Transcripts For KCRG KCRG TV9 Morning News 20161118

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, the mild air that has been with us most of the month will be gone very soon. Our strong cold front is still on track to push through waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the frontal passage, with a rapid drop in temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and terms of the next good rain chance, thats still on track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Nd n50low 20 esidentelecda trump is ending t as he prepares to take over the white house. The latest visitors to trump tower in new york city are the new contenders for toplevel government positions. Heres president elect trump is making peace with former rival mitt romney. A republican who had some of the harshest criticism of him. Romney sot think of Donald Trumps personal qualities, the bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third grade theatrics. Trump sot i mean, mitt romneys made a total fool of himself. Now an unexpected change secretary of state. Among other candidates, another former rival South Carolina governor nikki haley who was also vocal about her opposition to the then candidate. Haley sot during anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. As trumps team works to get key players in place, abc news is learning lt. General Michael Flynn, whos been a contender for National Security advisory in the new Trump Administration , has reportedly emerged as frontrunner for the job. Flynn sot its going really well and its a great transition. And the president elect is in full Campaign Promises about jobs. Tweeting about working hard with the chairman of ford to keep the lincoln plant in kentucky, rather than moving it to mexico. Turns out, the Company Never planned to move the plant to mexico. Jn tag at the center of trumps transition, his soninlaw jared kushner. Its against for the law for trump to appoint a Family Member for a job at the white house, so kushner is now exploring whether he could serve as an unpaid advisor. Jn abc news washington. This just into the newsroom. Abc news has learned that trump named Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as the National Security adviser. Iowa democrats are figuring out their next moves after republicans won full control of State Government last week. Andy mcguire is the chair of the Iowa Democratic in nearly all of the races for federal offices, and gaining firm control of the iowa senate. She says there are some weaknesses the party must work on. I dont think were in shambles do we need to rebuild . Absolutely. You can see that we have a problem with rural voters. Ive been to 99 counties. I hear rural people feel theyre not represented well. The Iowa Supreme Court selected mark cady of fort dodge to retained him on the States High Court last week. A judge has sentenced a cedar rapids homeless man to another 50 years in prison. A jury previously convicted Travis Standlee of Second Degree murder. That earned him his first 50 year prison sentence. He killed two Homeless People in cedar rapids just days apart in september of last year. Police say he first killed Raymond Ursino after the two got into a fight in downtown. Authorities let him go when the citing a lack of evidence. But just days later, he killed sharon mead near the coe college campus. A federal Appeals Court has blocked the release of Brendan Dassey in wisconsin. The Netflix Documentary making a murderer gave dasseys case renewed attention. Dassey and his uncle, steven avery, were convicted of killing Teresa Halbach in 2005. The 27 year old was set to go free today. But wisconsins attorney general filed a motion to stop his release, pending the appeal of conviction. The state of missouri will pay 9 Million Dollars to this iowa mans family after his death in 2014. Brandon ellingson died while in the custody of the Missouri State highway patrol. Trooper Anthony Piercy was arresting the 20 year old on suspicion of boating while intoxicated on the lake of the ozarks. Ellingson is from central iowa. During the arrest, ellingson fell into the water while wearing handcuffs and an improperly secured life vest. Death. Ellingson father says the settlement is not much comfort. So, you know with him pleading innocent, is no sign that hes repented on what he did to my son, so you know an apology now i thinks a little late Missouri State Officials Say theyve since made changes to the training procedures for troopers on the water. Police in bismarck, north dakota issued an Emergency Alert after a scuffle between pipeline demonstrator s and police. There is a going on in downtown bismarck, please avoid the downtown bismarck until further notice. Authorities arrested 8 people and shut down traffic while more than 100 demonstrators occupied the citys business district. Officials say one protester attempted to grab an officers weapon. Thats when police decided to notify the public about what was happening with an Emergency Alert. Some protesters say the use of force wasnt justified. People living near the we come here in prayer, to pray, to raise awareness, and for them to treat us like that is inhumane. We dont have a political side, we are not for or against oil or the pipeline, we just want a safe community. Protesters have been trying to stop the construction of the pipeline for months. They say the project will hurt the environment and destroy some native american sites. Supporters of the pipeline say it will boost the economy and reduce us in the next couple of years, mount trashmore, the old cedar rapids landfill, will transform into this. City Officials Say the Recreation Area will have trails and a nice view of the city. The plan for limited recreation at the old landfill site on a avenue sw first came up more than a decade ago. The work was put on hold when that landfill had to reopen to accept 2008 flood debris. Now, the process is moving forward. Next month, directors of the Solid Waste Agency will host a public hearing to then, they will select a contractor. Officials say they could start the first project, a scenic overlook, next spring. The Solid Waste Agency also received grant money to create trails to the top of the landfill. But creating a scenic overlook is the first goal. The big thing is whenever we have somebody come to the top they always say its a great view so what we want to do first is we want to make that view available to all linn county residents the expected price tag for the first part of the project is about 750,000 dollars. The site will continue to o Waste Collection and some appliance recycling. This week, airstrikes have been hitting the syrian city of aleppo bringing buildings to the ground. A group of volunteers got lucky and found one boy still alive under the rubble. Good morning its. The mild air that has been with waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the frontal passage, with a rapid drop in temperature to around 40 accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Wind nw 510. Low 20 heres a first look at good trt oc in this mornings gma first look, jason and melissa along with their 2yearold and 8monthold daughters vanished on tuesday. This morning jason says the family van got stuck in mud trying to tree stranding them. It got dark and we spent the night on the side of the road after i made a shelter. Thursday morning they heard on the radio people were out searching for them. They ran into a local hunter who called 911. Yeah. Search and rescue has been looking for you guys. You said theyre dehydrated. Yeah, a little bit but they look pretty good really. This morning the family of four is waking up at home healthy and thankful. And happy to be alive. And well have more on their harrowing ordeal coming up at 7 00 a. M. With your gma first looks im colleen loves helping the environment. And dale, well he loves colleen. They have their differences. But they make it work, most of the time. And at least they agree one thing. New tide purclean its the first biobased detergent. With the cleaning power of tide. So you can actually clean your clothes and still. Do your part. New tide purclean. The first biobased detergent with the cleaning power of tide. If its got to be clean, z268pz zixz there, they face heavy resistance from isis militants. Early this morning, Officials Say both sides used airstrikes, automatic fire, and artillery in the battle. They also reported 1 soldier died and some civilians are injured. Iraqi forces launched an operation to retake the city from isis a month ago. Mosul is the second largest city in iraq. Airstrikes and barrel bombs have killed at least 100 people and hurt dozens more in Syrian Civil Defense volunteer group also known as White Helmets were able to rescue this boy after an airstrike. The Group Reported more than 40 airstrikes hit rebelheld neighborhood s yesterday. Thick smoke continues to pour over the North Carolina mountains this morning as wildfires burn out of control. The Governors Office issued a ten thousand dollar reward for any information on who started them. North carolinas governor says the cost of the damage could be more than 12Million Dollars. Parts of minnesota are waiting for the first snowfall and the States Department of transportatio n says its ready for whats coming. Were not going to see snow here for a while. Here is a live look at. Us now with your the mild air that has been with us most of the month will be gone very soon. Our strong cold front is still on track to push through waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Wind nw 510. Low 20 first snow storm of the season. The National Weather service says the unseasonably mild weather is likely to turn into blizzard conditions. Up to a foot of snow could fall in parts of minnesota. System expected to also hit nebraska and the dakotas. While homeowners are preparing to fight the elements, the Minnesota Department of transportatio n says it is ready. The trucks are ready, it doesnt take long to get a plow attached to a truck, the operators are ready, they are trained, all of our operators have had a experience behind the wheel. So if youre heading north today, the dot is asking all drivers to plan ahead, slow down and pay attention. Police in cedar rapids say a chicago. The department is trying to learn more about how much influence there is as they work to stop violence in the city. Stay with your 24 hour news live look at. Its november 18th. Heres what you need to know today. Cedar Rapids Police say they believe theres an influence on crime in the city from chicago. Although, its tough to exactly tell how much. The suspect in the killings of 2 officers near des moines reportedly wrote a note to police apologizing and praising the Department Days before the shootings. A judge has sentenced travis the death of a homeless woman. He was previously sentenced to 50 years for the death of Raymond Ursino. President elect donald trump has named Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as the National Security adviser. Hes still trying to decide who will fill the secretary of state job. Within a couple of a years, an old cedar rapids landfill will turn into a park. Mt. Trashmore will have trails and a Recreation Area. 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. The mild air that has been with us most of the month will be gone very soon. Our strong cold front is still on track to push through waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around day will occur just prior to the frontal passage, with a rapid drop in temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain chance, thats still on track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Wind nw 510. In chicago is cedar rapids. Kcrgtv9s Forrest Saunders talked with cedar Rapids Police, who say the proximity is just one of the reasons for chicagos impact. Sgt. Doug doyle is a 10 year veteran of the cedar Rapids Police force. Like many officers, time and time again, hes heard people in the Community Say chicago is a main contributor of local crime. I think theres a lot of people that push the blame there to the people coming from chicago. Chica go has made a lot of headlines recently for its high crime rates. Had more than 500 total homicides in 2016, according to the chicago tribune. That outpaces bigger cities of la and new york. Combined, those two had about 100 fewer homicides through late august. The sgt. Can recall hearing Horror Stories from visitors to cedar rapids. A few months back, i met a family that was in town. Her children werent allowed to go play in the front yard for fear of what may happen to them, for fear of being shot. Theres little doubt that troubling cedar rapids, which, by car, is fewer than four hours away. Police chief wayne jerman recently weighed in on the question. Is there an influence, sure. And were aware of it. Its hard to pinpoint exactly how much of an influence, though. Arrest records may offer some insight. Data from crpd shows last year nearly 16 percent of those arrested were born in illinois, about 12hundred of 77hundred arrests. Its nearly the same for the highest number of arrests behind those born in iowa the majority of arrests. Other states were negligible. Weve got to point out the data has two big holes. One we dont know if all the people arrested were from chicago specifically just that they were from illinois. We also dont know how long those arrested had been in cedar rapids. Ultimat theyre seeing a chicago crime influence for a couple reasons. The first of which, that major metros always have at least some kind of impact on crime in nearby towns. Minneapolis, kansas city, st. Louis, detroit. Weve seen and arrested people from all those cities as well. People relocate. They come here and they bring some of those lifestyles with them. Another reason. This stuff. Heroin. Cedar rapids, like many communities across the country is seeing upped numbers of heroin overdoses as the drug becomes more and more available and affordable. Dea agents call it an epidemic. They say chicago is heroin found on cedar rapids streets that the community is a destination city for drug dealers. Chicago, since its a major metropolitan area, its technically the source area for the heroin and what theyre doing is transplanting people to the area to distribute that heroin. When it comes to fighting back the chicago influence dea agents say theyre focused on finding the primary suppliers who bring heroin into the us. Cutting them off will trickle down to communities like cedar rapids in time. Nat for other crimes, like gun violence cedar rapids has turned to a new program doesnt focus on curbing chicago crime specifically, its much broader. Pcat is a Flexible Team of officers that are sent to patrol atrisk parts of town. Officers work in cars are on foot, for varying hours, depending on what a situation dictates. Theyre there to get to know people and their problems. Theyre establishing relationships, positive relationships. Theyre having an influence. On the offenders and their families to give them alternatives sgt. Doyle is one of the pcat officers and a big believer in the program. He thinks its already having an impact since its inception about a year ago. Data suggests it could be. In september, the crpd reported overall Violent Crime in town was down slightly by about a percentage point, compared to nat officer when it comes to chicagos influence, sgt. Doyle only has anecdotal evidence. But, the way he sees it former chicagoans are mostly coming here for one reason and it isnt to commit crime. Theyre truly trying to escape what there is in chicago. I think there is a lot of good people that come from chicago. I think some crime comes from chicago but a lot of it comes from cedar rapids. Even though info is limited, the stats seem to agree. In cedar rapids, forrest Tennessee Police say 1 person is dead and several others are injured following a shooting at a toddlers birthday party. Officials say at least 7 people were shot. It happened in dyersburg, which is about an hour north of memphis, a neighbors say the 21year old woman who died is the mother of the birthday child. Police are searching for up to 3 people they think are involved. The us senate has passed a bill to improve care for suicidal veterans. Iowa senator Chuck Grassley says the bill is more necessary now than ever for Iowa Veterans following recent suicides. Grassley cosponsored the Senate Version of the no veteran crisis line call should go unanswered bill. Iowa congressman david young it would require a plan to ensure that someone calling the Veterans Crisis line or the backup call center gets an answer in a timely manner. Two Iowa Veterans have committed suicide since august. One of them was curtis gearhart. His family says he took his life earlier this month after doctors told him he had to wait five to six weeks to get an appointment for severe headaches. And the va Inspector General is investigating the case of iowa veteran brandon ketchum. He took his life after the va allegedly denied him is now on its way to president obamas desk. The federal government says the number of people who are homeless across the country has gone down. The department of housing and urban development collected data from across the country on the number of people who are homeless. It gathered information on who were the homeless, the percentage compared to the city and states population, and if the homeless were in shelters. Iowa had one of the lowest rates of unsheltered homeless at 4. 7 percent. Looking at the Homeless Population in iowa according to this study. The more than 3,000, down slightly from last year. About 1 2 of those people are in families with children. And 5. 2 are unaccompanie d youth. And 5. 5 of the homeless in iowa are veterans. And 5. 2 are chronically homeless. People in Clayton County will see more sand mining despite Health Concerns from people who live near a site. This week, a county board approved a proposal to expand from pattison sand company. It means pattison will be able to do underground sand mining on garnavillo. The company says the sand will be used for fracking in other states. Fracking is the process of removing gas from underground. The practice is controversial and has led to earthquakes in oklahoma. Dubuque is taking applications for a flood resistance program. The city hosted an informational meeting last night for the Bee Branch Healthy homes resiliency program. Officials say the 8 million the city is getting can be used for foundation and basement window repairs and sump pump program can help reimburse her for what shes lost during flooding. Valete brown, dubuque resident weve lost a water heater, and weve lost our washer and dryer a couple, once for sure. The money for the Program Comes from the Us Department of housing and urban development. Thousands of people are taking advantage of a new uberlike service at iowa state. The University Says the Safe Ride Program there has been around for years. Now new technology is increasing requests. Weather wise question. Meteorologist kaj omara is up right after the break. Its. Meteorologist kaj omara joins us now. The mild air that has been with us most of the month waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the frontal passage, with a rapid drop in temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain chance, thats still on track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Wind nw 510. Low 20 the mild air that has been with us most of the month will be gone very soon. Our strong cold front is still on track to push through waterloo around 9am, iowa city and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the frontal temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain chance, thats still on track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. Wind nw 1530. High 40 tom. Night clear and cold. Wind nw 510. Thanks kaj. The university is trying to figure out the back story for these lions and looking for your 24 hour news source, kcrg tvnine. Its. News source, kcrg tvnine. Its Des Moines Area Police officers wrote a note to one of the departments just days before the shootings. In it, he praises the officers and apologizes. On october 29th, scott Greene Police department were absolute heroes. He also apologized for prior runins and said he was getting treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. Greene faces two counts of first degree murder. For the the deaths of urbandale officer Justin Martin and Des Moines Police Sergeant Tony beminio. Police say he ambushed them while they were sitting in their patrol cars on november second. Iowa state says adding an app to a Safety Program is helping it gain traction among students. A Safety Escort Service was the iowa state campus for years. Now, the University Says a new app called safe ride has boosted the number of ride requests. On the new app, you can request a ride and watch the van on a realtime map. Almost 5,000 people have used the uberlike Service Since midaugust. You know weve seen a large increase i think in the last month weve doubled our numbers since we launched in august almost 1700 rides last month alone and i would imagine a lot of that is due to the current tension, climate, environment on campus and across rides are available to anyone concerned about walking on campus between 6 pm and 6 am. Vans will take riders to any University Areas or housing. The university of iowa is turning to crowd funding to help supply a new exhibit at the museum of natural history. The University Says the exhibit will display a lion and lioness. The pair may have spent time at the former zoo in city park, but their true origin is unknown. The university is using its own website, similar me to help raise ten thousand dollars. The Fund Raising Site is called gold rush and launched wednesday. The money will also pay for students to research the lions origin. 09 06 13;14we were looking for a way to engage a broader audience for some of our smaller projects in particular for faculty projects for some undergraduate and graduate student projects. The University Says it will soon open the gold rush website to students interested in fundraising website. The go cedar rapids Tourism Group has developed a new mobile app that will help expand your food and drink horizons. They call it thecrale trail. For 30 dollars a year, you can sign up and have exclusive access to deals on food and beer at certain places. Go cedar rapids says the idea is to get people out to try new experiences. As importantly the residents of the cedar rapids area in eastern iowa as they come to cedar rapids, get them into a different neighborhood than their used to, different restaurant that they havent tried jus ale trail can buy the pass at any cedar rapids hyvee or online. We have a link under this story on kcrg. Com. More than 20 children will officially have new families after today. Three judges in waterloo will finalize adoptions today. This is video from a similar event in cedar rapids. The waterloo courthouse with a reception afterwards. Officials say this is not only an opportunity to celebrate those families but also raise awareness to the hundreds of iowa children in need of a family. November is National Adoption month. Now for our morning mugshot. The holy familys 3rd annual Christmas Spectacular is tomorrow. The event is an opportunity to do some Christmas Shopping from more than 20 vendors in one place. It also serves as a fundraiser for the Holy Family Catholic School system in cedar rapids. The parenta the Christmas Spectacular is from 10 am to 4 pm tomorrow at the st. Jude gymnasium. Kaj has one more check of your forecast next. Veteran suicides. Senator Chuck Grassley and congressman david young are behind it. The bill would ensure that someone calling the Veterans Crisis line gets a timely answer. Abc news has learned this morning that president elect donald trump has named Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as the National Security adviser. Trump is also considering mitt romney and governor nikki haley for secretary of state. Now, one last look at this mornings weather, kaj. The mild air that has been with us most of the month will be gone very soon. Our strong cold front is still on track and cedar rapids areas around 10am, and the dubuque area around 11am. Highs for the day will occur just prior to the frontal passage, with a rapid drop in temperature to around 40 by sunset. In addition, very strong wind will accompany the front with gusts around 40 mph possible. This weekend, plan on cold temperatures to be in the area with highs only around 40 and lows in the lower 20s. The wind will make it feel colder. In terms of the next good rain chance, thats still on track to move in around tuesday wednesday of next week. Have a good weekend today windy with isolated showers and falling temperatures. Wind w 2040. High 62 tonight a few sprinkles flur ries are possible, staying windy. Wind nw 2040. Low 29 tomorrow mostly sunny, windy and much cooler. 510. Low 20 we certainly hope your is off to a good start. Good morning america is next. And well be back with a local news update in about 20 minutes. Also make sure to join us at eleven for the kcrg tv9 news at midday. Have a great good morning, america. Breaking news. Donald trump names retired general Michael Flynn as National Security adviser according to a senior trump transition official. Hes also set to meet former rival mitt romney to discuss secretary of state. The transition kicking into high gear as the president elect holds his first with a head of state. Blizzard warning. The first major snowstorm of the season. Shutting down highways, sparking deadly pileups and delaying flights. Creating a travel nightmare. Less than a week before thanksgiving. Now more cold and snow in the forecast. Terrifying road rage. The chilling 911 call. The woman behind the wheel, she said she was attacked by a stranger. Hes right behind me hitting me. Did he hit your car . Yes. Her incredible escape from what she calls her 25 minutes of