Spring. Manynyre the first in their family to go to college. Youre watching kcrgtv9. Now, from your 24 hour news source, this is kcrgtv9 news morning news. First, meteorologis t kaj omara has your first alert forecast, kaj. Plan on a nice december day well see more sunshine than yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in degrees above seasonal normals. The m md air keeps right on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm uystem continues to lk like mainly rain in the area with a transition over to some light snow on the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well be heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, which may cause creeks and streams to risewhile next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday to day mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq q 9 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 iow 56tomorrow night partly cloudy people in North Liberty will be able to keep carrying their weapons on cityowned property. North liberty city leaders will not vote on the issue that caused a lot of reaction. Nearly 20 people spoke at a meeting, mostly opposing the proposed ban. The discussion came up last month when people on the North LibertyLibrary Board questioned the citys policy on guns in cityowned buildings. 07 47 31 they are plenty of gun owners who believe they should bring their gun wherever they are to protect their family. And theres also o enty of residents who believe you dont need to have a weapon in the library North Liberty city leaders also dicussed a possible gun ban in 2013, but the Council Voted against the proposal. Weapons charges in iowa is back in the country after more than a month in cuba. The us mamahals say Shawn Wegmann is wanted on federal firearms charges in iowa. Investigators say in late october, he stole a boat in key west, florida, and used it to tvel to havana. Thats when cuban Border Guards arrested him. The cuban government recently returned him to the us, making him the first fugitive the government has returned since relations formally thawed between the 2 countries. Many students will choose a college or university for many reasons, but its especially helpful to see the school in person. One group plans to cut down the costs of College Visits for many students who will be the first in their family to go to college. Diversity focus, the nonprofit behind the effort, is hoping for 10thousand dollars by the end of the month. It will use that money to offset the cost of something called the Iowa College Tour. The program has been around for three years now. Annually, a group of about 30 students of color take a trip to part of theountry and tour about ten the spring. Each pays 500 for transportation and room and board. The more they raise, the lower the cost. Thats especially helpful for students who might not be able to afford it. Those signed up are excited to go. I want to make sure that the college has diversity. Make sure that nobody is left out with anything. The meal plan of course. Also, make sure campus is what i want when i go to school. Make sure im happy where i am. This year the group is headed south, hitting 11 schools including florida state, florida a m, and albany state. So far the donations page shows about 240 dollars raised. If you want to help, weve got a link posted inside this story on kcrg dot com. Students at Dubuque Senior High School are improving their s snish skills with donated computers. Chad and Laura Chandlee donated the laptops, along with a mobile charging cart, athe beginning of the school year. Students use them for Interactive Games and activities that help them memorize spanish words and teachers say it means students can study at their own pace. Theyre also good for differentiation because this Student Needs to work on this and that Student Needs to work on that. You can have them working on Different Things at the same time. Teachers say the Dubuque School strict would not have been able to afford the computers wiwiout the donation. A delegation of mayors who represent towns along the Mississippi River now have a plan on the agreement has several action items to try and protect surface and ground water. These include initiatives like developing a strategy for monitoring water pollutants, expanding water facilities, and installing more urban catch basins to filter runoff before it gets to rivers. Dubuque mayor roy buol explained during a news conference, that if action is not taken, Climate Change isisoing to put more stress on the Mississippi River. It is critical to improve our sustainable, less we compromise our food and water supply. Ities drink the water and eat the food provided by these basins, so we have the most to lose from compromised water systems. According to the upper Mississippi River basin committee, 18 Million People use supply. After two years, the safe cr program is noticing a positive impact. Safe cr stands for secure and friendly eeironments in cedar rapids. The program focuses on properties that are considered a nuisance because police have been called there or theres been criminal tivity. Safecr keepeptrack of reports. Since the program started in 2013, there have been 354 properties designated as a nuisance. 80 percent of those homes fixed the oblem after receiving a notice. All of those 167 properties have stayed on the list for the past twelve months without having additional calls for service where theyve been billed, and theyve kind of exceeded that the program created a focus group with multiple organizations who recommended changes to the program. One of thosos changee would make sure those with Mental Health problems receive help, instead of worrying about getting a violation. The Cedar Rapids City Council will vote on those changes december 15th. In a tv9 followup this morning. The Cedar Rapids Public Library wants to know from the public what services are important to them. Voters rejected a tax levy last month. Now the library will l nsider changinin hours and cututng some services in order to stay on budget. The meeting is from 5 30 to 6 30 this evening at the downtown library. Ckets to the rose bowl are sold out on ticketmaster this momoing. Hawkeye fans hoping to cheer on their team in pasadena will have to pay a pretty steep price for tickets. Thats because the rose bowl allowed early ticket sales before teams were announced. Sites like stubhub. Tickets on the site are going for around 600 dollars. And expensive tickets canead to scams. Ui athletics offifials say if you try to buy a ticket off the secondary market make sure youre going through a reputable source. The 81 rose bowl it was a big deal and everyone wanted to go, but i dont think it was quite the craziness as this is, and i do know back then there was a lot of counterfeit tickets, i think today people are a little more savvy that that can happen, id be very carefulp on the secondary market. And the rose bowl is also big business for retailers. Tailgate in iowa city put out these designs for shirts theyll begin selling next week. And just like tickets, theres already a waiting list. The hawkeyes play in the rose bowl on friday, jauary first at four p, iowa time. U can watch the game on espn. Rolling out a new product. And new research showowhidden meaning behind your texting grammar. Plan on a nice december day well see more sunshine than yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in many areas. This is about 20 degrees above seasonal normals. The mild air keeps r rht on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm system the area with a transition over to some light snow on the back side of thsystem, if the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well be heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, which may cause creeks and streams to rise. While next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday today mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq 49 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 winds s 515 alo 39 dbq 37 iow 39tomorrow partly sunny, winds w 1525 alo 53 dbq 53 iow 56tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3440 winds sw 515 alo 34 dbq 34 iow 36 now heres abcs reena ninan and Richard Bacon wit hey there, in todays techbytes, apple release a new product completely unannounced. The new Smart Battery case could keep it running for up to 25 hours. Competing cases last longer and are cheaper, price tag, 99 bucks. And if you feel like you spend a majority of your dayton internet, youre not alone. A new poll shows 21 of americans admit to being online almost constantly. Threequarters use the internet how you end a sentence in a text message matters. A study finds ending wit a period makes it look less sincere. And that makes a text even more sincere and thats our final word of texting period. Boom. Those are your techbyte with my moderate to severe ulcerative colitis, the possibility of a flare was almost always on my mind. Thinking about what to avoid, where to go. And how to deal with my uc. To me, that was normal. Until i talked to my doctor. She told me that humira helps people like me get uc under control and keep it under control when certain medications havent worked well enough. Humira canower your ability t fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. Before treatment, get tested for tb. Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Raise your expections. Ask your gastroenterologist about humira. Republican frontrunner Donald Trumps call to block muslims from entering the United States is being met with a wave of vocal opposition. In an interview with abcs barbara walters, trump says he thinks people will come around to his side. Abcs lana zak in washington has the latest. Donald trump has jumped the shark hes gone too far sharp condemnation for donald trump from Everyday Americans to fellow republicans Lindsay Graham on cam, new day 12 8 2015 you know how to make America Great again . Tell donald trump to go to hell. . All in response to trumps most recent controversial proposal 19 36 00 trump donald j. Trump is calling for a total and c cplete shutdown of muslims entering the United States the head of congressiona l doesnt represest their views paul ryan oncam 12 8 2015 this is not what this party stands for, but for young muslim americans, its hard to see e republican frontrunners opinion as a oneoff. Teacher these children are kinda Walking Around carrying the weight of their religion on thier shoulders. My teachers told me specifically not only to hold my head up high. Im used to hearing things like go back to your country. Really discriminatory phases like this and im really sick of hearing it, this is my country. Gfx 10 on the front cover of the new york daily news, a paraphrase of that famous poem about the hollocaust ititeads. When he came for the muslims , i did not speak out. B b in an interview with abc news barbara walters, trump disputes the comparisons to hitler. 141430 are you a bigot . 141432 not at all. Probably the least of anybody youve ever met. Of killing three people at a planned parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs today. They will charge Robert Lewis Dear with firstdegree murdeeand other charges. Death penalty. He also wounded nine people in the attack. An eastern iowa teen has an idea of how long hell have to serve. A judge sentenced the fourteen year r d for killing a fifteen year old in cedar rapids earlier this year. This is a live look at on right after the break with a look at your wednesday forecast. Meteorologist kaj omara joins us now with your first alert forecast. Plan on a nice december day well see more sunshine than yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in many areas. This is about 20 degrees above seasonal normals. The mild air keeps right on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm system continues to look the area with a transition over to some light snow on the back side of the system, if the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well be heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, ich may cause creeks and streams to rise. While next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday today mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq 49 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 winds s 515 alo 39 dbq 37 iow 39tomorrow partly sunny, mild high 5258 winds w 1525 alo 53 dbq 53 iow 56tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3440 thanks, kaj. Girl scouts have sold two and a half million boxes of cookies online this year. This is the second year for selling on the web. Now, instead of setting up cookie stands, some troops are setting up their own cookie selling websites. The Organization Says all Girl Scout Councils will use the digital platform by 2017. And a throwback to the 90s crystal pepsi is about to make a limited comeback. Pepsico announced a contest that will award the contest is tomorrow and friday on the pepsi pass app. Crystal pepsi first debuted in 1992, but the company pulled it from shelves in 94. Pepsi wont say if the sweepstakes is a prelude to a more permanent return. 2016 democratic president ial hopefuls are trying to gain support of eastern iowa voters. And the frontrunner is holding a town hall today. Where you can see Hillary Clinton, next on tv9. Good wednesday morning. Youre looking live on our city cam. M. Today. Its december ninth and heres what you need to know. The North LibertyCity Council Decides not to vote on a proposed gun ban on City Property after dozens show up in opposition. One Asbestos RemovalCompany Shares safe practices after a report shows construction workers, staff and students at a Cedar Rapids School could have been exposed to the toxic substance. Local muslims react to Donald Trumps statements about banning all those practicing islam from entering the United States. Safe cr says its making a positive impact in the community. 80 percent of nuisance properties have avoided issues since the program started two years ago. And diversity focus is raising money to help send students on a college tour around the country next spring. Many are the first in their family to go to college. Youre watching kcrgtv9. Now, from your 24 hour news first, meteorologis t kaj omara has your first alert forecast, kaj. Plan on a nice december day well see more sunshine than yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in many areas. This is about 20 degrees above seasonal normals. The mild air keeps right on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm system continues to look like mainly rain in the area with a transition over to some light snow on the back side of the system, if the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well be heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, which may cause creeks and streams to rise. While next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday to day mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq 49 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 winds s 515 alo 39 dbq 37 iow 39tomorrow partly sunny, iow 56tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3440 winds sw 515 alo 34 dbq 34 iow 36 one person is in the hospital in waterloo this morning with a stab wound. Police responded to 518 locust street just before 130 this morning. The Police Department watch commander says the victim is expected to be ok and they have not arrested anyone. The Cedar Rapids CommunitySchool District and a company it hired are dealing with apparent problems removing asbestos from washington high school. A dnr report will force the district and the company to meet with the Environmental Protection commission in coming months. All of the groups involved will get a say at the meeting. The dnr wants this to go to the Attorney Generals Office for enforcement action. The School District responded to the findings by saying the district is not aware of anyone who has tested positive for asbestos as a result of their presence on the job site. We reached out to Abatement Specialties the Company Named in the investigation and it failed to return our calls. We spoke with an Asbestos Removal company in waterloo that is not related advanced Environmental Testing and Abatement Incorporated says it works every day to make sure they are safely disposing of the mineral at construction sites. Asbestos can cause serious Health Problems if its inhaled. The Company Owner says he finds it in everything from floor tiles to roofing material. The workers create a containment area at the construction site that only the Asbestos Removal crew can enter. 20 36 27 just keeping the fibers from releasing. Any time we do asbestos you need to use wet removal. Thats a crucial part of it. You just dont want visible emissions. So again, if you are taking some floor tile up off the basement or a school, we mist the floor before doing it. The company says it carefully seals the asbestos material inside a bag or container and disposes of it. Were told the goal is to make sure the air is all clear by the time theyre done, so no one is exposed. A cedar rapids teenager will spend at least 4 years in a juvenile facility for killing at 15 14yearold robert humbles shot and killed Aaron Richardson in september. Police say the shooting happened when two rival groups met near redmond park. Humbles pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, reckless use of a firearm, and going armed with intent. He faces 25 years in prison. He will be in a juvenile facility until he turns 18. A judge will then decide whether to release him or make him serve the rest of his prison sentence. Democratic president ial candidate Hillary Clinton is in eastern iowa today to lay out her plans for the economy. This morning, shell take a tour of cedar valley techworks in waterloo. She will then hold a town hall at the five Sullivan Brothers convention center. Thats at 12 45 pm. And mrs. Clinton will finish her day in the des moines area, with a stop in urbandale. Another democratic president ial candidate who has made plenty of stops in iowa but without the bump in the polls will return. Former Maryland Governor martin he told supporters thahe offers a new type of leadership to the position, citing his common argument that he has actually run a populated state. 07 45 06 i believe in doing things that actually work. My training was mostly as mayor, as governor. I had to balance budgets every year and i had to get things done. Thats what we have to do as a nation. Thats what im betting my candidacy on. Republican president ial frontrunner donald trump faces a lot of criticism from both Political Parties for comments he made about muslims. He said monday that the us should ban all muslims from entering the country. And trump is not backing down from his proposal. Members of the Muslim Community in eastern iowa are condemningrumps call to ban muslim immigrants or visitors. Cedar rapids shares a long history with members of islam. Muslims from lebanon were pioneers in early industry arriving in the late 1800s. The mother mosque in northwest cedar rapids was the specifically as a mosque in all of north america. For those members to hear a major president ial candidate say close the borders is distressing. Im not really going to be upset about a politician that hopefully has no chance to be elected. Now if he does get elected, as president , it says a lot about our country and thats unfortunate. Local muslims worry comments like trumps would encourage people to target members of that faith. They point to a severed pigs head thrown against the door of a mosque in proof its already happening. Decorah have issued a statement calling for unity with muslims. It says in part, an alarming our nation. We repudiate the hostility and hatred aimed at muslims in and beyond our community. We pledge to challenge islamophobia whenever and wherever it occurs. Many faculty, staff and alumni have also signed the online statement. Tuition can be a shock. But just setting up a College Visit for a student can also be expensive. A group in eastern iowa hopes to help by raising money for those who need it to see the campus for themselves. Tv9s Forrest Saunders says the group is currently behind on its goal. Seniors dahmie steel and Brandie Horton both have big dreams for the future. Dahmie is leaning toward architecture or nursing, brandie law or journalism. Both know iowa has some fine schools. But they also want to keep their out of state options on the table. Dahmies mother actually insists on it. Im very terrified of leaving my mom, but she definitely wants me to get out. I do want to get out for myself and see what the world has to offer me,trouble is, checking out a bunch of country isnt cheap. Thats where the Iowa College Tour comes in. The primary purpose of Iowa College Tour is give students of color, primarily from cedar rapids, iowa city area the opportunity to visit, tour and experience colleges all around the country. This will be the third year the program has operated. It gives groups of at least 30 area seniors a trip to about ten schools in a week during spring. This year, the kids are heading south touring places like florida state, albany state or North Carolina state. When you apply to colleges, you can always apply online. You can send your applications in. Its a little different exposure when youre on the ground. You can meet the University President or admissions councilors. Students pay 500 each to take part. But diversity focus, the non profit behind the effort, is trying to raise ten thousand by the end of the month to cut the cost for those with a tight budget. So far their Campaign Online shows 240 raised. A free trip sounds great to students like dahmie and brandie, but if not just the chance to go makes them smile. Im very thankful for the opportunity that someone as an african american, is in our corner to actually do this for us. Sometimes you dont see a lot of that. Im very great full for the opportunity. That was tv9s Forrest Saunders if you want to help out, weve got a link inside this story on our website, kcrg dot com. Action program or hacap is looking for people to holiday season. So far, hacap has paired 210 donors with local families. 135 other families. Donors who adopt families buy them gifts for the holidays. To hacap dot org. Some children in eastern iowa will get a presents today to open on Christmas Morning when they may not have otherwise. The Salvation Army will start delivery toys and food today to more than 1,800 children. There were more than 100 locations throughout linn county for toys for tots drop off locations this year. All the families receiving these gifts and food have pre registered starting as early as october. One eastern iowa Animal Shelter says its at capacity because of the winter cooldown. And its offering holiday adoption deals on some of its animals to help them find loving up next. This mornings weather wise question. Meteorologist kaj omara is up joins us now. Plan on a nice december day yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in many areas. This is about 20 degrees above seasonal normals. The mild air keeps right on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm system continues to look like mainly rain in the area with a transition over to some light snow on the back side of the system, if the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, which may cause creeks and streams to rise. While next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday to day mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq 49 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 winds s 515 alo 39 dbq 37 iow 39tomorrow partly sunny, mild high 5258 winds w 1525 alo 53 dbq 53 night partly cloudy low 3440 iow 36 thanks kaj. Space is hard to come by in one now the city council is trying to find a solution that would affect the fire station and city hall. That and more still to come on tv9. Several Washington City departments are sharing cramped quarters. And Council Members cant agree on a way to move forward, leaving city hall, police, and fire workers without a space solution. The city is now looking at two options. The first would mean building a near the existing building. But Council Members would need a referendum to make that happen. The second option would move city hall to an old library building. But some are worried renovation could have hidden costs. Either way, the citys administrator says the city needs to make a decision. On the old library project,the next steps are to take bigger steps in terms of hiring an architect, a project manager and you cant plunge into a large project like that if youre ambivalent or not sure. The Council Hopes to decide which option to pursue after the first of the year. Principals and School Leaders in cedar rapids are hoping to close the student achievement gap. They met yesterday for the first equity summit at the district headquarters. The district defines equity as improving instruction for all students. And the summit was a way for School Leaders to share their best practice for helping on goals, such as closing the student achievement gap. For example, the iowa assessments show 49 of africanamerican students in the districts grade level for reading. Thats more than double the rate of white students behind in reading. So we want to push those top students and accelerate the bottom students within that gap. That was an interesting part of the equity summit process because every building has a different goal thats specific to their building. The district will hold equity summits like this twice each school year, and its planning for the next one to be in may or june. In a tv9 followup this morning. Parents who use a Child Care Service at a Cedar Rapids Church may have to find another option. St. Pauls United Methodist church voted to start a multimillion dollar renovation project. The renovations will put the affordable Child Care Program in jeopardy. The church voted 137 votes yes, and 6 no. The task force created to address the program will meet next monday to look for solutions. Caution against giving pets as christmas presents we hear this every year. But the iowa city animal care and Adoption Center says it needs people to adopt more animals. It says it is overcrowded with animals as the weather has gotten cooler. Last week, officials said they had more than 70 cats and kittens in the facility. The 25 fee includes neutering, vaccinations and a microchip. Heres our morning mugshot on your wednesday. Westfield elementary in robins is hosting its First University of iowa mini dance marathon. Its december 11th from six to eight. Students will dance to celebrate the survivors and the kids who have passed away throughout the year. Funds raised will help families with children getting treatments at the university of iowa childrens hospital. If you have a nonprofit event or organization youd like to see featured. Send us an email. Mugshot at kcrgdotcom. Hey this holiday, u. S. Cellulars giving you 15 gigs of data for just 70 [ gasps ] youre getting data. Ponysized data . U. S. Cellular sized data. 15 gigs of good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. Id like 100 youre getting 400 in promo cards yes switch to u. S. Cellular and get 15 gigs of data for just 70. Plus 400 in promo cards. You head out the door on your wednesday. North liberty city leaders guns on cityowned property. Nearly 20 people spoke at yesterdays meeting, mostly opposing the proposed ban. 2016 democratic frontrunner hillary iowa today. Shell tour cedar valley techworks in waterloo this town hall at the five Sullivan Brothers convention 12 45. The Cedar Rapids Public Library wants the publics because of a rejected tax levy, the library will have to change hours and cut some services in order to stay on budget. The meeting is from 5 30 to 6 30 this evening at the downtown library. Now, one last look at this mornings weather, kaj. Plan on a nice december day well see more sunshine than yesterday, with highs up around 50 degrees in many areas. This is about 20 degrees above seasonal normals. The mild air keeps right on going into the the weekend, and its at that point that the pattern will shift to a more active one. At this point, this storm system continues to look like mainly rain in the area with a transition over to some light snow on the back side of the system, if the cold air can get here. The bigger issue may very well be heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorm s. A widespread 1 2 of rain is likely this weekend, which may cause creeks and streams to rise. While next week is cooler, we still are running above average. Enjoy your wednesday today mostly sunny high 4753 winds w 515 alo 49 dbq 49 iow 50tonight partly cloudy low 3541 winds s 515 alo 39 dbq 37 partly sunny, mild high 5258 winds w 1525 alo 53 dbq 53 iow 56tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3440 winds sw 515 alo 34 dbq 34