. live in des moines, kim st. onge, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. stacey: there is a vigil tonight at 7:00 for heather and bryon at the bridge near their home at 42nd and center. everyone is welcome. steve: a west des moines dentist is now under investigation after federal drug agents searched his home and office this morning. kcci's mark tauscheck is live tonight outside the dentist's home. mark: we were there as dea agents seized items from this home behind me in saylor township, where dr. shawn kerby shares with his fiancee. agents also showed up this morning at his office on valley west drive along 235 and it turns out this is not the first time this dentist has been suspected of criminal activity. undercover agents with the des moines dea office spent hours this morning, including computer equipment and rifles. neighbors told me dr. kerby is an avid hunter. neighbors also watched agents fill several buckets with items taken out of kerby's personal pickup truck that was also seized. neighbors called kerby a great guy, very nice, and were shocked to see drug agents raiding a neighb

, shaina humphries, kcci 8 news. iowa's news leader. steve: in commitment 2016 news, donald trump receives his strongest numbers yet in a new cbs news/new york times poll just out today. trump now leads the crowded republican field with 35% support. ted cruz comes in second with 16%. ben carson drops to third with 13%. marco rubio finishes fourth with 9%. rubio was in west des moines this morning meeting with veterans. kcci's chief political reporter cynthia fodor was there. cynthia: steve, the 44-year-old florida senator spent about an answering their questions. about 100 people showed up. senator rubio: we are at war. it is an unusual war. it is not with a nationstate or people who wear uniforms in the battlefield. but we are at war. if you don't believe that, we have work to do to convince you. cynthia: rubio told the crowd the va needs more accountability and transparency. and veterans need to have benefits. he claims he's done more to fight for veterans than any other senator. and after the time in west des moines, he ended up to ames and then over to iowa city. he plans to b

moines home in july of 2014. kcci's mark tauscheck was in the courtroom today. and mark, what happened? mark: steve, ngor makuey's attorney had argued an insanity defense during the trial. today, the judge explained why he didn't buy it. makuey's family is from ethiopia. his mother was sitting behind him in court. makuey didn't say anything, but appeared disappointed when the verdicts were read. polk county judge jeffrey farrell found makuey guilty of first degree murder, assault with intent to commit serious injury, robbery, and theft. he said since makuey had no income or job, he had considerable motive to commit a theft, which supported the felony murder conviction. farrell said malice, aforethought, or premeditation can be inferred from use of a dangerous weapon. in this case, the kitchen spatula makuey brought with him eastside home. judge farrell: and the only reason he would be bringing that device over to that home would be for the purpose of using it as a weapon. he wasn't going over there to cook, wasn't going over there to grill. he went over there, and the first thing he di

. live in des moines, mark tauscheck, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. steve: more parks and trails are now closed due to flooding. gray's lake park, the walnut creek trail under the 63rd street bridge, the gay lea wilson trail, the principal riverwalk trail, the bill riley trail from north valley drive to water works park, the neal smith trail from penn avenue to 6th avenue, the pomerantz connector trail. the meredith trail, the des moines river trail from southeast 14th to southeast 22nd streets, and the simon estes amphitheater are all closed due to high water. stacey: parks and trails not the only closures in the metro. kcci's marcus mcintosh is live in clive with a road closure that was largely ignored. marcus: stacey, we may need to remind motorists of the old the road to turn around, don't drown. or, more to the point, don't ignore road closed signs. the signs were clear and visible on swanson blvd between harbach blvd and 94th st road colsed. they didn't seem to deter the motorists who took a chance and drove through the pool of water covering the street. all the rain caused

markets -- marcus mcintosh, kcci news. kevin: the busy city street it is 5.61 feet above flood stage. the river forecast calls for a rise thursday morning before it begins to fall. take a look at this video today from the des moines water ridge park. water engulfed the park. every display is now surrounded by floodwater including santos we shop, that building at the end of three mile route. >> unfortunately we are little bit higher than we expected. it is still coming up. kevin: and a lot of people have been donating money to make a wish since it was flooding out. we'll show you the latest damage as well as how you can help with the new make a wish social media challenge. stacey: the wind has picked up john: especially at windchill temperature, this is not even wind gusts, likely adding quite a bit of chill to the air. we are now sitting in the mid-upper 30's which is fairly mild for this time of the year. i look at the flood warnings, i smattering of them across the at the moment. as you heard some of them are still on the rise. no more rain on the forecast. the system heads out to

up next. we will be back at 6:00. hope to see you then. [kcci captioning is brought to you by the iowa clinic.] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

: the force awakens." the movie premieres tonight. kcci's rose heaphy is live at the science center of iowa downtown. rose feeling the vibe down , there. rose: i had to get in the spirit of things and rock out my princess leia buns. there is one couple here that might be a little bit more excited than others. i'm been introduced you to mike and allete. you are here waiting in line? you had to leave?and do something else >> i thought it was a good day to watch star wars and proposed to my girlfriend is. -- to my girlfriend. i have been a star wars fan as long as i can remember. she is a pretty big star wars rose: you have the rebel base sign. lots of big fans here. this is just one of the two shows that will be on tonight. they have sold out 20 shows already here at the science center. i will be here at 6:00 to tell you more. live in des moines, rose heaphy, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. stacey: the sun is finally shining today after an overcast week. kurtis. kurtis: those low clouds have around and then they burned off. not incredibly mild but still in the 30's. down south, it is de

week, and ames police are still looking for the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash. kcci's vanessa peng is live to show us what's new. vanessa: steve, now ames police are turning to these message boards like this one behind me to find the driver. they've put one on each side of the intersection at lincoln way and ash avenue, where an 18-year-old student was hit and killed. police say emmalee jacobs was walking to campus just after 7:00 monday morning when she was hit. the driver took off right before an iowa state university police intersection. ames police say jacobs was living at buchanan hall at the time. they've narrowed down the timeline through surveillance video. they say jacobs left buchanan hall just after 7:00, and an less than four minutes later, that officer pulled up. police say autopsy results confirm she was struck by a vehicle. cmdr. tuttle: just to the significant injuries that she had was very consistent with the vehicle striking her. so, again, doesn't tell us necessarily what kind of vehicle and wise. -- what kind of vehicle it was. vanessa: besides the

informed with kcci online and our mobile app. steve: shocking details this afternoon in the disturbing murders of a des moines couple. police arrested suspect michael wanchanic last night after a 4-hour standoff in the middle of a rural highway. kcci's kim st. onge is live in des moines with new documents in the case. kim: steve, some of the details in this criminal complaint are pretty disturbing. it revealed that wanchanic allegedly took the gun from his stepmother's room, then shot several times while they were asleep in their room inside this home here in the 3900 block of center street. their five week old baby was in heather's arms when she was killed. just over 24 hours after at that shooting, officers came face to face with wanchanic in a standoff. >> suspect is down, moving to clear the vehicle. kim: at least 30 officers surrounded michael wanchanic's broken down van on highway 141 in woodward for several hours tuesday night while negotiators tried to convince him to surrender. >> he had a hand gun and he was threatening to take his own life. kim: police tracked dow

bureau, vanessa peng, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. stacey: authorities are hoping an autopsy will tell them why a spencer wrestler died over the weekend. austin roberts collapsed on the mat saturday during a tournament. he died that night at the hospital. the 6'4" roberts also played on the spencer high school football team. steve: also in spencer, an investigation is underway after a body is found in a trailer crews responded to the fire they found the body after putting out the blaze. the cause of the fire is now under investigation. cedar rapids police are of a woman is found inside a burning mobile home. crews responded around 7:15 on sunday night. the back of the home was fully engulfed when they arrived. under investigation. stacey: fox news channel will host a republican debate in des moines next month. bret baier, megyn kelly, and chris wallace will anchor the two hour debate january 28 at the iowa events center. they moderated the first gop debate in august. the republican field narrowed today when south carolina senator lindsey graham dropped out. graham made the officia

news this is kcci 8 news at 5:00 with steve karlin, stacey horst, and chief meteorologist john mclaughlin. steve: 8 issues, 8 weeks. it's our special series, focusing on the hottest topics in the 2016 presidential race in the run-up to the iowa caucuses. kim: today, health care is back in the headlines. kcci's nikole killion is in our washington bureau to explain how it could play into the race for the white house. reporter: is an issue that is polarized politicans and voters -- that has polarized politicans and voters alike. ever since the president signed his landmark health care law nearly six years ago, it has caused controversy from the courts to congress. >> this was not the healthcare that was promised to americans. >> health care should be a right for all. nikole: after dozens of attempts, republicans resurrected legislation to repeal the law they dub obamacare. away at portions of it in a massive budget bill and may use it as a talking point in 2016. >> from a political perspective, obamacare has been the gift that keeps on giving for republicans. whenever they've run

million people for the first time ever. thousands of iowans are traveling right now. kcci's kim st. onge caught up with a few of them. she's live just east of van meter. kim, what are you seeing out there? kim: it is snowing pretty hard, or it has been since about 3:00. the wind is blowing the snow around, decreasing visibility. this is i-80. i have seen at least one truck in this area. i have seen the rain transitioning to snow around 3:00. it has been coming down pretty the snow is it really accumulating on the roadways just yet. just driving on them, they are already slick. the biggest thing you are seeing out here right now is the wind. it gives you a better idea of just how strong that wind is. it is blowing the snow around, decreasing visibility. it is even whipping our news vehicle around a little bit. if you're driving, make sure you have both hands on the steering wheel. one driver told me that road conditions seem worse west of the metro. >> is pretty crappy. not fun to drive in. we have seen a couple of cars in the ditch. definitely slow going. you may want to take a cou

to travel, stay at home. live in ames, vanessa peng, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. kim: and storm chaser t.j. kleckner sent in this video of a 2-vehicle accident that happened about 5 miles south of algona near highway 169 in kossuth county. you can see the heavy snow was arrived. fortunately, neither driver was seriously hurt. and, unseasonable weather across the southern part of the united states caused deadly storms just as millions are hitting the roads and taking to the skies. the storms left at least seven people dead, dozens injured and many homes destroyed. we'll have much more on the devastation later in the newscast. taking a look at the des moines airport late arrivals and departures board. most flights still running on time. but there are a few delays. if you plan on flying, you'll want to check your flight status before heading out. a des moines police officer accidentally fires his service weapon inside the airport. the report says 23-year-old officer bradley pratt drew his duty weapon from his holster yesterday to practice his quick draw skills. he accidentally disc

-granddaughter, princess charlotte. coming up on kcci 8 "close up" on sunday, we talk in-depth with governor branstad, who recently became the longest-serving governor in our nation's history. gov. terry branstad: a lot of people lost their farms, but we saved a lot, and built a more diversified economy. and we started renewable energy, and now iowa produces more even all -- more ethanol from corn for gasoline. the things we did made iowa a more diversified and prosperous state. ryan: you can hear the governor reflect on his record-breaking time in office, as well as other issues he has led the state through. that's this sunday on "close up," right after "face the nation." straight ahead on this christmas edition of kcci 8 news at 5:00, a home decked out for the holidays like you've never seen before. also, getting the mercy they deserve. facility, where forgotten residents had a christmas they will never forget. and later, overcoming evil for their homes by isis terrorists. announcer: this is iowa's news leader. this is kcci 8 news at 5:00 with steve karlin, stacey horst, and mclaughlin. ry

iowa's news leader. this is kcci 8 news at 5:30. laura: right now at 5:30, winter storm warning. heavy snow expected across iowa. we begin with storm team 8 coverage. meteorologist jason sydejko in the weather department and , marcus mcintosh is live with the preparations underway. jason first, timing everything out for us. jason s: we won't see the main contact won't see the snow start tonight, that will mainly be tomorrow morning. right now, you can see the wind does start to pick up a bit as the system moves in. temperature of 25, wind chill below zero. seven below for a wind chill in storm lake. tonight, you are going to have to bundle up. tomorrow, nearly the entire state under that winter storm warning. this starts at 3:00 in the morning. southern portions of the state, we will start to see that system inch upward. a bit of that freezing rain to the southeast. i will break down the timing on this and the totals coming up in a lot more detail. right now, mainly just clouds building ahead of that as they will. eventual rain, snow, sleet as we head into the morning hours. i will bre

treacherous for evening kcci's vanessa peng is live in ames with current conditions. vanessa: when strong winds start whipping the snow around -- >> blowing snow can really create it's own problems. vanessa: city, county, and state plow drivers can only do so much. >> you could start to clear the roadway and then we have isolated spots where you think the road's ok and somebody sets their cruise control again and they end up in a slick spot and spin out of control. vanessa: the problem is the wind makes certain areas of the road appear clear, but then the minute there is a wind break ice and snow piles up. >> some of the closed areas, the protected areas, are the worst right now because the winds blowing most of the snow off where it's not protected, but the protected areas is really bad. vanessa: on both the rural and take it slow, increase your following distance, and don't use your cruise control. drive for the conditions that are there, making sure that they give themselves plently of cushion with those vehicles around them, including those snowplows. vanessa: dot officials als

. live in ames, vanessa peng, kcci 8 news, iowa's news leader. todd: we are lucky we don't have any fresh know to plow today. kurtis: a little bit of a chill out there though. not bad compared to this time of year but unusual to bear we have been experiencing. current wind chill in ottumwa, 22. look at this great shot coming into our you local page. temperatures slowly drop into the teens. late tonight, early tomorrow, a good chance of snow. right now, accumulations look to be around an inch or less. 3:00 p.m. temperature, 26. here is your party planner for new year's eve. pretty cold, in the teens overnight down into the single digits. and looks to be partly cloudy. in case you didn't hear, it was a record snowfall yesterday. 5.4 inches here officially in des moines. stacey: thousands of hawkeye fans are headed west today. the university of iowa faces stanford in the rose bowl on new year's day. eastern iowa airport in cedar flights today. thirteen rose bowl charter flights are taking off throughout the day, carrying some 3,000 passengers to pasadena, california. the airport added more s

. >> every hawkeye family talk to pray to win. steve: kcci sports director andy garman's on his way to indianapolis for the game. the big ten championship game is coming up. tomorrow night at 8 p.m., they will have reports. stacy: the game with michigan state kicks off. temperatures in the mid-40's. considerably warmer than we normally get this time a year. clear skies out there tonight. much colder in northwestern iowa. 32 degrees around 7 a.m.. the frost is a to be too widespread. -- doesn't look to be too widespread. saturday sunshine early. a high near 50. southeast wind a little breezy. on sunday we may get a light shower. the wind will shift around. high of 45 degrees. >> lawmakers want to tighten loopholes to make america safer. >> historic announcement. when they told me that i was diagnosed with cancer, all i could think of was my kids and that i didn't want to leave them. i beat cancer, but it is still scary. now i have a pre-existing condition. so, if republicans take away obamacare, breast cancer survivors like me could be denied coverage. if hillary's in the white house, s

hawkeye fans in the house? it will take you inside in just a minute. stacey: you can count on kcci to todd: statewide road conditions clear right now after a slick a.m. commute. several crashes reported this morning around the des moines metro. the iowa dot says another round of fresh snow caused the slick roads. the snow let up around noon today. and frank, some good news the sun should be shining again soon? frank: we picked up about a half-inch this morning. wins, thankfully, have been light out of the west. wind chills not much of a factor. here are the current ones. 18 for ames off to the north. by 7:00, that wind chill in the upper teens. as we cruised in the evening, the wind's stay light out of the west. 8 day forecast details coming up. stacey: iowa's blood supply dips to critically low levels. recent weather events have limited collection and reduced the blood supply. you can see the bare cooler shelves at lifeserve blood center. lifeserve officials say there's less than a one day supply of most blood types on hand right now. normally, the center has a 3 to 5 day supply and

a fence, and crashes into a des moines home. kcci's kim st. onge following this story. kim, this isn't a first for this kim: certainly not, stacey. des moines police believe a medical episode may be the reason the truck slammed into this house in the 1700 block of lyon street friday morning. christy: it's just a little bit too close for comfort, you know? people got kids, animals. it's scary. kim: neighbors like christy hayner were there as the male stretcher and taken to a metro hospital. the two caged dogs in the back of the truck? miraculously unharmed. for janet towey, who lives across the street -- janet: i don't even want to live here. you know, it's too scary. kim: this story is becoming all too common. janet: i heard a big, loud crash, and that was it. kim: in may, a car came flying off the interstate into her backyard. janet: it knocked out fence out. it hit our tree, flipped around the backyard. i mean, if it had been daytime, my grandkids could have been dead. branches, a reminder of that terrifying moment. janet: they have not been back there since then. i don't even

moines, people came together to remember. kcci's marcus mcintosh was there . he joins us with more from the emotional ceremony. marcus: mark, we met one of the last living iowans at pearl harbor during the attack. we also met the family of a less than a month ago. at 95-years-old, time has slowed the movements of navy veteran clarence pfundheller. time has not dimmed the memory of what he lived through as a 21-year-old on board the uss maryland, stationed in pearl harbor, hawaii. >> i can see it anytime i want to. a plane shot a torpedo into the west virginia. marcus: pfundheller knows those who survived that attack are now becoming a memory, just like december 7, 1941. last. i think the one that i know of, i talked to him on the phone in corning. marcus: iowan leland lester also survived the attack on pearl harbor 74 years ago and was just weeks away from this ceremony when he passed away november 15 . he was 94-years-old. >> true hero is the best i could marcus: his granddaughter stephanie holds back tear when talking about her grand father who inpsired her to enlisted back in 1999. s

video is hard to watch. steve: kcci's mark tauscheck was at the sentencing today. county courthouse tonight. mark: video is disturbing to watch. hard for anyone to see, so you can imagine what it -- imagine how hard it must of been for the parents of these three very young children. an emotional scene at the courthouse this morning as the parents of these children came face-to-face with ms. williamson. this is video of christina williamson, on one day, with one baby girl that she treats like a rag doll. we are not showing the worst of the abuse. it is very hard to watch. she wasn't injured of the nature , of the abuse, this is williamson pushing the babies face into the carpet to stop her from crying. stepping on her head, stuffing a cloth into her mouth, aggressively flipping her over . it is impossibly cruel. today, she was sentenced to 5 years in prison after agreeing to a deal, pleading guilty to one felony and one aggravated misdemeanor child endangerment >> i'm a human being too, and i have kids, and watching that film was just sickening, how you treated those babies. mark: pa

first, the 3 victims and say their piece to polson. kcci's kim st. onge was in the courtroom. and kim, it got intense, didn't it? kim: it certainly did, steve. some of the victims and their loved ones cried as they told polson how he robbed them of their security. zach whitehill told polson one of the hardest things for him is no longer being able to pick up his 2-year-old son because of injuries to his neck and back where he was shot. zach's wife held back tears explaining how polson's body , language in the courtroom during the trial shows he has no remorse for what he did. another victim, mark mitchell, said he hopes polson dies in prison and "goes to hell." mark's wife said her husband didn't want to come home after he was shot on his front porch because he felt like he couldn't protect his family. >> my kids were inside. you could have easily hit one of them with the bullet if mark -- the bullet, if mark had gotten into the door, gotten into the house and shut the and killed my entire family. kim: polson has to serve at least 27 and a half years before he'll be eligible for parol