all still on the job. in des moines, local firefighters stood by in case any problems arose. they say it's hard to be away from home for the day, but it's their duty because emergencies don't take a break for the holidays. ahman douglass, des moines fire department: "theemotional tug just comes when you realize that you're not going to be around your family for 24 hours." ashli formaro, flight nurse: "it's nice to see everyone and spend christmas with all our co- workers. at night, it's always nice to see all the christmas lights from up above. it's a little different perspective." first responders and other emergency personnel working today say they know well in advance they would be working on christmas day, sometimes a year or more, so they can schedule family time around that. jenna: an iowa city man man is charged in connection with a series of burglaries... after a christmas eve

lukas voss found some of options for both indoor... and outdoor fun. nats: ... game explaiaing vo: totocold outside ? and the kids might not be in the mood to move around ? ... how about a board game ... the variety is endless ... you can spent as l ltle as five dollars or as much as 100 ... and james king thinks it's more popular than ever. sot: " there are definetely familys who just come in together to buy board games and a lot times they decide on a game together because they are going to play that night at home." vo: and while so of us just might think of good old monopoly ... there is a clear trend. are really big right now. where it's not nessasarily you versus me but the family actually rks together to at the game." nats: museum vo: if you do leave the house ... but still want to stay warm ... how about a trip to the sioux city public museum. it's free and open from 10 to 5 most days. part of the fun especially for kids is participating. sot: "there is a lot of hands on touchable things that the kids and the grandparents can enjoy. the museum is great pl

lukas voss ... abc9 news. scott's up next with a final check of our forecast. stay with us. our christmas tree contest is message me on facebook or email me (jrae@kcautv.com ) pictures of your best decorated tree- your pictures will air live on our newscast... the winner will receive 4 musketeers tickets and will be announced on nexy tuesday... december 22nd! now let's take a look at our latest submissions... jessica rae

our own lukas voss has more . lukas: thanks tim and jenna. it is indeed ... what one senator called a "mammoth" task. the bill includes passages on nearly every aspect of america's infrastructure. public transportation ... improvement of information flow ... and funding to fix an aging interstate system. the latter being especially important to sioux city th parts of i-29 nearing nats: constructiti it's a b by time on i- ... and it's not just the commuter the downtown corridor expansion to three lanes is estimated to be completed transportation bill ensures that parts of the 305 billion be used as federal department of integral in ensuring projects like i-29 can be finished. sot: "anytime transportation bill that's being condiered or is in helps us to look at a vo: the parts of interstate 29 that run through sioux city were openend to traffic in no major construction or upgrades have taken place. an important part of the the new bill is to improve security and create longlasting infrastructure for the future. both apply to the i-29. sot: "we had a lot of safe

reporting in kingsley, iowa , lukas voss abc9 news. tim: of familiar faces back to town, and when folks come home for the holidays, many make it a point to hit all of the holiday hot spots here in sioux city at palmer's candy company today, cash registers were swamped, as first titi shoppers paid a time candy shoppe. but that's not the only place families were gathering to reminisce milwaukee weiner house downtown is in the middle of one of it's busiest times all year.... siouxland native, amy denny says keeping a family tradition stsrted by her dad alive....is as simple as eatting a hot dog. we use to do all of our christmas shopping for my mom on christmas eve day and we always came to milwaukee wiener, so when i got married and had kids its something that we continue to do," said denney. and siouxlanders young and old made sure to visit miles inn is another lunch spot.... and ice have been servedthere for decades. destination for r folks back home for the holidays. because it has a warmth about it and coziness, especially around the

lukas voss ... abc9 news. republican candidate chris chchstie was also in iowa today, the new jersey campaign trail morning, speaking at the iowa association cooperative's annual meeting held in west des moines. he spoke on the california shooting " " and now we have san bernardino which will not say is a terrorist attack. i seven years as a prosecutor, when i watched coverage the other night of that attack, there it was a man and his wife dressed in semi-automatic weapons - this was not an incident of work place violence." the new jersey vernor is also expected to make stops in jefferson and fort dodge on today. jenna: another republican candidate, ted cruz, was in johnston iowa today, at crossroads shooting sports gun range where he held a campaign event surrounding 2nd amendment rights, cruz spoke to voters about his stance on gun laws. saying more restrictions on guns are not the solution to the shooting problem in america jenna: the annual awesome biker locations! the historic 4th street district in downt

abc 9's lukas voss met with victim's family today ... lukas? in: thank you deborah ... it was the early morning hours of january 19th, 2014 ... tami allison got a call ... the call that nobody wants to get ... there has been an accident ... your two daughters are involved ... from there it's blank.for some ... charges and the nearing of a sentencing brings closure ... for tami ... it's the opposit ... sot: "it was very emotionally draining on all of us and it was hard ... it was reliving the accident really ..." vo: the accident that changed tami's life forever. her daughter tiffany schmitt was killed ... at the hands of a drunk driver ... the unthinkable happened and it struck without warning. "it's always somebody else ... you never think it's going to happen to someone in your family, especially your children." and to tami ... preventing what happened to her is as "call a friend or a family ... it's not worth the risk ... it's not worth the risk." tiffany ... or just affectionaly called tiff loved kids ... she wanted to become a teacher ... her community was all ...

lukas voss abc9 news. jenna: a wayne statat college professor will soon find out if she will be and although not allowed to participate in her personel hearing, they did make today. dr. karen walker is a physchology professor at wayne state college and was escorted from campus in october. rumors began to circulate about her absence and now students are answers from administration. administration say the student's to trust that being handled. the end of the day, people will trust the process. this is a process that was agreed upon each time the faculty and the other unions here renegotiate their bargaining agreements. they sign off on this process and we have followed this process from day one to the letter," said collier. a hearing was held to day to determine dr. walker's future with the school. if a decision is not made, there will be a second hearing tomorrow. tim: about two dozen people marched to university of iowa president office today to protest his comment that unprepared teachers should be shot.

jenna: abc9's lukas voss was at the press conference today and also spoke to administrators from the school district. lukaka thanks jenna ... and while the superintendent did not elaborate on the the circumstances surrounding the subsequent resignation they did meet with school officials to clarify the situation and he also wanted to make clear that they are dng everything to resolve the situation. " i assure the community that we take matters of this nature very seriously. this is the work that we do. we do our work promtly and we do it thouroughly with great care for our students." we also got a chance to talk with the director of our local teachers union today. he said th because teaching takes such an important role in our society events like the one at north high school have a profound impact on the "it's based on integrity, it's based on keeping people safe and whenever things like this happen it tarnishes the reputation in general." lear also said that with the over 1000 teachers we have in the district over 1000 teachers we havein the district there are some that just shouldn

our lukas voss met with religous leaders today and has more. lukas: thanks tim ... somehow that walk to our local brisk winter night has something special. the christmaservice ... fomany it's a time to bring the whole family toghether ... stop for a moment ... and remember why so many celebrate this day in december. but why is it that some of us only stop ... for that service ... on that december day ... well you might count all of the above. natpop: pastoror speaking vovo it's father brent lingle's spanish speaking mass before christmas. it's catholic and what a lot of peole would typically associate with the word church. that bears special meaning as many people find their way to their local to celebrate christmas ... even if they haven't done so rest of the year. "even for those who at mass every sunday doesn't feel the same unless you have gone to mass and celebrated that tradition. a christmas story that has stayed the same for the past 2000 years ... and so has the tradition. to lingle that's a big part why people attend services on christmas more to then they

lukas voss abc9 news. tim: the democratic national committee has suspended bernie sanders' presidential campaign from accessing its voter database. this, after the campaign took advantage of a software error to access hillary clinton's confidential voter information. . the d-n-c database keeps the information gathered by different campaigns separated by a firewall. but the data systems vendor that runs the program dropped the firewall for a brief period wednesday, during which time the data was accessed. the sanders campaign will remain suspended until it provides the d-n-c with a full explanation of the episode and provides proof that any accesd data has been discarded. jenna: tonight, director janet phipps released her final decision on medicaid modernization. gov. terry communications director, ben hammes, issued a statement on the decision that was released late this evening. "the final decision this evening from director phipps confirms that the department of human services conducted a 'thorough and m

lukas voss abc9 news. jenna: former new york governor george pataki is suspended his presidential cacaaign tonight pataki failed to gain traction in the polls, averaging 1 percent. he did not make it onto the main stage for any of eliminated from the fox business network undercard debate. financially, pataki's campaign was struggling, spending more than he was taking in. pataki was governor of new york from 1995 to 2020, presiding over the state ring the 9/11 attacks. jenna: an apartment fire in sloan today took seven different departments to finally put out. and more than a dozen people have been displaced from their homes. the fire started around 10 am at the prairie apartment cocolex on buckley street in sloan. as crews were getting there, two womeme jumped from the second flooer to try to get away the flames. they were taken to mercy medical center in sioux city and were treated for non life treatening injuries. below freezing temperatures caused some extra problems in putting out the fire. "we had fla

lukas voss ... abc9 news. tim: today, snow was falling so fast, plows were hard pressed to keep roadways cleared. with cars sliding into ditches on slippery roads... employees at siouxland towing tell us they've been busy since even before the snow started.... towing about twenty cars in the early hours towing ban was put into place. once the ban was and wait" for tow truck drivers. "the snow plows are trying to catch up with the snow, o o conditions a a so bad that people will slide off in the ditch. us halfway in the road trying to pull somebody out of the ditch and cause another accident" says george quint, siouxland towing. look for those two trucks to hit tuesday some drivers said that the weather adding that it's the other drivers worreid about. continue to respond to not serious and our last big of november 20th prepare some for difficult driving conditions. "it's kind of rough out there, driving with all the other vehicles on the road. you don't know if you're going to have an accident," said sachjen.

our own lukas voss was in lakeside today and has more on the story. thanks tim and jenna ... the dimig family who lost their dog in the tragic very much shaken up as roo was family . kids from the neighborhood the dog after the dimig's had started a search themselves and also took to facebook to look for help ... and while this certainly has them rattled it has also brought somebody new into their life ... nats: mother explaining vo: it's a day and a place not soon forget. walk ... he walks down the street and normaly returns within 10 to 15 minutes. never made it home. sot: "my sister had called me and said that he had been missing for over an hour ... i knew that something was wrong." very wrong ...after continuing the search and not finding roo ... the family continued looking .. at 3:30 the following day ... neighborhood kids had found the dog shot and killed in a neighbors backyard. an emotional time ... trying to find answers. sot: "i don't know .... i don't know how anybody would be able to do it in the first place." it's like losing a family member ... because that's

lukas voss ... abc9 news. (jenna) fred, how is the forecast looking? (fred) we have more chances for rain and snow. 2 line super: fred hexom om (fred) the hd radar shows that our current patchy dirzzle is light enough to not regiester on radar, but rainvision shows that up to 3" of rain has fallen over the past 24 hours in southeastern parts of siouxland. let's take a moment to midnight today in sioux city. other rain tots around siouxland were 1.90" in cherokee, 0.93" in concord, ne, 0.91" in richland, sd, 0.83" in norfolk, ne, 0.70" in vermillion, sd, and 0.14" in neligh, ne. the port neal welding company skycam hd in sioux city shows the scene from the ho chunk centre. 39 has been our high today and 36 the low. 36 is our current temperature with a relative humidity of 89 percent as a result of a dew point of 33. local temperatures are in the 30s. winds are from the nor at 5 to 10 miles per hour. wind chills are in the 20s and lower 30s for most of us. lower visibility is seen around some parts of siouxland, especially wayne and sioux falls. the midw

lukas voss local five news, we are iowa. deborah a historic 19th century sioux city mansion was open to the public today for a holiday celebration. the pierce mansion located at 29-01 jackson street was filled with holiday cheer. santa clause himself was on hand to welcome guests to the victorian-era home....which was s deckck out for the holiday season. the sioux ci museum and historical association...host ed the event as a "thank you" to the community. "it's a great opportunity to let the public come in our appreciation for the support we get from the people in sioux city," said don duzik, volunteer. deborah: aside from the company of santa...visitors were treated to snacks and sical entertainment. the historic home, which was once the site of the sioux city public museum...is owned by s sux city. deborah: there'e'still 19 ys left in the christmas countdown, and mail carriers across the country are feeling the holiday blitz. tomorrow morning, we'll have a live look at one fedex mail processing plant..that is dealing with t

her event in sioux city is set to kick off in a few minutes -- reporter lukas voss is out there live. lukas, what's the latest? lukas voss hillary clinton is making another sweep through iowa. i'm at the carpenters training center in sioux city. it's no coincidence that the clinton campaign picked this location take vo labor secretary tom today to make his official endorsment for the former secretary of state. in a statement released yesterday perez touted clinton's progressive record and described her as a fighter. take fullscreen he said clinton is tough, smart and understands the challenges that parents are talking about around the dinner table. back on camera lukas now, it hasn't been all good news for clinton. a quinnipiac university poll released this week showed those taking the poll found senator bernie sanders more electable than clinton against several top republican candidates. good news for the sanders campaign, but in that same poll clinton still held a sizeable lead over sanders as the likely democratic nominee. will be the only democrat in iowa this weekend.... but the

lukas voss local five news, we are iowa. nikki: there isn't any snow on the ground now... but if you can't wait for the white stuff to fly... we've found a solution for you. we'll explain on the weekend buzz coming up... we'll be right back... you're watching local five news late edition. nikki: can mean a lot of eating... but this takes things to downtown indianapolis was the scene for a possible world record saturday. nikki: the world's top competitive eater joey chestnut reportedly broke his own record and defend his crown in the st. elmo's shrimp cocktail eating contest. he at more than 12 pounds of shrimp in eight minutes. that record still has to be officially verified. joey chestnut has been a competitive eater since 2005 and held the nathan's international hot dog eating contest title for eight years. nikki: and this holiday season... in case we did a little local five experiment to make our own snow..... nikki: its called instant decorative snow in a can... theres instructions that tell you to take the powder.... mix it up with some water.... do some stirring....

reporting in kingsley, iowa , lukas voss abc9 news. deborah: the holidays always bring lots of familiar faces back to town... and when people come home for the holidays, back to town... and when people come home for the holidays, many make it a point to hit all of the holiday hot spots here in sioux city at palmer's candy company... cash registers were swamped.....as both long-timeme and firsrstime shoppers p pd a visit to the old- time candy house downtown...is also in the middle of one of it's busiest times of the year.... siouxland native, amy denny says for her..the stop is all about keeping a family tradition alive. we use to do all of our christmas shopping for my mom on christmas eve day and we always came to milwaukee wiener, so when i got married and had kids its something that we continue to do," said denney. deborah: and siouxlanders young and old made sure to visit "miles-inn" .... a sioux city lunch spot...known for their ice cold scooner's which have been served there for decades. "i enjoy this bar because it has a warmth

abc9's lukas voss met with him... and has his story. pkg nats: show sound vo: andy sohm made a dream come true since his first days in the seminary ... on a trip to new york with friends from he got the chance to attend a taping of abc's live with kelly and michael... but what he didn't know that he was going to become a viral sensation. "i was nervous as can be again it was like it was going to here soon and it's going just an excitement in show to the people vo: moves not only impressed kelly and michael, but people something sohm simply enjoys. sot: "the real real blessing has been all the joy it has brought to so many people." nats: watching video. that joy translates because father andy ... as everybody calls him .... has a strong connection to dancing. sot: "dancing for me has always been a real blessing i find a lot of joy and comfort in dancing. i grew up on a farm and when things got stressfull and stuff we would just stop and dance." and as an enthusiastic dancer myself ... i simply had to try. sot: "so you are already becomin

let's get goinin alongside photographer lukas voss, i'm jessica rae for abc9 news. jessica rae: scott's up next with a final check of our forecast. stay with us. jessica rae scott: the snow forecast shows 5 to 7 inches of snow lining up along interstate 29 with less to the

lukas voss ... abc9 news. jessica rae: it's the ultimate hollywood activity... doing pilates with your pooch! and it's for a good cause. one california charity has raised over two thousand dollars... by combining our favorite four legged friends with a bit of fitness and fun! reporter lori corbin takes a look at "pilates for paws" . " there are all kinds of ways to raise money for a good cause and this one is literally a bit of a s- weight of the dog to stretch the back." at the pasadena humane society two and four legged creatures took a paw-lates class, raising money for food, care and shelter of homeless animals. claire bauer and her rescue dog zeke were both novice to the format. claire bauer/burbank "he's doing better than i thought he would do. it just took him a little while to get warmed up but i think he's been doing okay." program creator kathi braidhill of pilates pasadena says all skill levels will find it offers a fresh way to do a workout. kathi braidhill "we're raising money for the humane society by doing which is a unique which i developed where

reporting in kingsley, iowa , lukas voss abc9 news. coming up in sports... nebraska is preparing to face u-c-l-a on saturday in the foster farms bowl. hear from the huskers offensive coordinator... after the break. scott: merry mild christmas! wintry mix tonight. deborah: sony pictures is giving all n-f-l new movie for free. the movie-- "concussion"-- follows the career of doctor bennet omalu as he diagnoses the brain disease c-t- e... a football- related trauma. to make his finding public... he has to face off in the film. sony pictures says it is offering players and one guest free admission to the movie that opens on christmas day. all they have to do is present their n-f-l-p-a membership card at any cinemark theater nationwide. sony says the offer is for the duration of the film's run. deborah: boxing legend evander holyfield is a sports hero for millions of fans around the world... but this holiday season... he's a hero for a different reason. the real deal helped make the christmas holiday brighter for hundreds of children in florida... by lending a he

reporting live in studio, lukas voss abc9 news tim on cam thanks lucas.... and he will have more on the story tongiht at six with today's news, we wanted to know what kind of background checks are required for teachers in iowa. according to the iowa board of educational examiners... all new hires are required to submit finger prints and pass 3 background checks, including the fbi criminal database ....the iowa department of criminal investigation as well as a check of the child abuse registry the dependant adult abuse registry and iowa's sex offender registry. teacher candidates also must clear a check of iowa courts online, to make sure they don't have any outstanding charges. jenna: a wayne state college professor will soon find out if she will be reinstated at the institution. and although participate in her personel hearing..... they did make thier voices known... abc9's bria bell has more. bria: jenna, students say that finals week or weather would not be a factor in supporting a woman that they have come to care for. they say they have a lot of questio

lukas voss ... abc9 news. as we approach the new year....local officials are helping parents keep their little ones safe on the roads. a "c-p-r and car seat check" took place today at fire station three in sioux city. dozens turned out to have their car seats inspected...free of charge. officials made sure car seats were properly installed...the appropriate size....and not expired. sioux city fire and rescue...along with mercy medical center and siouxland paramedics...orga nized the event. " partnering with mercy is always great, we have some great people here us out and they're very knowledgable and we defantly love doing these type of events with them, it's defantly a great partnership." c-p-r classes were also offered at the event. if you couldn't make it out to the c-p-r and car seat check. you can have it come to you. to set an appointment....con tact the mercy child advocacy center...their number is at the bottom of your screen. deborah we know the names of the three people who were killed in a car crash

lukas voss ... abc9 news. tim: now, as offensive as trumps comments may have been, this is not the first time that the idea of a ban has been entertained,=. fleeing germany from nazi germany. july 1938, a poll by fortune magazine fewer than 5 percent of americans supported raising the quotas for political refugees mostly jews. 67% said "we should try to keep them out." in 1942. japanese internment president roosevelt ordered the incarceration of japanese americans during world war ii executive order 9066. feb 19, 1942. 1954. president eisenhower issued a ban deporting mexicans trump's stunt is just the most recent act of attempting to ban a group of pepople from entering our country. tim: the park board today unanimously approved the pool commitee's recommendations to move forward with their plan to improve sioux city's public pools. the changes involve closing down leeds and cook pool after the 2016 season. by splash pads that are planed to be opened by the summer of 2017. lewis pool will close as soon as the

let's get going, alongside photographer lukas voss, i'm jessica rae for abc9 news. jenna: with the rose bowl coming up o abc 9 will be verage all week. alex giaimo joins angeles. ( outside the in the la hotel downtown the official media hotel for the 2016 rose bowl between iowa and stanford. the hawkeyes have been out here in los angeles since christmas eve bowl game. and they to say the least for the portunity to ay on this big stage. " jordan canzeri: when we found out that we were going to t rose bowl.it was insane you know i didn't watch it i didn't hear about it until i just started getting texts of roses all over the place and it was just awesome just to think that since freshman year it was a dream to go to the rose bowl it's just like a dream come true. and we'll have much more from the hawkeyes tomorrow. at the official 2016 rose bowl media day.but for now in los angeles with your hawkeye headquarters report. im alex giaimo. thanks alex. jenna: coming up in sports...the iowa wrestling team is gearing up for another run at the midlands championships. alex ha

lukas voss met with some of them today to talk about their jobs in lukas: thanks jenna ... these companies generally do lawn care during the summer and then transition to snow removal when it gets colder outside. they are especially important for businesses and apartment complexes that might not have the man power themselves to clean all of their property. but they are also challenges ... sot: "two storms we have had about 16 inches so far maybe 17 after today, that's not bad." nats: snow blowing vo: what might be bad for us ... is not bad for them ... snow removal companies are as busy as ever with the second wave of winter weather hitting siouxland today. especially because we are still early in the season. sot: "it's a better start. usually we get our bigger snows in march and feurary and we had decent guess that's a good thing." it's important for companies like c and c lawn care and sharp lawn care because their major off seasonncome comes from snow removal and they are doing the best they can to make th wheather a little bit more enjoable. sot: "we don't want anybody

lukas voss abc9 news. turning to the race to the white house... the republican presidential race could have a new front-runner in iowa. ted cruz has jumped aheadadf donana trump in the latest poll coming out of the state. the des moines register and bloomberg politics released the poll saturday. it finds the texas senator has a ten-point-lead over trump. cruz commanded 31-percent of likely republican caucus-goers in iowa. trump received in the polls....could explain...why friday trump went after cruz on his opposition to subsbsies for ethanol.l. it w the firstattack the real estate mogul has ever made against cruz. deborah: democratic, presidential candidate bernie sanders is spending his weekend in iowa... stopping in clinton this afternoon. sanders spent a little over an hour talking to the crowd clinton middle school about a wide range of issues. some of his main priorities are raising the minimum wage to 15-dollars... free tuition at public universities and colleges... and extending maternity leave. he also discussed changing the focus of the

lukas voss tells us why. vo: cool ... well not so cool ... or rather c-o-o-l. gets labeled depending on it's origin ... common practice in the u.s. for quite some time ... now however the world trade organization is enforcing tariffs on u.s products in reponse to the law ... something local pork producers think is a big problem. sot: "anytime they are going to impose tariffs on our product it's going to hurt us in the long run. it's going to hurt everybody in this local area." it cost the u.s. livestock industry billions of dollars to implement labeling laws. trade agreements with two of it's largest export partner ... mexico and canada were violated and the laws had no effect on price or demand. canda and mexico can impose more than 1 billion dollars of retaliatory tariffs and this is the fourth time the wto said that c-o-o-l violates trade obligations. sot: "every meeting wie discuss this. basically nothing got done. which is pretty frustrating because we knew we were going to didn't get it repealed." nats: hogs: and farmers are not just concerned about the p

abc9's lukas voss brings us the details. nats: marching band vo: north high's 34-year old band director arrested and charged with sexual exploitation by school employee. texting a 15 year old student .... texting the student about having sex with her ... and .... sending her pictures ... actions promting a swift response by the school board. sot: "we have met with the entirety of the staff first thing monday morning as i mentioned we received the information on friday took action on friday and received the resignation on friday." there are already a number of checks and balances in place to make sure teachers are cleared to be in our schools. through the fbi's database in multiple states. . e iowa department of criminalinvestigation checks them as well. thth ther are also n through sevevel criminal data bases such as the sex offender registry. while alarmed ... the local teachers union warns about generalizing. sot: "they have integrity.they keep them safe, to somehow say everyone or even a high percentage are folks that sho

so how will all that money impact abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more . nats: construction vo: it's a busy time on i- 29 ... and it's not just the commuter traffic. parts of corridor expansion estimated to be by next year. the 2015 ensures that parts of the 305 billion dollar program will be used as federal funding for department of transportation projects in iowa. an integral in ensuring projects like i-29 can be finished. sot: "anytiti there is a lononterm transportation bill that's being condiered or is in effect it certainly helps us to look at a project long term." vo: the parts of interstate 29 that run through sioux city were openend to traffic in 1961 ... since then ... no major construction or upgrgres have taken the new bibi is to improve security and create longlasting infrastructure for the future. both apply to the i-29. sot: "we had a lot of safety issues trought the downtown area and these improvements will certaionly adress those safety and infrastructure issues and will crcrte a modern system for decades to come"e" nat's: pothole crew and

abc9 news reporter lukas voss met with religous leaders to find out. natpop: pastor speaking it's father brent lingle's spanish speaking mass before christmas. it's catholic and what a lot of peole would typically associate with the word church. that bears special meaning as many people find their way to their local churches to celebrate christmas ... even if they haven't done so throughout the rest of the year. sot: "even for those who are on the fringes or not at mass every sunday christmas just doesn't feel the same unless you have gone to mass and celebrated that tradition. a christmastory that has stayed the same for the past 2000 years ... and so has the tradition. to lingle that's a big part why people attend services on christmas more to then they do so throughout the year ... for family and how it's always been. sot: for innovations weare not looking for changes or new kind of flashy for us as catholics it's returning to the roots.it' about families coming together and worshiping and if they have been apart for a long time it's a good opportun

abc9 news reporter lukas voss met with religous leaders to find out. natpop: pastor speaking it's father brent lingle's spanish speaking mass before christmas. it's catholic and what a lot of peole would typically associate with t t word church. that bears special meaning as many people find their way to their local churches to celebrate christmas ... even if they haven't done so throughout the rest of the year. sot: "even for those who are on the fringes or not at mass every sunday christmas just doesn't feel the same unless you have gone to mass and celebrated that tradition.a christmas story that has stayed the same for the past 2000 years ... and so has e tradition. to lingle that's a big part why people attend services on christmas more to then they do so throughout the year ... for family and how it's always been. are not looking for changes or new kind of flashy for us as catholics it's returning to the roots.it' about families coming together and worshiping and if they have been apart for a long te it's a good opportunity. nats: concert talk ab

it was found dead on sunday, in a neighbor's abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more on this story. nats: mother explaining vo: it's a day and a place the dimig's will not soon forget. on saturday they let their dog roo out for his usual walk ... he walks down the street and normaly returns within 10 to 15 minutes. only this time ... he never made it home. sot: "my sister had called me and said that he had been missing for over an hour ... i knew that something was wrong." very wrong ...after continuing the search and not finding roo ... the family continued looking .. at 3:30 the following day ... neighborhood kids had found the dog shot and killed in a neighbors backyard. an emotional time ... trying to find answers. sot: "i don't know .... i don't know how anybody would be able to do it in the family member ... because that's what he was. "he slept with me, we and .... he was my the sheriff's department ... still in the dark about what happened ... themselves shocked sot: " it was a little disturbing to receive two reports just in a matter of days. nats sot conversation: "this wh

abc9 news reporter lukas voss took the carry permit course... and shows us what you need to know if you plan on packing heat. ats: explaining. vo: cartridge designation and identification ... ammunition storage ... proper hand positions. all of these practices were on the schedule this morning at rev-tac's multi state concealed carry permit class. multi state ... because there are different state laws... and different ways to get that permit. "there is different standarts of training for instance minnesota requires you to shoot to qualify ... the same as nebraska. there is no online course there is no way to skimp." here in iowa ... you could skimp. that's why rev-tac has made it it's mission to try to properly educate and train their customers. "raise that bar of training in this area ... before you could watch a 15 minute video and walk out permits have to be renewed every five years ... by watching a 15 minute video or take the class. even seasoned gun owners think it's the time and stay fresh. "it's just good to refresh and keep the fundamen

lukas voss met with some of them to talk about their jobs in lukas: thanks jenna ... these companies generally do lawn care during the summer and then transition to snow removal when it gets colder especially important for businesses and apartment complexes that might not have the man power themselves to clean all of their property. but they are also challenges ... sot: "two storms we have had about 16 inches so far maybe 17 after today, that's not bad." vo: for us ... is not bad for them ... snow removal companies are as busy as ever with the second wave of winter weather hitting siouxland today. especially because we are still early in the season. sot: "it's a better start. usually we get our bigger snows in march and feurary and we had decent snows alady so i guess that's a good thing." it's important for companies like c and c lawn care and sharp lawn care because their major off season income comes from snow removal and they are doing the best they can to make th wheather a little bit more enjoable. sot: "we don't want anybody to slip and fall, salt is key ... ju

reporting in sioux city, lukas voss, abc9 news. jessica rae: archie's waeside of le mars iowa is earning some serious praise on a recent yahoo food article... archie's was named the best steakhouse in the state of iowa. this latest honor comes off of the steakhouse being named number 4 on rachel ray's list of the top 200 steakhouses in america. but that's not all, archie's was awarded with the james beard american classic award this year after being a semi finalist in 2014. jessica rae scott: adlib scott: earning some serious praise on a recent yahoo food article... archie's was named the best steakhouse in the state of iowa. this latest honor comes off of the steakhouse being named number 4 on rachel ray's list of the top 200 steakhouses in america. archie's was awarded with the james beard american classic award this year after being a semi finalist in 2014. jessica rae scott: jessica rae scott: to your day with temperatures sitting in the single digits throughout most of the area. we have calm winds and clear skies which are hel

abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more on how the salvation army's holidays merrier for r ose in need. nats: bell ringing. heard it grocery store today. that familiar sound during christmas time. a time honored tradition for more than 150 years. the salvation army's red ringers ... an all help those in need. sot: "it's important i think because there are so many people here that need us to be here and the money goes to a really good cause and i think that's a key element." " i just figured on my way here today. it's my0t0tyear. it's rewarding. people all ages, all walks are generous, friendly. there are people who haven done it 40 years and some who are doing it for the first time. high school students from heelan and north high school started ringing the bells at 10 am today taking shifts until 7 tonight. and while some associate the kettle and bell with a certain white bearded man ... mary thinks otherwise. sot: "i know when i was younger it used to just be somebody dressed up as santa standing outside ringing the bell. and now there are a lot more younger kids helping out and i thi

abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more on his sioux city stop. nats: growly speakiki ... consertive support fr a prominent face in washington. trey gowdy, republican from south carolina and the chair of the investigation into the benghazi attacks has joined marco rubio in his bid for the esidency. he has been campaigning with rubio throughout iowa and was with him in sioux city tonight. sot: "i have done my vetting i have reached my conclusion ... it's not my job to tell you what to do. i will respectfully ask you to give me a listen and give him consideration and see if he can convince you the way heheonvinced me." vo: could be a big boost for rubio as south carolina is the third state in the primary. in iowa however a dec. 14 quinnipiac university poll of likely republican caucus-goers, shows rubio with 14 percent support. natpop: rubio talking vo: well behind donald trump and ted cruz who lead by nearly double ... that's why he also adressed issues important to the area like the keystone xl pipeline. sot: "i want to be a worldleader in wind a world leader in biofuels i

abc9 news reporter lukas voss has the story. pkg in: that's right deborah ... a group on facebook called "sioux city christmas help 2015" made it their mission to help families in need have a great christmas. they pair sponsors with families who then buy gifts to make one of the most memorable times of the year a little brighter for everyone ... and today was their r g day. nats: screaming ... trying to find peopop. vo: sometimes santa needs a little help ... and this time he got it. the facebook group called "sioux city christmas help 2015" celebrated their big christmas party to help families in need of a more enjoyable christmas. how do they do this? well it's all through the help of social media. facebook and i asked me t tcontact contacted cherrie information. daughters age, sizes what she is interested in and they posted on the pa and then kerry said she would sponsor as got sponsored." has 515 members ... over 150 families had be sponsored and do it "just being able to help somebody out and seeing the smiles on the kids faces ... i mean i was just so sho

abc9 news reporter lukas voss met two california teams... who are enjoying a non-traditional start to the six day event. . "nats: we love snoooowww ! vo: while some locals complain about the snow. some players in town for the naia volleyball championship are doing the opposite ... for them ... the white coating is something special and exciting. sot: "at home we never get snow on christmas so we were like ... oh my gosh it's actually snowing. this amazing and the fact that we get to play volleyball and play in the snow ... it's so much fun." needless to say ... players were quick to get out in the snow and try to finish their teammates in a good snowball fight. nats: snowball fight . and speaking of different conditions ... while many can't wait until the snow is gone. these californians eagerly awaited the the wheather forcaste for the st week anticipation for monday and tuesdayay because the little snowfla showed up on the app." "as soon as me and my roommate woke up we were like ... there is snow !!! .... so we ran to the window opened th

abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more on his sioux city stop. nats: growly speaking ... conservative support from a prominent face in washington. trey gowdy, republican from south carolina and the chair of the investigation into the benghazi attacks has joined marco rubio in his bid for the presidency. he has been campaigning with rubio throughout iowa and was with sot: "i have done my veing i have reached my conclusion ... it's not my job to tell you what to do. i will respectfully ask you to give me a listen and give him consideration and see if he can convince you the way he convinced me." vo: the endorsement could be a big boost for rubio as south carolina is the third state in the primary. in iowa however a dec. 14 quinnipiac university poll of likely republican caucus-goers, shows rubio with 14 percent support. natpop: rubio talking vo: well behind donald trump and ted cruz who lead by nearly double ... that's why he also adressed issues important to the area like the keystone xl pipeline. sot: "i want to be a worldleader in wind a world leader in biofuels in renea

abc9 news reporter lukas voss met with victim's family... and has more. "it was very emotionally draining on all of us and it was hard ... it was reliving the accident really ..." the accident that changed tami's life forever. her daughter tiffany schmitt was killed ... at the hands of a drunk driver ... the unthinkable happened and it "it's always somebody else ... you never think it's going to happen to someone in your family, especially your children." and to tami ... preventing what happened to her is as easy as making that one phone call." "call a friend or a family ... it's not worth the risk ... it's not worth the risk." tiffany ... or just affectionaly called tiff loved kids ... she wanted to become a teacher ... her community was all ... but everything was her family ... "she was a huge huge part of our life to daughter at 28 years old ... your whole life changes. how do you want her like the fun person her sister cassandra was in the car with her that day ... she narrowly survived ... unable to care for her little picked her up ... but that big

abc9 news reporter lukas voss has more nats: drone explaining buying a u-a-s for christmas don't really know what that is? chances are you do know ... and you are unmanned aircraft systems ... or more commonly referred to as drones. they are becoming the hottest tech gadget to have. around 700 thousand are expected to sell this christmas season alone. and while some might think they are a recent phenomenon ... they have actually been around since the 1930's. popular now ... because of one simple reason. sot: " it's only been in the last several year that our technoly has reall gotten to where to cost is really affordable to the average 60 dollars and i can have a drone that has a reasonable picture and i can fly it really easily." while easily bought at your favorite federal aviation administartion has been facing with drones flying shouldn't and there is a couple of easy remember. greenscreen walk: there are up to 900 prosecutions a month for drone users failing to comply with f-a-a regulations. let's look don't fly over 400 feet ... that's when you could affect small aircraft traffic.

abc9 news reporter lukas voss met two california teams... who are enjoying a non-traditional start to the six day event. . "nats: we love snoooowww ! vo: while some locals complain about the snow. some players in championship are doing the opposite ... for them ... the white coating is something special and exciting. sot: "at home we never get snow on christmas so we were like ... oh my gosh it's actually snowing. this amazing and the fact that we get to play volleyball and play in the snow ... it's so much fun." needless to say ... players were quick to get out in the snow and try to finish their teammates in a good snowball fight. nats: snowball fight . and speaking of different conditions ... while many can't wait until the snow is gone. these californians eagerly awaited the white suprise. " we were looking at the wheather forcaste for the past week in anticipation for monday and tuesday because the little snowflake showed up on the app." "as soon as me and my roommate woke up we were like ... there is snow !!! .... so we ran to the wind