From the scene of his mothers murder, showed up at her house. My husband called me and said ashton had went to ththdoor, said that nick had stabbed and killed his mom and put the porkchops in the refrigerator. My husband called and`told me, well really its a seven year old telling us what had happened. Happened. The defense claims a mix of alcohol and anti depressants made luerkens violent. Testimony will continue tomorrow. Murders, shootings and other violent aas have grabbed a lot of headlines in the corridor in recent years. Years. In cedar rapids alone, 89 reports of shots fired in 2015. 2015. Whe almost everyone agrees the violence hasasto stop, some e stepping up and doing something about it. Reporter dora miller takes a closer look at the Community Efforts effortsin this fox 28 news special report. Report. Children are innocent thats how we picture themem its how we want to see them. We dont want to believe they could be capable of heinous crimesa but in early september, cedar rapids found out a hard truth. When dino found 15yearold aaron richason on the frontnt steps of his home. Home. Standing here watching this kid bleed last night, its not a joyful thing and it was very painful to see this young man bleeding and throwing up blood. The teenager later died and 14yearold d bert humbles s s arrested as the child suspected of pulling the trigger. Trigger. It angers me, makes me more outraged to hear 15yearold child has lost his life, his whole life was ahead of him. According to police records, richardson was the youngest victim of the six homicides this year. Year. We certainly have a problem withshots fired and then this recent incncent where two very young people, 14 and 15 years old, one unfortunately being killed and the other one possibly facing life in prison, has really become a rallying call for the community. Community. They say it takes a village, were trying to raise that village again to uake sure that children feel safe. Dorice ramsey the executive director of an Afterschool ProgramJane Boyd Community house. She says they want to be solid support for children in the community. Community. When pele feel connected, when people feel a part of a community, when you ow who your neighbor is, when you know the name of your neighbor, its those personal relationships that people have that will really change the fabric of this community. Community. It takes schools and the police and nonprorot agenenes, because what we know is with violence, its really an eroding of hope, its people feeling as though they arent getting the support they need. At four oaks a childrens advocacy prograra n grgrnewald says they offer that supporta but with Different Community groups sprouting up, theres likely some in your own backyard. Backyard. Were not the neighborhood watch, ere not telling you what to do, were not peeking out our r ndows looking for ways to get you involved. Involved. One of the oldest associations in cedar rapids belongs to what many call the most troublese area in the city Wellington Heights. So far this year, almost 25 shots fifid reports, but with the help of people who want to see change, their crime has seen a decrease. Decrease. Our crime is down in one year approximately 25 percent across the board. Board. Thats who i see in this neighborhood, a lot more than shooters and drugs and everything, i see people that want to help, i see people that want to be engaged in the community. The president of the Wellington HeightsNeighborhood Association says they neemore people who care about t is city to roll up their sleeves s and take action. People like grady daniels, who lives in Wellington Heights and makes himself part of the solution. Solution. Myself, the Wellington HeightsNeighborhood Association, the police, weve been trying to put togethth programs where e youth can get t together and find alternatives to violence. So when city leaders put together a think tank to combine all the citys anti violence groups, pe was renewed. Renewed. the issue associated with violence, the out of this problem. Were all in this. This. Theres a lot of different groups with the same goal, im not knocking none of them, they have the same goal but all the directions are scattered. Scattered. We really have to do a good job of taking everyones strengths and putting it into this think tank and figuring out whats gonna a the best for oururkids and then whats best for our kids is gonna be best for our community. The goal of peace takes more than one group, more than one approacha approacha the solution we find is in small, concrete action steps and it juststtakes many, many, many of them. Covering the corridor in cedar rapids, dora miller cbs 2 news ten at ten as far as moving forward, organizers of the ink tank say theyll be meeting once a month to brainstorm ideas and compare statistics. They say the key to success is keeping the community involved. Now an update to a tragic story that has taken an even darker turn. Turn. A police officer, only weeks from retirement, gunned down by three men near chicago. A massive manhunt began to find the shooter as a community was left in fear. Thats what happened in fox lake, illinois two months ago. But tonight, it appears it was all an elaborate suicide. Suicide. For weeks, the xhought of a staged Police Shooting seemem impossiblele. Om such a beloved and veteran officer. But now, investigators say Charles Gliniewicz knew his dark side was about to surce. Rface. The qnvestigation found gliniewicz had been stealing and laundering money from the Fox Lake Police which had been occurring for seven years. Years. Investigators say they also found evidence that he used thousands of dollars on personal items including g m memberships, mortgage payments, even adult websites. To make matters worse, authorities have identified two others implicated by the evidence found in the officers personal belongings. The head of the e x lake news quote the ultimate betrayal. Right now, privacy concerns threaten to derail an overhaul of the nations Mental Health care system systemcritics sasathe rrent plan could make it hahaer for people to get the Psychiatric Care they need. National correspondent Kristine Frazao take a closer look at the debate. Debate. In this fo28 news exclusive. Exclusive. The first overhaul of americas Mental Health care system in decades and theres now pushback coming from 19 of the 23 democratic lawmakers on the house energy and commerce committee. Thats where the bill i iing debated now. Everyone knows that we need to do better when it comes to Mental Health services. Represenative tim murphys bill written in the months following the massacare at e Sandy Hook Elementary School in connecticut in 2012 had enjoyed bipartisan support. Its waning now because of proposed changes to hippa privacy laws that would give family members and caretakers o oa mentally ill person more medical information. We want to make sure people feel they can go in privacy to get the help they need and to ask for whatever they need to resolve their Mental Illness. Democrats say if hippa is changed it will deter the mentally ill from seeking help. In other words, defeating the very purpose of reforming Mental Health care. About 10 Million People in the u. S. Have a serious Mental Illnesses like schizophrenia or biopolar disorder. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness or nomee almost half dont get psychiatric treatment nonofor many reasass including homlessness, incarceration, and too few hospital beds. We rarely if ever focus our attention on the broken Mental Health system until these mass tragedies occur. So, maybe it is the silver lining. Namis ron honberg [pronounced h ahnberg] hates to conflate Mental Health care with Mass Shootings, because he says not all perpertrators have a mentalalillness. But he believes murphys bill has the potential to eliminate some Mass Shootings in the future. You cant help but ask yourself had there been more agressive intervention available under these circumstances could the tragedies ha been prevented in the first place. Im Kristine Frazao reporting also today, a judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging governor branstads decision to close two state Mental Health centers. Centers. Democrat and Union Leaders filed the lawsuit, claiming the governor lacked the authority to make such a move without legislative approval. But a judge sided with the governor, saying he has the authority to veto funding for the centers in Mount Pleasant and clarinda. An attorney representing lawmakers and afscme says they plan to appeal to the iowa in nth liberty today. Today. The corridor Business Journal celebrated a new beginning where it all started. Started. The publication held an official groundbreaking for the companys new headquarters. The independent paper is moving out of the io[a River Landing and building a new home in north liberty, where the first issue was created 11 years ago. The new headquarters will be built at the villas at liberty executive park. Construction begins next week. The grace period on Student Loans is quickly coming to an end for the most recent batch of college graduates. Graduates. When it comes to paying all that money back, there are a lot of options available. Fox 28 News ReporterMellaney Moore explains explainsfrom the university of iowa. Iowa. College can be an exciting time in ones life. And an expensive one too. To ts a bummer, but its, i mean, i wanted to go to college, i wanted to come here, its worth it. Right now. Well see in four years. Radavich says she has upwards of 50 thousand dollars in loans. As a sophomore. Sophomore. Education is worth it to me. The university of iowa office of Student Financial aid sayayborrowers in the 2014 graduating class dollars in student loan debt. They say one of the first thingsyou can do is talk with your debt counselor about repayment options whether your plan is s a number of years or y yr income. Income. There are incomebased repayment plans that are available, so you could reduce that Monthly Payment substantially depending on what your income is. If you have several loans, consolidation n ay be an option to look into. But harrington says its not for everybody everybodyright now what they do is they take a weighted average of all of your Interest Rates. That means you might not necessarily save money. Harrington says if youre able. Pay y during the grace period and any extra you can. Can. Youll have less interest accruing over time, so it will allow you to pay down the loan a little bit faster. The Financial Aid office wants students to be proactive i figuriri out how t tpay for school rather than reactive. Many students say a College Education is worth it and a priceless investment. Investment. I definitely think it is because im so happy to be going to school here. Covering the corridor in iowa city, memeaney moore, fox 28 news. The Financial Aid office suggests using online resources to research the best repayment options available. Next on the ox 28 news at nine. Nine. Its almost time to unwrap what could become a christmas classic for your family. Well give you an exclusive sneak peek at up on the wooftop created in the corridor. A car gives you freedom. Room to grow. And in time, room to grow up. Your dream car evolves, and protecting it takes committed support. Us tomorrow morning at seven for fox 28 morning live. The Iowa Caucuses are just three months away and theres an effort to teach teens more about the process. Process. Find out how both major poltical parties are coming together to teach kids at christmas . You couldnt wait to sneak a peek at the presents under the tree. Maybe shake a few boxes to guess whats inside . I know it may be a bit early but tonightin an exclusive reportwere going to loosen the wrapping on a very special Christmas Gift giftcreated the corridor. Corridor. It was really hard working with grace. Hey. Im just kidding, she did a killer job. Job. Hello . Hey, is this the north pole . No, its iowa. Io. What . Who are you . Im toby. And 11year old grace ingerswoll of iowa city plays morgan in up on the wooftop, the brand new Christmas Movie produced entirely in eastern iowa by backrow studios. Studios. This was definitely our biggest production yet. More cast, more crew members, bigger scope. We had to re create the north pole. We had to have a dog leading a sleigh. I got to drive a car. Ye we had to have grace driving a car. You see, its graces job, as morgan, is to get t by back the north pole after he falls off santas sleigh. Hey, do you know where i could find santa . Hmmmm, yes, the ll. The mama . Yeah, the mall. Well, can we go to the mall . Its closed, silly. Ahh candy crush. Every scene in up on the wooftop was shot in iowa city, solon and the quad cities with dozens of local extras and a central cast a crew of about fifteen, a Collaborative Experience that grace really enjoyed. Enjoyed. It was just nice to meet new people and work with them and hear r their ideas and share your own. You know, it helped make the whole thing better. Of course, wooftop is geared toward children, but clarke says with somom2nd city players aa Dennis Haskins as santa claus, theres plenty for adults to enjoy as well. Well. Theres definitely a lot of humor and a lot of themes that play to a mainstream audience so were really excited about that. That. Is this pipiow hypoallergenic . Go to sleep. Hey, just a warning, i get a little gassy at night sometimes. Oops sorry. Already set for global distribution, up on the wooftoto will have its red carpet premier at the Paramount Theatre next friday, november 13th. Were actually going to have a red carpet. Were gonna have a hollywood red carpet backdrop so people can walk the red carpet a a get their picture taken. And who knows, grace says this could be the start of a franchise. Franchise. Yeah. Wooftop on ice. Stan and dewey escape from jail. Stan and dewey escapepefrom jail, shes already got the plot line. Perfect. Hold on, what else ya got . Thats all. Okay. Next fridays red carpet premier includes a preshow event where you can meet the cast and crew and get treats for the kids. We have ticketet information at fox 28 iowa dot movie comes out on dvd, itunes, amazon and several other platforms november 17th. Still to come on the fox 28 news at nine. Nine. The fed chair speaks and wall street listens. What janet yellen said today that triggered a market selloff. Selloff. And looking to boost fast food sales by going gourmet. Well tell you about mcdonalds latest experiment to stop a slowdown in sales. If you think we can grow our economy while ignoring climate change, think again. Americas most Innovative Companies are already moving to clean energy using existing technology to improve their bottom line. Now we need a plan to help businesses and families across america to save money on electricity ancreate millions of new jobs. It all starts with 50 clean energy by 2030. Turning now to tonights business report. Report. When the fed talks, wall street listens. And that was certainly the case today. The chair of the Federal Reserve met with lawmakers today to d dcuss the countrys economic health. And it appears that after years of historically low Interest Rates, the fed is just about our statement indicates that december would be a live possibility but importantly that weve made not decision yet about it. It. As we said, wall street was listening to that news and it quickly triggered a selloff in theheajor markets for fear of a potential slowdown in economic growth. Growth. The dow shed more than 50 points. The nasdaq dipped nearly 3and the`sandp 500 fell more than 7 points. Heres some good news. Americans are buying more cars than ever. Ever. Us auto sales in october were up 14percent from the same time last year. And General Motors says iexpects the industry to surpass a sales record this year. Experts credit the spike in sales to low unemployment, cheap gas prices, low Interest Rates and more available credit. If you cant beat em, join emappears to be a strategy that fasasfood giant mcdonalds is testing overseas. Overseas. The company is experimenting with new gourmet burgers in england. The higher priced burgers are designed to compete against growing competitioiofrom chains like five guys and shake shack. If all goes well, they could roll out across the United Kingdom and even start appearing here in the us. Looking for a new direction after an election day defeat. Defeat. Stililto come on the fox 28 news at nine, what happens now that voters rejected a levy increase to fund the Cedar Rapids Library network. But first. First. Its not texting. Whats the one thing making driving even more dangerous for teenagers . Im sheila gray. Its ahead in my family 411 report. Do you thinknkhen you are president youll be paid as much as if you were a manmale. This is one of the jobs where they have to pay you the same. But there are so many examples where that doesnt happen. Im going to do everything i can to make sure every woman. As the men who are doing that job. Im hiary clinton for years, many have warned ababt the dangers of texting while driving. Driving. But in this age of ever improving technology, its not just short messages that are causing problems. In a story youll only see on fox 28 newu newssheila gray takes a look at the distraction dangngs in tonights family 411. 411. Be home by 11 45, no texting and driving. Cameron hollanders parents set down rules when he got his drivers license a few months ago, and he admdms its tough to ut e smartphone away when hes behind the wheel. Its a part of me. I use it all the time for school, snapchatting, social media. Its always on me. I never leave it behind. A lot of us feel that way about staying connected so much that theres a term for it fear of missing out. Buthild experts like dr. Robin gurwitch say, for teenagers, esescially, its a real fear. So if their friends are theyre not there to comment or respond, they start to worry,y,re they going to talk about me. If your friend posts something, you want to be the first one to like it. Theres definitely this fear of i need to know whats going on. I dont want to miss anything. Aaa driving instructor Mike Belcuore says, of course teens obey the rules at driving school but hes seen plenty of snapchat and instagram posts that provexthose rules pretty quickly go out the window. The day they get their license, they can all sit there and tell me theyre not going to do it, but there will be someone who takes a selfie while theyre driving and posts, look what i just got. in fact, a study by Liberty Mutual and a student riving group shows 88 percent of teens who consider themselves safe drivers use apps while driving. Thats especially dangerous for inexperienced drivers. Distractions are a top cause of teen crashes. Camerons already had a close call himself. And a person took a left turn on their phone, and i had to weave into the other lanes. Mike calls it an everybody problem and says parents need to modedegood driving behavior. By the time they get to us theyve spent 15 and a half, 16 years with their parents. Even the small things like rolling through a stop sign and not stopping completely, the kids pick up that habit. Mike thinknkputting down the cell phone will become habit some day like seat belt use is today. But it means shaping those good habits long before kids get behind the wheel. Cameron says he does it because he does have good role models. I dont want to disappoint my parents, and i dont want to get in a crash because of a stupid mistake. Sheila gray reporting. There are free apps to turn off texting while driving. But driving instructors say its even more important for kids to have consequences if they do it. Next, the consequences of a failed levy vote. Vote. Hear from Library Leaders in cedar rapids who wont get helplprom taxpxpayers to make up a budget shortfall. Shortfall. And later, an exclusive chat with the voice of the hawkeyes about the teams next test on their road to perfection when the fox changes are coming to the cedar rapids public library, after voters rejected a levy that wouldve given the library money to keep operating like it does now. It was just 24 hours ago that supporrs of the measure learned their efforts were not successful. Successful. For them, they must now prepare to move forward, without millions in additional funding. Funding. As you can see from last nights results, it wasnt close, the no votes earning a double digit advantage over supporters of the levy. Tonight, fox 28 News Reporter joy howe takes a closer look at what this will mean for the library and its staff. Staff. 7 days a weekare most likely over after voters rejected a 27 cent tax levy that wouldve helped fund the Cedar Rapids Librarys operations. Kurt well its st a shamethe libraris essential to people like kurt watson. Hes trying to find a job, and uses the web here four times a week to apply. Library lady our hope is that we can really minimize the impact of this in every way possib 06. 53. 19. 12 Library Staff members say theyre frustrated, but resilient already y looking ahead to the next chapter. We do know that there will be a reduction in services and a reduction in hours 06. 55. 16. 03 thats guaranteed, we just art sure yet what that will be. For right now, the plan is we know that we will most likely have to close one day a week for each location, nt know what days those are for sure, and i cant say the number of hours for sure that well be looking at cutting its more than just the books and the web for some. Robin i havent been this upset about a city happening in a long, long time. For people who come here often everydaythey dont like that a place thats been there each year for 700 thousand of them didnt have voters show up for it. Robin i wish more people had been aware and tten out and voted and been prouder of their library. It may be difficult for people to understand what the need means, until they feel that impactkurt what really drives me nuts is theyre renovating the square, where it really didnt need to be renovated, how much money are we spending on that renovation . 06. 48. 26. 29they dont quite know yet how the next story unfolds but they say they do know how it ends. Library lady were going to find a way to keep working with the community and be the resource weve always been. Weve been here for a really long time, were not going anywhere 06. 53. 15. 15covering thcorridor in cedar rapids, joy howe, fox 28 news at 9. Staff members say itll take a few months before we start seeing some of the changes. In the meantime, theyre working with the city and the board of trustees to determine just hundreds of students moved out of the clasasoom today to give back to their community. Community. Fox 28 News ReporterMarissa Scott has more on the lessons you cant find in a textbook. Textbook. I love being out here in the community and showing them what we can do and that the youth want to help out. When alaina marti found out she could spend her day painting, she jumped at the opportunity. Its just really fun to be there, we have some music going on so were having a great time and its all for a great cause. This is her first time being a part of xavier High Schools Community service project, and whats even better is she is one of 700 students who gave their time and helped out at more than 200 locations in cedar rapids. Rapids. We want to give back because we have been given so much and were so incredibly blessed blessed its just a way for our kids to g ge back to the community and theyve f fnd a variety of ways to do that. Principal keating says each year the Community Service day grows. This year, he says most students are raking leaves, helping the eldery or painting this habitat for humanity home. But when you talk with the students, it doesnt matter what theyre doing, just that theyre helping someone else. Else. Ive always found joy in making peoples days days its great to come out on day like this andnde able to ow our supuprt for the community. And create memories these students, and those theyre helping, will remember forever. Forever. I think it impacts groups on both sides. I think our intention iso impact the e folks in our community. But i think the students will tell you theyre impacted as well. Covering the corridor in cedar seral seniors are also organizing Service Projects each month. If you need help or know of ways to give back, feel free to reach out to the school. And coming up in sports sportsa happy homecoming all for not why marcus paige might not be playing in cedar falls later this month. Plus why the voice of the hawkeyes thinks iowa will leave indiana with anothew on november 21st North Carolina is coming to the Mcleod Center to tip it off panthers for Marcus Paiges homecoming except the marion native might not be able to play paige broke a bone in his right non shooting hand in pratice tuesday and will be out 3 to 4 weeks the tarhls date with the panthers is 17 days away the fomer linnmamalion led u c in scoring each of the last two years. It was a historic day yesterday with iowa cracking the College Football playo po for the First Time Ever but that ranking and all the hype surrounding the undefeated hawkeyes will go away with a loss to the hoosiers hoosiersindiana is coming off a bye so they got an extra week to prepare for saturdays game and with 4 games left, indiana needs 2 wins to become bowl eligable and the voice of the Hawkeyes Gary dolphin knows the hooisers arent just going to roll over. They know that they need two wins to become bowl eligiable and they also know that it would be a great feather in ththr cap to knock off and undefeated top 10 ranked team, so theres plenty of motivation for indiana there. Best shot i have know doubt about that. Indiana can score points, but so can iowa, indiana doesnttave iowas defense. I dont think indiana has iowas special teams, so i think you win 2 out of the 3 phases, you win the football game. Iowa state did all 3 phases very well against texas and that win not only game them m another w in the right column but it gave the cylones something they havent felt since october 3rd confidence confidencewhich is ner a bad thing especially when youve ot to strap it up against teams in the big 12 each week and all around the football complex theres a Little Something extra that the clones hope will carry over to oklahoma theres a little bit of ager going on, i mean, guys are going. Theres a lot of talk, a lot of energy throughout the lockerroom, a lot of energy in the dinning hall. Just everybody is getting a long, its a real upbeat environment. Environment. Wins are confidence builders an getting games in the win column, moving on to the next opportunity always provides afr a disappointing 2014 season the panther train is baba on track at least according to head wrestling coach doug schwab at the teams media day his freshman class ranked in the top 5 in all of division one so the young guys are talented nd eager to compete add that to his veteran lineup one that has 3 wrestlers ranked number 1 in the mac its bound to be a special season. You know if you wanna be a great program,m,ou cant just one deep. You cant just be well we got this guy and if we dont have this guy it just falls off the map. And i do believe we got some guys that are ready to m ke an impact right now. Theyve brought really new energy to r room. New mpetitiveness that we havent had for a while. When you come in here, watch practice, and you see and feel whats going on in here its truly special. Punching their Tickets Still to come fox 28 spots were up for grabs for the state tournament who spiked their way to the cell thats after the break. Do you think when you are president youll be paid as much as if you were a manmale. Where they have to pay you the same. But there are so many examples where that doesnt happen. Im going to do everything i can to make sure every woman in every job gets paid the same. As the men who are doing that job. The 3a, 4a, mnd 5a state volleyball brackets have already been set but there are e ill some tickets to be punched to the cell north cedar hasnt been to state since 1997 to ge tback, theyll have to snap wapsie valleys 14 match win streak streakboth teams swept their y to their 2a regigial fifil. First set kierra saulsberry had it going on she climbs the latter to welcome the knights to her block partynorth cedar not a fan of that party the wooh she brings the heat but wapsie valley was just too much the warriors set up haley weepie look out weepie finishes with the monster kill and wapsie valley is headed d the cell with a xxx joining the warriors at state west branch who knocked off durant sumner fredericksbur g and the 4 time defending 2a champs dike new hartford the wolverienes are making their 9th straight state apperance. For the 4th time this season springville and Marquette Catholic meet on the Volleyball Court the first 3 times have gone the orioles way but this one is the only one th will matter with the winner heads to statat statatits the tririvers west champ up against the tri rivers east champand the os went to work early. First set game point for springville. Chrissy hoogland with thflick of the wrist. Too hot to handle. Orioles take the first set. But the mohawks stormed back thanks to their serving. Check out that spin move on the ball by erica timmerman. Marquette the end of three gagas. Down 21 in the fourth set, the os go into rally mode. Or should i say beast mode. Samantha johnson i think we heard that one all the way back here in cedar rapids springville takes the last two to win it 32. Moving on to the cell center. Joining the orioles janesville whos makingngtheir 6th straighthtrip to state the wildcats beat iowa valley and tripoli who knocked off don bosco in a 5 set thriller the panthers are making their 17th trip to the big dance. Terry, can i kick it . Coe hosting loras in the iiac womens soccer semisscores in the second check out this pass mary oboyle heads it backwards to maddie avery and she kicks it in giving the duhawks the lead. But not even 10 minuteseslater the kohawks answer sarah fah tahlah sends one in and ashlynn moes provides the equalizer but loras would win 2 to 1 in penalty kicks. Thats a check of sports