Parts of eastern iowa. And some organizations are calling in cancellations for tonight, so people can just avoid driving. Kcrgtv9s chris earl talked with the iowa state patrol and joins us now. Chris, what are you seeing outside right now . The snow started falling here about 90 minutes ago and now. Its consistent. Large flakes. Will this be the start of what could be a major winter storm . The first snowfall of the season has been sharply anticipated for a few days. This was what downtown cedar rapids appeared d ike about an hour ago, when the first snowfall was hitting. Thosands of drivers clogged the streets to try and get out after the friday workday. We also spoke with the iowa state patrol about what theyve been seeing from western iowa today they told us most of the snowfall was hitting the ground and melting. One positive element according to troopr bob conrad this snow event is not a a urprise. 39 29 obviously, people are really talking about it today because 610 inches is something. If you haae a snow thats half an inch and it freezes right on the surface, that almost can be more dangerous. Everyone is taking this seriously, i think. Tonight at 10, well capture the evening as the snow covers the region and also take a look at the highvolume of traffic expectctd tomooow morning on i380 and i80 for the hawkeye Football Game kcrggv nines Dave Franzman is live at the cedar rapids public works building. What the plan for dealing with the snow . Chris, part of the plan started just now. The city declared a snow emergency starting at five oclock tonight and continuug on rough five oclock saturday afteenoon. That means drivers cant park on snow routes so crews have more room to push snow when it comes. As the forecast became more definite in recent days, workers here began shifting gears and changing out equipment. Instead of finishing up some still ongoing road projects, crews began attaching or adjusting plows on the 90 vehicles that will clear city streets. At the start of a winter season, salt and sand are in plentiful supply. And while its usually better to start with a smaller ready for whatever comes. Itd be better if we had something a little smaller, for drivers and those plowing the streets, the significance either way we till have to low theesnow whether its six or nine we still have to plow it. The plan for cedar rapids streets workers is to keep a few people on past normal shift change happening during the evening commute. Then evererody should come in at four tomorrow morning to clear the streets. And for linn county rural residents, heres a snow removal reminder from the secondary roads department. Crews will work from four in the morning until no later than six at night if it snows more than an inch on the weekend. And hardsurfaced roads have the first priority. Live in cedar rapids, Dave Franzman kcrrtv9 news. Stick to the ground. This is video from the millwork district. Our crew in dubuque says the snow is sticking to roofs and grass areas but roads are only wet so far. Snow removal crews in iowa city will be putting an extra emphasis on the mjor streets leading to Kinnick Stadium tomorrow morning. The hawkeye game against purdue has an 11 am kickoff. Crews will also work through the night to remove snow from inside the stadium and the surrounding parking lots. But the universitys warning fans that hey might still find snow n their rows. Theyre asking fans to be patient and to try to arrive early. The snowthats moving in is leading to a lot of canccllations and postponements for tonight. Your screen. For a full list, go to kcrg dot com. A dubuque Business Owner has his giant american flags back after Police Say Someone Stole them last summer. Tom rauen says on the 4th of july, someone stole the two 12 foot by 18 foot flags from off the front of envision sports design where they were on display. For several months, police had no leads in the case, until last week when investigators discovered the flags stashed away in a astorage facility. Police say they were investigating stolen Vehicle Parts in that facility when they found the flags. But rauen is still disappointed this even happened. Theses guys are criinals, obviously with no conscience to steal an american flag. Of interest related to both the theft of that car andthe flags. Theyyexpect to have the case wrapped up next week. First degreeeemurder chargrg. And this morning a linn county judge moved his case from Juvenile Court to adult court. Prosecutors say humbles shot and killed 15 year old Aaron Richardson near redmond park in southeast cedar rapids ast september. But humbles defense Attorney Says a plea agreement is in the works that would have the teenager prosecuted as a youthful offender. The agreement says he would go to a juveniie detention ceceter until he turns 18. Then a District Court judge would decide if he should serve out his sentence or whether to rease him. This morning a terrorist attack at a luxury hotel inin west africa killed about 20 people, and we know one was an american. An Islamic Extremist Group opened fire in bamako , mali and held 140 guests d 300employees hhstage. The gunmen stormed a radisson hotel, starting a siege that continued through the day. All hostages were later rellased the with help of us and French Special forces. The group claiming responsibility for this attack is an Islamic Extremist Group who split from alqaidas west African Branch two years ago. The hotel was hosting diplomatic delegates working on a Peace Process for a french colony battling islamic extremists. French lawmakers have agreed to impooe a three month state of emergency for their country after the terrorist attacks in paris. The state of emergency expands Police Powers for searches and arrests. Authorities can also forbid the movement of peesons and vehicles aa specific times and places. Today thousands of parisians turned out to pay tribute to the 130 people who died in the attacks one week ago today. A bill to pause the process for syrian and iraqi refugees coming to the us has an uncertain future in the senate. The house easily passed the bill yesterday even though the president has promised to veto it. The bill calls for the government to halt the Refugee Program until Key National Security agencies can certify the refugees dont pose security ththats. Senate minority leader harry reid has said he will try to block the bill. But today iowa senator joni ernst said she thinks the senate will pass the bill. She says righttow the top priority is the safety of americans. I try and steer the discussion back to the root cause of this humanitarian crisis, and that is isis nd the fact that we need to destroy isis. Ernst says she expects the vote on the bill to come shortly after senators return from their thanksgiving break. The ununversity of iowa has already seen several Sexual Assaults on campus this year. And now the Ui Police Department is providing a safe place for victims to stay. Hey this holiday, u. S. Cellulars giving you 50 more data than verizon and at t for the same price. But i wanted a p py. [ gasps ] youre getting data. Ponysized data . No. U. S. Cellular sized data. Good, strong data you can actually use because it works in the middle of anywhere. Id like 100 0 youre getting 400 in promo cards yes switch to u. S. Cellular and get 50 more data than verizon and at t. Plus 400 per line. See ya soon. N. Snowfall continues across tonight and at times will be heavy. The snowfall tapers off saturday mornnng leaving behind a wide swath of 69. Winds are then expected to increase overnight into saturday starting fromm the northeast and changing to the northwest at 1530 mph, leading to blowing and drifting. Cold conditionssre on tap for the remainder of the weekend as the lows by sunday morning fall into the single digits. Tonightt snow, heavy times low 2329 winds ne 1530tomorrow am snow, windy, cold high 2531 winds nw 1530tomorrow night clear cold low 28 winds nw 510sunday mostly sunny high 27 low 5 monday partly cloudy high 37 low 19 tuesday partly cloudy high 41 low 23 wednesday chance of showers high 44 low 28 thursday showers likely high 47 low 35 friday showers likely high 40 low 37 tess motors issrecalling its s sedans. This is the automakers largest recall ever, totaling 0thousand carsrs worldwide. Tesla will check front seat belts after a problem with just one peeson. A european custtmer said her seat belt disconnected when she turned to talk to another passenger. The company said the problem is due to a manufacturing error. Tesla seat belts, and it asks each owner schedule a a visit a service ceeter for inspection. A onetime residential Treatment Facility that closed in 2008 in marion now has come to life again as a four oaks facility for adolescent boys. Four oaks took possession of the facility along highway 151 just a week or so ago. Currently, 15 teens are in treatment here with an eventual population of 27. This four oaks unit is intended for those with Mental Health or behavioral issues ordered to treatment by a court. One big advantage in taking ove a former reeidential site is it ook just a minimal amount of remodeling to open. We spent many months looking around here and in central iowa looking for a location and this one is right in our home area a perfect locatiin four oaks will partner with the Linn Mar School district to have teachers on site for the students. Residential unit like this is six to 14 months. Snow is falling across the tv nine viewing area. Lets take another live look at the mobile weather lab which is driving west of cedar rapids. Blowing snow and slippery conditions are forecasted through tomorrow. Aft the recent niversity of iowa mumpss outbreak, thousands of students are getting vaccinations. An update is next here on tv nine. As an everyday business person, and not colonel sanders, why sometimes im just too busy to cook dinner. So, i just pick up kfcs twenty Dollar Family fill up with eight pieces of delicioio, original recipe e icken. Now have a more comforting place to meet with Police Investigators in iowa city. Today the university of iowa opened johnson countys first soft space. The space is on ui property, but it will be available to all Law Enforcement agencies in the county. The space isislocated in thehe capitol mall. Its room in the Ui Police Department. The idea is to give victims of crimes like Sexual Assault a place to feel more opennd comfortable when talking about traumatic crimes. The soft space includes lower lighting, soothing colors and gentle music. Organizers say its an important place for both victims and investigatatrs. A room like this will help to encourage those feelings of connection and comfort and rapport with their ivestigating officer. The room also has stress reduction items like stress balls and weighted blankets. Free clinics have vaccinated nearly five thousand university of iowa students against the mumps. The university started offering the free booster shots after a mumps outbreak began this fall. So far there have been more than 100 confirmed cases on campus this school year. The University Says it will continue to give the free vaccine boosters to students at Student Health and wellness beginning november 30th. Well be right back. New advanced placement capstone course. Find out what students think of it. And how dubuque Traffic Cameras helped find some flags stolen from a business. Thats toniniht at 6 hey this holiday, u. S. Cellulars giving you 50 more data than verizon and at t for the same price. But i wanted a pony. [ gasps ] youre getting data. Ponysized data . No. U. S. Cellular sized data. Good, strong data you can actually use because it worksks in the middle of anywhere. Id like 100 youre getting 400 in promo cards yes switch to u. S. Cellular and get 50 more data than verizon and at t. Final look at tonights snowy forecast. Eastern iowa tonight and at times will be heavy. The snowfall tapers off saturday morning leaving behind a wide swath of 69. Winds are then expected to startitig from the northeast and changing to the northwest at 1530 mph, leading to blowing and drifting. Cold conditions are on tap for the remainder of the weekend as the lows by sunday morning fall into the single digits. Tonight snow, heavy at times low 2329 winds ne 1530tomorrow am snow, windy, cold gh 2531 winds nw 1530 thank you, joe, and thank you for joining us for kcrgtv9 news at 5. Now we go to new york for tonight, as we comom on the air, we have just learned that at least one american killed in the hotel under attack. Several american guests inside