Work on our streets easily than what we were doing prior to having local option sales tax available. Boom among the biggest projects the 42nd street craters from kennedy high to i 380. Also the west post road pot holes near truman school. School. You have to have patience. Neighbor shelly meyer says she hopes its smooth and finally stops the street flooding. The water really backs up from the base of the hill a couple blocks down i mean cars go through and its just a cesspool. Varoooom also on the list the rough ride near roosevelt on b avenue northwest. Northwest. Its just crumbling under our tires. At tangles salon Rene Schrader says they know the road work will be inconvenient but worth it. You gotta go through the process of the construction to be able to hae that nice result and you know the outcome. Youll have many many years to use a very good road. Mccarty edgewood and oakland roads are also on the list. Well put a link to all the projects in your neighborhood on our website. Covering the corridor in cedar rapids Matt Hammill Fox 28 news. The state dot is launching a study of iowas longest road. Road. Officials are looking for the best way to upgrade interstate80. They hope to outline a final plan next year. Some of the key areas the study will look at include the addition of truckonly lanes, weather impacts, as well as cost and funding. In iowa, interstate 80 spans 306miles, going from davenport through council bluffs. Things are calming down across iowa after yesterdays powerful winter storm. Storm. Now, temperatures are going to turn a lot colder. Tonight for chief meteorologist terry swails, with your a developing story out of cedar rapids tonight tonightwhere police tell fox 28 news theyre asking people to avoid a planned meeting this weekend. Weekend. A similar meeting in des moines triggered this response from police there. It involves a Group Calling themselves return of kings. the Group Believes men are discriminated against by feminist and other minority groups. Groups. Des Moines Police warned that planned meetings there and in cedar rapids could be a ruse and instead a way to commit rape and other women. Cedar Rapids Police told fox 28 news tonight in a statement quote it is our recommendation that no one actually goes to any of these sites. Just moments ago, the Controversial Group posted on their website that after outcry, the meeting has now been cancelled. The iowa lottery and Multistate Lottery Association are now facing the first of potentially several lawsuits. Lawsuits. Its all in connection to the ongoing case surrounding eddie tipton. In july, the former Security Director was convicted of fraud for rigging lottery computers to collect a multiMillion Dollar jackpot. A lawsuit filed on behalf of larry dawson seeks ten Million Dollars. It claims a nine Million Dollar jackpot he won should have been nearly three times as big, had it not been for tiptons actions. Tipton is also accused of rigging jackpots in other states. The lawsuits could cost the iowa lottery and others tens of millions of dollars. Positions in the u. S. Military are open to women for the first time in history. History. But military Officials Say full integration is still years away. Away. Fox 28 News Reporter joe huisinga joins us live with what these new opportunities will mean for women in iowa. Allowing women to serve in combat opens 220 thousand positions previouly closedto them. In the Iowa National guard that adds up to 17 hundred roles that women can now fill. I feel that if a woman wants to go and do combat roles by all means they should be allowed to go do combat roles. Staff sgt Sasha Zimmerman says she is not interested in combat but she is glad to see the opportunity for others. T not yone types that yes youre a female you shouldnt be doing this stuff but you have to prove yourself that you can do it and you will do it. Chuck elias was one of the first army women when support positions were opened. He said it was an honor to serve with them but he can see how some men may feel over protective of women in combat. My experience of the women in the service is that they perform in an outstanding manner. He saw them struggle in some categories but exceed in others. Others. I think certinly theres physical limitations but i surely know this ive known female Service Members that could out shoot me out run me. The pentagon has been clear that it will not lower any physical standards and thats just fine with Staff Sargent zimmerman. 33;48;2you dont want t o lower your standards, if anything you want to higher your standards. You want the best of the best. Now that the combat positions are open to women top military officials are arguing that women should join men and be required to register for Selective Service at the age of 18. Covering the corridor in cedar rapids joe huisinga fox president obama did something today he has nevedone before while in office. He visited an american mosque. Mosque. He spent about two hours meeting with members of the Islamic Society in baltimore. Baltimore. The visit was meant to show the president s support of the vast majority of muslims living peacefully in the us. He said the Muslim American community is being villified by many, including some who want to succeed him. Recently weve heard inexcusable political challenges as americans of any faith. He got emotional when speaking of the letters hes received from muslim teens who feel their own country hates them. And the notion that they would be filled with doubt, questioning their place in this great country of ours at a time when theyve got enough to worry about, its hard thats not who we are. Are. The president says he wants those muslim teens to know they are just as much a part of america as anyone else. Next on the fox 28 news at nine. Nine. A lot of talk about finances today. Including one of the states Largest School districts looking for a boost from state lawmakers. Well tell you how much they want. Want. And North Liberty maps out plans to keep up with the citys surging population. Whats on their todo list, joins us tomorrow on fox28 morning live eastern iowas only local newscast at 7 am. Valentines day is this month gift for your valentine, well see what newbo city market has to offer tomorrow on fox 28 morning live. See you at 7. Cedar Rapids School district leaders are adding their voice to the debate over Education Funding in iowa, iowa,everyone agrees more money is needed, but the fight at the statehouse right now is over how much. Much. Cedar Rapids Schools, the second largest district in the state, is releasing a worksheet showing how much funding is needed just to maintain the status quo. It shows although enrollment is flat, staffing is lower than it was five years ago. The district says it needs a 3point7 percent increase from the statecompared to the governors proposed 2. 5 percent hikenow, the district wants parents to reach out to lawmakers and make their voices heard. We want great learning environment for our students and we want to provide the opportunities and programming that we currently do, and better hope, would be that we could provide even more think in the short term, our conversation is how do we at least have enough funding to provide the equivalent grade experiences that we currently do. Do. To see the worksheet for yourself, head to our website, fox 28 iowa dot com. One of the Fastest Growing communities in the corridor has a lot of Financial Decisions on its plate. Plate. So what will city leaders plan for in the coming months . Fox 28 News ReporterMellaney Moore lays it all out, in North Liberty. Liberty. North liberty city Officials Say they have plans for another busy year as they create the fiscal year 2017 budget. Probably the most interesting thing that were doing is the council has decided to put some money toward restoring the ranshaw housethe council has 200,000 planned to restore the Historic House that now hosts some Community Events and could have more. The ranshaw family was one of the first families here in North Liberty to the east on penn street, North Liberty road and dubuque street the city has resurfacing, sewer and water projects totaling at least 12 Million Dollars over the next the northeast part of town is going to be our next big growth area and with the high school currently under construction we have two subdivisions that are getting close to submitting construction plans. To the west, the city plans to use 3. 5 Million Dollars to widen penn street to four lanes from the i380 ramps to alexander way this year and then to jones boulevard the next. That road gets a tremendous amount of use, especially as folks are leaving in the morning and coming back in the afternoon after that theyll need to work with the federal government on the bridge that crosses the interstate. Its just more of you know making sure that our infrastructure is keeping up with our needs, so thats what the fiscal year 17 will be all about. City leaders say they hope to approve the budget in the next few city council meetings. Covering the corridor in North Liberty, Mellaney Moore, fox 28 news. Iowa city is now a certified blue zones community. Community. The certification immplementation of blue zones projects over the past two years. Years. Since the start of 2014, a quarter of iowa city schools have become designated blue zones schools, while 23 restaurants have earned a similar designation. Iowa city will celebrate its certification during the freeze festival on saturday, february 20th. Another story were tracking in iowa city. The city council has decided not to approve a plan to spend 50thousand dollars on a new piece of public art. The downtown district, which wants to install the art piece, will continue to try to raise the so, let me get this straight u. S. Cellular has the phone youre looking for, a network thats built to give you coverage way out here where the other guys dont, and 6 gigs for only 40 a month. Thats a lot less than verizon and at t. So, why on earth would you ever go with one of those other guys . Switch to u. S. Cellular now and get 6 gigs of data for 40 a month still to come on the fox 28 news at nine. Nine. Finding artistic inspiration in the biggest happens when the political stage and theatrical stage collide when the fox 28 so, let me get this straight u. S. Cellular has the phone youre looking for, a network thats built to give you coverage way out here where the other guys dont, thats a lot less than verizon and at t. So, why on earth would you ever go with one of those other guys . Switch to u. S. Cellular now and get 6 gigs of data for 40 a month plus get 300 back. [ echoing ] just sayin. The Iowa Caucuses are a celebrated kickoff to the process of nominating a candidate for president. But some take advantage of all the attention for some theatrical fun. Fun. Fox 28 news anchor, and host of iowa in focus kevin barry shows us the lighter side of this important Selection Process with caucus the musical. musical. this mix of politics and performance was born on the iowa state campus in the 1980s when three different president ial candidates were to students like robert john ford. At that point it just really struck me that this is something only we iowans experience and its so theatrical in its own way and this should be a theater play in its own form. It took the better part of 20 years to put pen to paper but once he did. I wrote it in less than 10 days and it was up in a work shop in less than two weeks. It was a very easy process because it had been brewing in my head for so long and j knew what i wanted to present on stage. The goal entertain and educate everyone about the process that it so uniquely iowa. All the surrounding states have no idea what we experience being first in the nation that means from 20042012 there were small changes with characters and their parties but this media is just such a part of this whole process now so we have to include that. But there are changes to reflect just how unpredictable 2016 has been. It just had to be that way because this year feels so different than any previous year. But at the end robert includes the moment of charity that he says voters in iowa eventually find themselves. Throughout the process they get caught up in the campaigns and candidates but by caucus night iowans get to the heart of the matter and ke informed decisions. Kevin barry reporting. Caucus the musical runs through this weekend. You can find more information about the history of the play through a link on our website fox 28 iowa dot com. Com. And for more political in focus, every sunday morning at 9 30, right here on fox 28. And theres plenty to talk about from the campaign trail. Trail. Next on the fox 28 news at nine, the latest president ial candidates whose bids for the white house ended in iowa. Iowa. And well recap tonights democratic town hall in new hampshire. As well as hear from those who think its time for a new debate strategy when the fox 28 news at nine the Iowa Caucuses claimed two more victims today. Party leaders like to say its not as important to find out who wins on caucus night as it is to find out which candidates are viable. Viable. Democrat Martin Omalley and republican Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race before the final votes were even counted. And today, two more left the campaign trial. Trial. That tops tonights vote 2016 coverage rand paul suspended his run for the white house citing a low vote count in iowa. Fox 28 news caught up with senator paul on capitol hill today. He says hes satisfied with his teams effort and will refocus his efforts within the legislative branch. I think it just wasnt enough votes to have the momentum to win in new hampshire. I have always been a big believer in spreading the message but also doing it in a race we can actually win, so we will carry on these same principals, but we will now carry them on in the us senate. Senate. Senator paul didnt say if he will endorse any of the remaining gop candidates. Another departing candidate is endorsing one of his former rivals. Rivals. Former pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum suspended his campaign a short time ago after coming in last in monday nights caucus. Winning the iowa contest in 2012. Santorum gain support among a crowded field of evangelical is endorsing florida senator marco rubio for president. The two democrats left in the race are trying to drum up support right now in new hampshire, where voters will take part in the first in the nation primary on tuesday. Tuesday. Tonight, they took part in a town hall discust is next on the stage, former clinton. In recent days, clinton has pushed her more moderate views as having the best chance of producing meaningful change in the current Political Climate on issues including health care. With so many town halls and debates between the candidates, we want to know if they really sway your vote. Vote. Fox 28 News National correspondent Kristine Frazao spoke to some people who say its time to throw out the entire format. Format. Political campaignsa the American People are sick and tired of hearing about your emails. President ial debates are crafted to give voters more information about the candidates policies and plans. But some argue theyve become more spectacle than schooling. Don irvine is chairman of the Media Watchdog Group accuracy in media. A lot of time is spent just critiquing each other criticizing each other doesnt do them any good. It doesnt teach them anything, it doesnt help them learn about the issues whether its syria the economy or whatever. Even some of the candidates themselves have weighed in suggesting some changes could benefit the voters. Debates are supposed to be established to help the people get to know the candidates butt 1417 what its turned into is a gotcha heres senator rand paul, who just suspended his campaignthe only thing i would suggest that i think would be better would be putting a big issue out and then sort of everybody little bit more back and forth. But some argue the debates should be about style that the substance is easily accessible on the candidates websites. If you start giving candidates three four five minutes to give an answer they sound less like a president and more like a professor and voters begin to tune out. With at least seven more debates schedule just for the primaries, the candidates are going to need as much of the voters attention they can get. In washington im kf reporting. Theres still much more ahead on the fox 28 news at nine. Nine. First, heres a look at the stories were working on right now for cbs 2 news ten at 10. 10. A bill to legalize fireworks in iowa is gaining momentum at the capitol. Well tell you why an eastern iowa lawmaker says one of the laws provisions will make it virtually impossible to enforce. And Flint Michigans water crisis Takes Center Stage in washing