The final votes are in. The local option sales tax goes down to defeat. So where do both sides go from here? Aaron Hurley will show us.
And the sky is falling at the Iowa State House thanks to construction accidents.
Also an Iowa couple counting their blessings after surviving that deadly train accident that killed 11 people in Illinois.
And the mild weather just keeps coming.
News Channel 8 at 6 is next.
It's 6 o'clock and you're watching KCCI Channel 8 Du Bois, Iowa's news leader.
With Kevin Cooney, Jeanette Trompeter, meteorologist John McLaughlin, and Heidi Solovey Sports, this is News Channel 8.
It is extremely disappointing to lose an election that is a virtual tie.
So close, but yet almost 50 votes away. Supporters of the local option sales tax short.
Good evening and thanks for joining us tonight. I'm Kevin Cooney.
And I'm Jeanette Trompeter. It has been a disappointing day for supporters of the school's first initiative, a proposed one-cent sales tax hike in Polk County.
You'll recall on Tuesday night it appeared the tax had passed by a margin of 12 votes.
But after a counting error was discovered the next day, the no votes were leading by 38.
Today a special election board added 152 special and absentee ballots to that count.
And as you saw in live breaking news coverage, the no votes gained ground among the special ballots, getting 75.
The yeses received 59. The yes votes gained a little ground with the absentees, but in the end it didn't appear to be enough.
The no votes won by a margin of 46.
News Channel 8's Erin Hurley has been following today's development.
She joins us live from Polk County's administration building with more. Erin?
Jeanette and Kevin, a three-member panel inside this building became the focal point of attention today
as members of that panel looked over the special ballots and the absentee ballots,
first to determine whether or not they were legal and second to determine whether they were yes votes or no votes.
During that process more than 75 ballots were thrown out.
Voters whose ballots were rejected will receive written notice from the election office saying they were rejected and why they were rejected.
Of the ones that were counted, the no votes gained eight more net votes, pretty much sealing the deal for the opposition.
We spoke with Jerry Crawford. He is the co-chairman of schools first supporters of this measure.
He said he was very disappointed. He watched as the votes came in.
He was hopeful coming into today that his group would come out on top, but it appears they're coming up short.
And he said the problem's not going away.
The problem that existed on Tuesday when people voted still will exist tomorrow, whether we're 50 votes behind or 15 votes ahead.
Our buildings are in bad need of renovation and improvement and safety, and our suburban school districts need more classrooms.
Those problems will continue to exist. Some of the suburban districts are now going to ask for bond issues from their taxpayers,
which means that property taxes will go up in those suburban districts because of today's outcome.
You may remember the name Brad Payton.
Brad Payton is one of the people who have been speaking out over the past few weeks against the tax.
We spoke with him this afternoon about the results and the changing numbers.
He says that it's no reason to celebrate, even though they are happy that the tax did fail,
or at least appears will fail Monday when those results are certified.
He too knows that the funding challenges will continue.
Even if we do prevail ultimately, I don't think this is something you celebrate.
I think it's something you say we stopped something that we didn't think was a very good idea.
Now what do you put in place?
Now we've talked about official, unofficial results all day.
Monday, back in this building in the Polk County Supervisor's Room, the Board will meet to certify the results of this election.
After that is done, and that may include some new absentee ballots that come in if they're determined to be valid,
if they come in tomorrow, if they come in Saturday, or even if they come in on Monday.
And once we have that count, then they can ask or petition for a recount.
And that may be likely in this situation. Schools First is looking at that as an option.
All right. Erin Hurley, thank you.
While the superintendent of the Des Moines School District shared his disappointment today,
Polk County Schools would have received an estimated $600 million from the one-cent sales tax.
Dr. Eric Witherspoon says right now is too early to tell what will happen next.
We understand that we have lost this election, but we also understand that it was clearly a virtual tie.
The problems are too severe. The needs are too real. And the time for our children is too short.
Witherspoon says the school district needs money to repair buildings and ease that overcrowding.
Witherspoon says he will talk with community members to find out why the special election failed.
Also, Witherspoon will discuss the district's options at the next school board meeting, which is on April 6th.
It is a big night for Tom Davis and the Iowa Hawkeyes and, of course, all the Hawk fans.
They're in Phoenix, and tonight they take on the Connecticut Huskies in the Sweet 16.
Steve Carlin is also one of those big fans in Phoenix.
He joins us live via News Story Satellite, where fans can hardly wait for the game to begin.
I'm at the Crown Plaza in downtown Phoenix, the site of tonight's Hawkeye huddle.
And with me right now is Milton Deppie. He's the president of the Valley of the Sun Eye Club here in Milton.
How many members do you guys have?
There's about 3,000 local alumni from the English Iowa down here in Phoenix.
OK, 3,000 people. How many folks do you expect in this room tonight?
They're telling me about 500 in the room tonight.
It looks like you have the coolest shirts around. I'm going to have to get one of these.
We try very hard. We try very hard. Arizona Hawkeye shirts are popular down here.
It's just amazing to me how many Iowa people are here in the Valley of the Sun
and how active they are with the University of Iowa. You folks just do a great job.
We try very hard, and we take a lot of pride in saying, yeah, we live in Arizona, but we're still Hawkeyes.
You have a degree from the University of Iowa? I studied history. Got my degree in 1989.
And what are you doing now?
I work for a company called Orthologic. It's a medical sales office.
And still a hawk, always a hawk. Always a hawk.
Please let me go cut him. He'll come out.
Cut him. It'll come out. OK, and from a kid from Iowa City, that sounds pretty good.
So we'll have more on this coming up for you tonight at 10, so hang with the Hawks, and let's beat UConn.
Let's do it. Thank you very much, Steve. Sports director Heidi Sali is also in Phoenix.
We'll talk to her live coming up later in sports.
Well, the sky may be the limit for the Iowa Hawkeyes, but back here in the Hawkeye State,
the sky was quite literally falling today.
You've got to see this one. News Channel ace Brian Paulson takes us to the state capitol,
where a construction accident sent pieces of the rotunda ceiling falling six stories below.
It looks like there's a big hole in the sky.
The kids in Mrs. Goodman's fifth grade class from Centerville aren't daydreaming.
There really is a hole in the sky.
Actually, it's the painted ceiling of the capitol rotunda,
and it happened when construction workers fixing steps in the capitol dome dropped a piece of railing.
All of a sudden, a piece come down and hit me in the head.
That's right. A piece of the sky conked lobbyist Ned Chido right on the noggin.
Oh, wow. That's a work.
It's like a rock or something hitting me in the head.
Chido's OK. In fact, he says it's a sign from the heavens,
because when the sky came falling on top of him, he was lobbying for a bill to require kids to, what else,
wear helmets when they ride their bicycles.
It's like the Lord was telling us that that bill's important.
Maybe, maybe not, but it's certainly a conversation piece.
Titus, people.
A collector's?
Yeah, a souvenir.
Brian Poulsen, News Channel 8.
Well, no one was hurt seriously by the falling plaster,
and a spokesman for the capitol building's general services says repairs won't cost taxpayers a dime.
The contractor will have to foot the bill of that repair.
Well, you know, the one thing that hasn't been falling out of the sky the past few days is rain or snow.
And we have John McLaughlin to thank for that, as we look forward to spring break. John?
No, it feels very spring-like the past couple of days.
Windy, somewhat warm, and plenty of sunshine. That will continue tonight.
Temperatures in the upper 20s, with just a few clouds passing overhead.
Tomorrow we should see quite a bit of sunshine again.
And temperatures, much like today, around 50 degrees.
We will take them. Thanks, John.
Coming up next on News Channel 8 at 6, a Sioux City couple lucky to be alive tonight.
They were passengers on board that train that was involved in a deadly semi-truck crash in Illinois.
And a dramatic rescue in the Des Moines River today. Those stories and more just ahead.
Federal investigators overnight stage a reenactment to try and figure out what may have caused a deadly train crash.
As you know, the crash happened Monday night in Bourbonnet, Illinois.
The Amtrak train ran into a semi-rig that was in the middle of the tracks.
The crash killed 11 people and injured more than 100 others.
Last night, NTSB investigators staged a recreation of the crash.
Today, a potential witness to the crash stepped forward.
That witness is reported to be a driver who was behind the semi-truck involved in the accident.
Investigators hoping that driver may have valuable information in the case.
Meanwhile, there were many survivors of the crash as well, and they continue their recovery.
Two of those survivors are from Sioux City. The couple is back home tonight.
Thankfully, safe and sound. News Channel 8's Tom Elser traveled to Sioux City today,
and he joins us live from the Western Iowa Live Link. Tom, how are they doing?
Well, right now they're a little sore, but for the most part they are okay.
The train ride was supposed to be the beginning of their vacation.
I can't believe this one or this one. Just lucky to be alive. Just lucky.
Rex Karnes almost missed his 68th birthday today.
This train ride was supposed to be part of a celebration trip with his wife, Joyce.
I heard the screeching of those brakes and I started yelling and screaming. I was scared to death.
From then on it was just pure hell.
Within seconds, the train became a crumpled mass of metal.
Rex tells me he couldn't see anything.
Just pitched back. You couldn't see your hand before you.
You didn't know if you was right side up or up over end or nothing. It was just chaos.
The Sioux City couple quickly found their way out of the train and just in time it went up in flames.
I just don't like to think of those people being killed in the cars, in those sleeper cars.
The impact of the crash hurt Rex's ribs. His leg went numb.
I kind of felt down here kind of like if my leg was on. I didn't know if it was tore off or not. It could have been.
Despite the disaster, this couple is planning another trip on Amtrak.
Oh yeah. I like the train.
Rex and Joyce say they've received more than a hundred phone calls from family and friends all wanting to make sure they're okay.
And they are okay, Kevin and Jeanette.
Thank you very much, Tom.
A dramatic rescue in downtown Des Moines today after a man jumps into the river for no apparent reason.
58-year-old Danny Woods jumped off a bridge near his home at the downtown YMCA.
Police and firefighters tried but failed to talk him out. He finally grabbed onto a log and waited for help.
Firefighters and medics arrived in a rescue boat, pulled him out of the frigid water and then rushed him to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
Time to get back to John McLaughlin now and more on the great forecast that lies ahead for all of us.
Yes, it's unbelievably nice. We continue the dry weather trend. Temperatures will be around 50 all the way into the weekend. The details next.
News Channel 8's John McLaughlin has been named the National Weather Association's Broadcaster of the Year.
Not a bad day today. Temperatures topping out near 50 degrees across central Iowa, looking from the west cam back toward downtown right now.
Forty-six degrees, partly cloudy skies, winds northerly at just 10 miles per hour. It's not too bad there.
Dewpoint in the mid-20s, humidity low 40s, and the pressure is rising at 3039. A little bit sunshine outside right now.
Temperatures across the upper Midwest, not too bad. You'll notice a warming trend out here across the plains of the Dakotas.
Temperatures topping in the 50s today. Still a lot of snow on the ground across Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, holding temperatures down into the 20s and the 30s.
Look at the regional radar picture. There is a storm system down across Texas and it's spreading rain as far north as Colorado and Kansas.
We could see a few clouds out of this, but it looks like precipitation is going to stay just to the south of us.
Next 24 hours, not too much expected. There's that band of clouds from those southern storms.
Again, that might creep into some of the southern counties tonight, but mainly clouds. No precipitation in the forecast for the time being.
Elsewhere, we're looking at dry conditions now and melting snow across much of the upper Midwest.
Next 24 hours, big storm down to the south. Lots of thunderstorms, maybe a little snow on the backside of this, but will not be impacting our weather.
High pressure remains over the Great Lakes. That's going to keep us in an east to northeast wind over the next couple of days.
So temperatures up to 40s to around 50 degrees. Shouldn't see anything much above that.
54 Kansas City right now, 44 Chicago down to the south. Temperatures in the 70s around Atlanta, Miami, and also in New Orleans.
The national radar picture shows that storm system right in this location. Strong thunderstorms breaking out again today.
Those will continue across much of the Gulf Coast area and again about as far north as Kansas and Colorado.
So good news for us if you're expecting dry weather, temperatures right now in the 40s across Northern Iowa to about 50 to the south.
50 was high today after a morning low temperature of 30 degrees in Central Iowa.
Upper 40s around Boone and Ames, Sheraton, 46 currently in Creston, Atlantic and Knoxville, both with 50 degrees.
Your forecast now for Des Moines and Central Iowa. Clear skies, upper 20s tonight with north winds 5 to 10.
Pleasant day tomorrow, temperatures around 50 degrees, light northeast winds, plenty of sunshine tomorrow.
Tomorrow night partly cloudy, 30. And as we head on into Saturday, more sunshine, temperatures low 50s.
And really about the same situation over the weekend. We'll see quite a bit of sunshine and temperatures upper 40s to right around 50 degrees.
Perfect for all those spring breakers. Do they stay here? Well, some do. Some do. Those ones that can't go to Mexico. Yeah. Thanks, John.
News Channel 8 became part of the Hearst Argyle, Inc. family officially today. Hearst Argyle executives announced the acquisition of seven radio stations and nine television stations, including KCCI-TV.
KCCI, previously part of the Pulitzer Publishing Company. The merger between Hearst Argyle and Pulitzer became official after a vote of the shareholders.
And those three guys are the big shots, the brass now, our bosses. Yeah. It's going to be a nice story.
Just under three hours now from the Hawkeye Suite 16 victory over Connecticut. That's the way to think.
You can see the victory exclusively here on News Channel 8. Tip-off comes about a half hour after the Gonzaga, Florida game at approximately 915.
Heidi Soliday joins us live via satellite from Phoenix, the site of tonight's big game. And she has a guest who's really eager to win tonight.
That's right. I'm here with the Hawkeye dad, Mack McCausland. He's got his lucky tie on Mack. Hey, it's chips and salsa time. Go to the fridge. We'll be back right after this.
Tonight's News Channel 8 sports is sponsored by Stivers, Lincoln Mercury.
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Time for sports and everybody wants to talk Hawkeye tonight.
Yes, you two are predicting wins tonight. Oh, it's pretty gutsy. Pretty gutsy. Shock the nation might be a good theme when Iowa meets Connecticut.
The Ozmakers say it would be a shocker if the Hawkeyes knocked off the top seeded Huskies. The countdown to game time continues.
Let's go to game side. America West Arena and Heidi Soliday with a special guest. Heidi.
Thanks a lot, John. I'm here with a man who's got to be one of the most nervous men in Phoenix tonight. It's Mack McCausland.
Mack, you're the father of one of the seniors on the team. You got your lucky tie on.
What does it mean to you to be the father of Kent McCausland who's had such a big hand in some huge Iowa victories this year?
Heidi, honestly, it's very difficult when you're a father. When you're a media person, as you know, you just sit there, you're supposed to be objective, see what's going on.
As a father, you don't have enough Gaviscon, you don't have enough Alka-Seltzer, you've got to have headaches, sweat, everything.
And right now, I'm just a happy father. It's center stage. It's time for Kent, Jeff, and his mom to have their shining moment, see what happens in the next three or four hours.
Realistically, what are Iowa's chances against Connecticut?
Honestly, when you look at it, Connecticut probably is one of the top two or three teams in the country.
Iowa has to shoot extremely well in order to win this game. If they don't shoot well, I just don't think they can win this game.
But, you just go out, that's why you step over the line, have fun, see what happens.
And it's a great time for the Big Ten. They're doing very well. Four teams in the Sweet 16.
Jim Delaney is here to watch the Hawkeyes. He's going to leave from here and go to St. Louis tomorrow.
And he's very proud of the Hawkeyes, what they have done, and of course, very proud of four out of 16, as you indicated.
The Big Ten is a very strong conference.
Is Steve Alford Tom Davis' successor?
Certainly, when you look at all fingers and what direction they're pointing, Steve Alford is the man right now, but you've got a lot of situations, other jobs opening up.
You've got to see what happens over the next three or four days.
Okay, Mac, thanks a lot for joining us. Go drink that Gaviscon.
I will.
Okay, and the chips and salsa, whatever you need.
Well, we talked to Tom Davis yesterday. He was at the press conference, of course, and he talked about all that's gone on with the Hawkeyes this year.
And rather than a distraction, has all this fuss about his being let go from Iowa served to add to Iowa's determination?
You know, I haven't been able to see that it has.
You know, most people seem to think that it has, and maybe it has, but I haven't been able to measure or to see that.
It's not something, obviously, that I've used as a coaching tool. It's something that we've just lived with.
I haven't ducked any questions in terms of what I'm dealing with, but I just haven't gone into depth on the issue.
Of course, the issue tonight is the Connecticut Huskies. That game, 30 minutes after this first game gets over, Florida and the Zags,
we're all ready to tip it off at America West Arena here in Phoenix. John?
All right, we'll see you in a few hours, Heidi. Thanks.
Well, they will start counting state champions tomorrow night at Betts Auditorium.
Des Moines Christian has a shot at the 1A title, but it took overtime to get it. The Lions has his game face on it, never changes.
First quarter, Des Moines Christian's Dustin Rand getting it done with the D, just the steal, takes it all the way, and a 7-0 Lion lead.
If not, it would get closer in the second. Adam Daly, the big guy, steps outside, hits the 3, Des Moines Christian up 6.
Now we get closer. This one goes to overtime in the extra period, a huge play.
John Moore with the steal right here, goes in, gets fouled, the shot falls, a 3-point play, and the Lions survive the play for the championship, 48-42.
I knew where the ball was going. I came close a couple times on that play, saw his eyes, looked over there, and fortunately I got the steal.
Coming down three years in a row definitely doesn't hurt any, and I think our guys got a lot of experience under the belt, and we're going to come up with a W on Friday.
I told our kids after the game that good teams find a way to win, and John Moore's steal in the overtime period was just one of those things.
If in fact we're a team of destiny, then we're going to win the state championship tomorrow night.
And tomorrow night the Lions meet Newell Fonda 6-35 for the 1-8 crown, Jason Sarchit with 35 points for Newell Fonda, upset of Rock Valley 65-60.
Defending state champs in class 2-8, cruising towards a repeat, even with 6-9 Nick Collison sitting out the game with foul trouble.
Iowa Falls won by nearly 40 points this afternoon. It was against Jessup, and Collison watching the first half with three fouls, got in the second, and figures right away.
The alley-oop inside, 40-18, cadets have the lead. Later, Lindeman, Mike Lindeman working to Collison, the old give-and-go, Lindeman finishes.
And something for your How That Reel KU fans, Nick Collison.
The big alley-oop there, 14 Iowa Falls players see action, and they win big, 83-45. The other 2-8 semifinal, Pella Christian and Fort Dodge fans making friends.
First quarter Pella Christian, Ryan Klein has the touch, and a 4-0, Eagles lead.
The state Edmonds comes back, Cory Barprey, that big game in the quarterfinal, here he drives, gets the score on his sweet reverse, but Pella Christian clips the state Edmonds 66-64.
Alright, and also we have NCAA wrestling, we'll show you highlights tonight. Oklahoma State has a 3-point lead over Iowa. Oklahoma State in first at 23, Iowa with 20. More highlights tonight.
Thanks, John. We'll be back.
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Dow Jones Industrial Average up 118 points today, up above 10,000, but it didn't close there. 3 points short, the NASDAQ up about 34, S&P 500 up 18.
See you at 10.