First, meteorologis t kaj omara has your first alert forecast, kaj. Our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today m sunny, windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 fire crews in waterloo are the scene of a fire right now. They are at 1720 jefferson street thats just off of us highway 218 west of the river. We have a crew on the way. Stay with tv9 and kcrg dot com and we will update you with the latest information. The next round of preliminary voting for president ial candidates is tomorrow. The South Carolina primary for republican candidates and the nevada caucus for Democratic Candidates both happen tomorrow. Both republicans and democrats town halls last night. In the republican event in South Carolina, religion was a main topic of conversation. This comes after pope francis said donald trump was not christian for wanting to build a wall at the us border with mexico. During a town hall in las vegas, both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton took jabs at each other. Both are trying to win over minority voters. An iowa city man will spend almost 12 years in federal prison for assaulting a corrections officer in southern arizona. Federal prosecutors say 41yearold Howard Sawyer received a 139month prison sentence yesterday. He did plea guilty. Prosecutors say sawyer was prison in tucson because he didnt register as a sex offender. Officials told sawyer his housing reassignment request had been denied, he punched a corrections officer in his eye. Investigators say the officer suffered permanent vision impairment. Investigators are looking into what caused an unusual odor that forced a passenger plane to land in waterloo. Says an American Airlines envoy flight was going from sioux falls to chicago yesterday afternoon. It was carrying 26 passengers and three crew members. Some says they smelled the odor shortly after takeoff. The plane made an Emergency Landing in waterloo. A backup aircraft flew the passengers to chicago a few hours later. The Hamilton CountySheriffs Office is investigating an incident where a man died after falling off of a cell tower. Police say 28yearold Stefan Watermann was doing construction on the tower in eastern Hamilton County. The anamosa man fell from the tower just before 5 pm. Dubuques emergency 9 11 system needs a multiMillion Dollar upgrade. The countys 911 board agreed to set aside 700 thousand dollars for a total overhaul of its radio system. The 911 board says they have to make the switch to a new, higher tech system. Their Current Technology is about 20 years old and the company that hosts it, will stop in july 2018. And 11 Million Dollars to replace. So the 911 board is trying to come up with a way to fund the project. The board says a switch to the new system is critical to keeping communication clear and people safe. We we get into having problems at our tower sites or at the dispatch center, we wont be able to replace that equipment with new stuff. We wont be able to send it in to get fixed. Berger says the board is also missing out on about 200thousand dollars each year because more people are getting rid of their landlines. Per month from the 911 surchange fee from all land line users in the county. Congressman David Loebsack is making a stop in eastern iowa today. He plans to take a tour of the Kirkwood Regional Center in coralville. He will meet with staff and learn more about the center. That starts at 10 45 this morning. 1st district congressman rod blum is spending his congressional break looking into health care at a care fair for veterans in dubuque at the National Guard armory today. Blums office sponsored this senior Wellness Fair at the newbo city market in cedar rapids yesterday. About 40 providers offered displays and information for the crowd. The congressman says some people wanted to talk about navigating the federal programs. I know how big the federal government issue being inside the belly of the beast so to speak and i cant imagine being an 80yearold in iowa negotiating some of these departments to find who the right person is to talk to. The congressman says he plans to have more events like this throughout the year. Clear creek Amana Middle School students are getting used to a newly opened expansion of their school. 17 37 18 its really awesome. Its nice to be in a new learning environment. Voters approved a 48 Million Dollar bond in 2013, part of which paid for the middle school project. The new portion includes 23 new classrooms, a new cafeteria, new offices and a new library. Week. The construction delays caused the building to open much later than originally planned. 17 11 07 from the very beginning there were issues that threw the timing off. They got behind, right away they were behind and it spiraled that way. Here we are quite a bit after when we were supposed to move in, the great thing is we have a nice building and i think everyone is happy. As part of the project, students moved out of the oldest portion of the middle School Building because renovations on that part will start on monday. That should be finished by next october. One school is celebrating while another one is assessing. This follows all Public Schools in iowa getting their report cards in december. Take, for example, solon high school. Its Graduation Rate is almost 99 . Its average act score is 23. 3 more than a point over the state average. But the new state report card didnt give solon the top score, or even the runner up ranking. It received the grade of commendable. a ranking that puts it in iowa high schools. I went out and looked at what do the exceptional high Schools Look Like . Places where id want to send my kid, were not on that list. About an hours drive away, to vinton, is another school that did earn the states highest possible ranking. Vintonshellsburg middle school got an aplus rating. It slashed its achievement gap by more than half in 2 years. It also had Significant Growth according to the iowa assessments. 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely. March of dimes is taking a stance to Fund Research on what causes these early births. This morning marks the kickoff of cedar rapids march for Babies Campaign. Its a walk benefiting the march of dimes. The goal is to raise 200 thousand dollars. The average medical cost for preemie care is around 50 thousand dollars. March of dimes and the Community Work hard to Fund Research year round. This years march for Babies Campaign co chairs mike and miranda wehr have already raised almost 60 thousand dollars. They decided to get involved out just how many women benefit. 31 26 if youve had a polio vaccination, youve been touched by our organization. If youve had a healthy full term baby and you took your folic acid while pregnant youve been touched by our education. Really everybody here in the United States has been touched we encourage everybody to join forces with us and give every baby a fighting chance. The walk is completely free, but walkers are encouraged to make a donation. It will be held at Rockwell Collins on sunday, april 24th. You can find information on how to get involved in a link under this story on kcrg dot com. The latest study shows the fastest wireless carrier in the us. And one couple is battling some legal issues after leaving a bad review on yelp. Thats coming up in techbytes. Good morning its. Our much anticipated warmup is highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont thanks kaj. Now heres abcs reena ninan with this mornings techbytes. Trt oc hey, there. In todays techbytes whos got the fastest Wireless Service . One company crowned tmobile. And in the latest tests, another researcher says verizon is tops, based on its testing at various sites around the country. And indiana man is suing smart tv manufacturer vizio. The classaction lawsuit accuses the company of collecting data about his usage. And a couple in texas is in a legal fight with a company that it hired to watch its pets. They were not satisfied and posted a onestar review on yelp. The company responded with a lawsuit and is seeking thousands couple violated its socalled nodisparage when your cold makes you wish. You could stay. In bed all day. You need the power of. New theraflu expressmax. The power to feel better. Hi, im here with some advice from the future dont buy makeup that settles into lines, it ages you. Get simply ageless makeup from covergirl and olay. With b vitamins, and spf. It floats over lines and you look beautiful and now theres simply ageless liquid makeup it helps you look younger in three ways. So in the future when youre older simply ageless from olay. And easy, breezy beautiful covergirl South Carolina and nevada. Candidates are pleading to voters. The primary and caucus are tomorrow abcs ray raimundi has more with the candidates new push to get the votes. The stakes couldnt be higher. The president ial hopefulls hot on the campaign trail. The democrats criss crossing thru the state of nevada. Sot Hillary Clinton president ial candidate to have an election that is about real change . Not promises you cant keep. Sot Bernie Sanders president ial candidatethe eyes of america will be on nevada both Democratic Candidates facing voters at a telivised town hall meeting answering tough questions on topics like immigration, privacy and their records sot Hillary Clinton president ial candidatemay be its that senator sanders wasnt really a democrat until he decided to run for president , she said. He doesnt know what the last two democratic president s did. Nats of crowd booing clinton response well, its true. Its true. You know its true, sot Bernie Sanders president ial candidateif anybody thinks a member of the United States senate or the United States in his own party who is president , well, you know, all the time, thats not my understanding of democracy. Nats of clapping at republican town hall on the republican side, john kasick, jeb bush, and donald trump . Face toface with South Carolina voters. At issue religion. And comments the pope made criticizing donald trump sot donald trump president ial candidatecoo per was there a moment you first heard the pope had said something about you that you thought maybe youre going to have to ask for forgive forgiveness . Trump no. I have a lot of respect for the pope. Tag going into both contests this weekend, the latest polls in South Carolina show donald trump still far ahead of the pack . While in nevada Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are still in a statistical tie. Rr, abc News New York members of the iowa utilities board will talk about a controversial issue again today. Up for debate the Dakota Access pipeline. Sign off on the project. Heres a look at our camera. Kaj will be back right after the break with a meteorologist kaj omara joins us now with your first alert forecast. Our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today m sunny, windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 morrow night partly cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 the ped mall in downtown iowa city may look a little different with the help of a new sculpture. But that depends on the citys help in fundraising for the large project. Keep it here on tv9. Its. Look on our city cam. Its february 19th and heres what you need to know today. 2016 president ial candidates are making their final pleas for support ahead of the republican primary in South Carolina and the democratic caucuses in nevada tomorrow. Today is the firsrsfunnel deadline for bills at the statehouse. Bills have to be out of people in North Liberty are getting ready for some major road projects this spring. The city and road crews say patience will be key with the work. Students and staff at clear creek Amana Middle School are excited to use new classrsrms after delays pushed their movein date later than originally planned. And the march of dimes gets ready to open its annual march for babies fundraiser benefiting research for premature births. Youre watching kcrgtv9. Now, from your 24 hour news source, this is kcrgtv9 news morning news. We are following some breaking news on tv9 this morning. Fire crews in waterloo responded. To a fire at 1720 jefferson street thats just off of us highway 218 west of the river. Tv9s brea love is live on scene with the latest. Brea . Fire crews are no longer on scene. Two people were taken away in an first, meteorologis t kaj omara has your first alert forecast, kaj. Our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average weekend today m sunny, windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 the funnel deadline is today for bills in the iowa legislature. That means that bills have Chambers Committee stage to have any hope in continuing on in the session. Joining us today to give us the rundown of whats in and whats out is the gazettes political reporter james q. Lynch. James, thanks for joining us cannabis oil . Tanning . Bike lanes . Whats out . Raising speed limit. Any others to note . What from the senate but will it even see any traction in the house . How about the budget between house republicans, the governor and Senate Democrats . Is this gap too far . Education funding we saw this last night as a line in the sand for weeks. Do you expect this to be as contentious for 2016 . What are the next steps for the bills that will move on . Joining us today to give us the rundown of whats in and whats out is the gazettes political reporter james q. Lynch. James, thanks for joining us this morning. Whats in . Cannabis oil . Tanning . Bike lanes . Whats out . Raising speed limit. Any others to note . What about medicaid and privatization . Lots of talk from the senate but will it even see any traction in the house . How about the budget between house republicans, the governor and Senate Democrats . Is this gap too far . Education funding we saw this last night as a line in the sand for weeks. Do you expect this to be as contentious for 2016 . What are the next steps for the bills that will move on . Whats the next deadline . Discuss a pipeline that would run through 19 iowa counties. The company, Dakota Access, wants to build a pipeline that would carry crude oil from north dakota to illinois. All other states have approved construction except the meeting s srts at 1 oclock this afternoon in des moines. The board talked about the pipeline for a few days last week with no decision and scheduled todays additional meeting. The board could make a decision today, but it doesnt have to. Some in North Liberty now have clearer pictures of a handful of projects the city is planning on for the next couple of years. At an open house last night, the city showed various planning stages of those projects. Many of them involve street improvements and expansions. One will widen the lanes of penn street on the west side of town, near the i380 interchange. The city also has plans to expand and add to city parks, and make improvements to dubuque street to prepare for the new liberty high school. The city administrator says people in North Liberty should expect traffic delays. 32 05 14 its fun and exciting to be part of a growing community, and of course one of those challenges is keeping up with the infrastructure and then having patience as we make those improvements. Construction crews plan to start widening penn around 39,000 babies are born each year in iowa, and about 10 of those babies are premature. Thats according to the march of dimes an organization that supports babies and their families. Theyre getting ready for their march for babies kickoff breakfast this morning in cedar rapids. The walk brings the Community Together to work for stronger, healthier babies. Tv9s brea love has more. Each year march of dimes provides life saving therapy for more than one hundred babies in iowa. While also helping out families in a large way. The average medical cost for a healthy baby is around four thousand dollars. While, the average cost for a premature baby is more than thirteen times that price. 30 57 march of dimes is taking a proactive stance, were raising hundreds of millions of dollars each year, so that we can invest in the research and birth. With the community. Campaign cochairs mike and miranda wehr are taking the initiative to all through the business community. Close friends who had premature children sparked the idea to get 25 57 we watched them get involved with the mission, get involved with march of dimes, and give back immediately, and through watching them and getting us involved we realized that march of dimes is so much than just for premature children, its really just the education and the research to help all women have full term pregnancies. 31 17 a lot of people think that the march of dimes only touches you if youve had a premature baby, and while that is true, weve actually touched everybody here within the United States. So, if youve had a polio vaccination, youve been touched by our organization. If youve had a healthy full term baby and you took your folic acid while pregnant youve been touched by our education. The wehrs set a goal for 60 thousand dollars 6 months ago. They are only five hundred dollars away from reaching it. The cedar rapids march of dimes total goal is two hundred thousand dollars. Gruber encourages everyone to join forces with them and give all babies a fighting chance. Tv9s brea love with that story. There are plenty of ways to get march for babies. You can find a link for that information under this story on kcrg dot com. The walk is at Rockwell Collins on sunday, april 24th. A proposed art project on the ped mall in iowa city is causing some controversy. The Downtown District is asking the city for 50thousand dollars so it can hire a professional fundraiser to raise the 500thousand dollars needed for this 30foot sculpture. Critics say the Downtown District should be able to raise money for the project on its own. Supporters say funding the project is in the best interest of the city. when you can lever a 50,000 investment from a city for a half Million Dollar sculpture, or a work of art, or improvement in a district that will enhance the quality of life for everyone, i think why not do that. the city council was split on the issue during a meeting earlier this month. The council will vote again next month. One iowa state basketball player is sending his home town some hyvee is helping him send water to flint, michigan and it all started with a single tweet. Up next. This mornings weather wise question. Meteorologist kaj omara is up joins us now. Windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today m sunny, windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 tomorrow night partly winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today m sunny, windy, high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 thanks kaj. Iowa is at the top of a new nationwide list and its the Hawkeye State has the most deficient bridges, but crews are putting in a lot of work to change that. That and more still to come on tv9. Stay with us. An iowa cici woman is pushing legislation that would increase the punishment for peeping toms. The bill is scheduled for debate in the full senate. Police arrested 23yearold robert hightower. They say he videotaped a woman in the shower at burge hall. Ruth lapointe says in 2012, 66yearold elwyn miller put holes in the ceiling and floor of her iowa city apartment to spy on her. Police then found four similar peep holes in other apartments. Miller spent 5 months in jail, paid a 6thousand dollar fine and had to register as a sex offender. A peeping conviction requires the victim be partially nude and the suspect be aroused while spying on their victim. Lapointe says proving that in court revictimized her and others in the apartment. It was hard for me and the other victims to have to describe the fact that our landlord was or was not aroused and knowing that his guilt was resting on that was burdensome. Senate bill 2185 drops those requirements. It bumps the penalty from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor. A new study shows iowa has a lot of bridges that need to be fixed or replaced. The american road and Transportation Builders Association study says the state thousand deficient bridges. Iowa has the most in the nation partly because there are so many bridges. There are 24thousand, which is the same number as in california. One bridge on the list includes this one on bloomington road near mount vernon. 100Million Dollars to fix the bridges has come from the 10 cent a gallon state gas tax. Linn county has 19 deficient bridges now, and there should only be 11 after this year. The parents of a 2yearold dubuque boy who was shot in the face have pleaded not guilty. 25yearold raven harris was arraigned last week on charges of child endangerment resulting in serious injury. Her charges also include neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. Her trial is scheduled for april 12. 29yearold Willie Horsley senior pleaded not guilty on wednesday to child endangerment. Dubuque police say on the night of january 3rd, the twoyearold boy either shot himself or another child shot him. Police say the bullet hit the boy in the jaw. He was with his family who were living in a commercial building on main street in people in flint, michigan are getting 11 semi trailers full of bottled water thanks to an iowa state basketball player. Monte morris asked people on twitter to donate to the red cross to help his home town. Flint is dealing with a major Drinking Water crisis and lead contamination. Hyvee saw the tweet and decided to help. It rounded up 11 semis and sent them to flint yesterday. 11 is morriss number. Morris says he was touched. Im emotional. It brought a lot of tears to my eyes because dont nobody want their city to be like that. Its just hard to talk about. Michigans governor has announced 2 Million Dollars to help flint replace some of its lead pipes within 30 days. Heres what you need to know as you head out the door on your friday. Today is the first funnel deadline for door on your friday. Today is the first funnel deadline for bills in the iowa legislature. That means only bills that have made it out of committee in their respective chambers can continue on in the session. The second funnel deadline is march 11th. The iowa utilities board could make a decision on the Dakota Access pipeline at its meeting today in des moines. The pipeline would carry oil through 19 iowa counties on its way from north dakota to illinois. All other states have approved the construction of the pipeline except for iowa. That meeting is today at 1. 2016 republican president ial candidates are making their final Campaign Stops and pleas to voters in South Carolina. Voters will head to the polls the states primary. On the democratic side, h hlary clinton and berere sanders are hoping to sway voters in nevada. Voters there will caucus tomorrow. Now, one last look at this mornings weather, kaj. Our much anticipated warmup is here plan on windy conditions today with highs well into the 50s. The south half of the area will likely touch the lower 60s as well. Today will also come along with lots of wind with gusts to 45mph possible. Tomorrow is very much the better half of this warmup with highs well into the 50s, but with wind under 15mph. By sunday, a cold front comes along, but with a significant dent in the snowpack, if not complete elimination, we really wont get that cold with upper 40s likely. Next week still appears pretty quiet with only periodic bouts of clouds the most likely result. Highs will average in the upper 30s to lower 40s. Have a terrific weekend today m sunny, windy, mild high 5662 winds w 2030 g 45 alo 55 dbq 55 iow 61 tonight mostly clear low 3440 winds w 1020 alo 35 dbq 35 iow 38 tomorrow mostly sunny, mild high 5359 winds w 510 alo 55 dbq 53 iow 59 tomorrow night partly cloudy low 3137 winds n 510 alo 30 dbq 31 iow 34 we certainly hope your is Good Morning America is next. And well be back with a local also good morning, america. Heartstopping crash caught on tape. A helicopter with five tourists on board plummeting into pearl harbor. New video of witnesses diving in to rescue the victims. Cutting a 15yearold free from the wreckage. Those heroes are going to join us live only on gma. Donald trump versus the pope. Those stunning remarks saying the gop frontrunner is not christian. Trump fires back all through the night. No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another mans religion or faith. And donald trump joining us live this morning. Record heat. Building across much of the country for the weekend. Blazes sparking firenados. The Wind Warnings and advisories spread from california to new york. That big warmup right now baby love we have a big announcement