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Maggie: Hey guys, I am Maggie Rulli, reporting from Des Moines, Iowa. And today all eyes are here on the state, and media outlets are in from across the country, officially kicking off the 2016 election. And we are going to be breaking it all down for you. It is Monday, February 1, and Channel One News starts right now.

We are still eight months away from electing a president, but here in Iowa, we are already in the thick of presidential pandemonium. And it is a big day because voters here officially kick off the 2016 presidential election tonight.

How would you describe caucus time in Iowa?

Teen: I would describe it as lots of attention.

Woman: You can’t ignore it. I mean, there are signs everywhere; the news is always talking about where people are and what’s going on. Iowa doesn’t really get a lot of attention any other time, ever. People underestimate Iowa except for this time of year, so it’s interesting. It’s kind of cool to know that all of the candidates are here.

Maggie: Iowa is the first state to vote during the primary season, when, in the months leading up to the presidential election, voters in each state pick a candidate to run for president from both the Republican and Democratic Parties.

And this year both parties are in heated races to find out who will represent their team at the big dance come November. It looks like it is down to Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party, but right now the seat for the Republican candidate is still anyone's game. While Donald Trump is leading in the polls, Ted Cruz is still in the running, with Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson in the game as well.

Now, instead of going to the polls to vote, people here in Iowa caucus, but if you are from outside the state, you probably find the word “caucus” — well, confusing. So these government students at Hoover High School in Des Moines are going to break it down for us.

Teacher: Why do we do the caucus every four years?

Student: So we can choose what candidates run for president.

Maggie: Think of it as a get-together with your neighbors. Registered Republicans or Democrats who will be 18 by Election Day can participate. Each precinct has its own caucus, and which precinct you belong to depends on your home address. 

At Republican caucuses someone speaks on behalf of each candidate. Then participants cast a secret ballot. But for Democrats it is more complicated. Voters separate into groups depending on which candidate they support. Any candidate who doesn't hit around 15 percent in that precinct is eliminated. Their supporters are then free to move to the other camps.

Jeffrey Goetz: This is about standing with your neighbor, transparency and being committed, not just to the process but to your candidate.

Maggie: The old-school process hasn't changed much, but this year it is going high-tech. Each precinct will report results with this new app, which will quickly determine the winners.

Now, even after all of this, the official candidates won’t be chosen until the conventions this summer. So why is everyone still talking about it? Since Iowa is the first state to vote, it gives a good idea of which candidates voters like and don't like. With the results getting plastered all over the media, it can give momentum to the winners and encourage the losers to drop out of the race.

Iowa has been front and center during primary season since 1972, but some argue that all this attention on Iowan voters doesn't really represent the rest of the country. Iowans make up just 1 percent of the national population. The state is 92 percent white and more than half Evangelical Christian.

Iowa is just one state in the middle of the country, but it gets so much attention, and it is so important come election season. Do you think that it really deserves all of this attention?

Woman: I do think it deserves the attention. I think it’s cool, and I think every four years it just puts Iowa more on the map. We are full of people who are young professionals, who are very educated and who have a lot of say on where the country’s gonna go.

Now, while what happens could sway voters, we have still got five more months of primary season to go before we will know for sure who is running for president. And with this year's batch of candidates — well, anything could happen. To learn more about the election process and get the latest news from the campaign trail, just head on over to for all of our One Vote coverage.

All right, after the break, Azia Celestino takes over from the newsroom. 

Azia: Let's take a look at what other stories are making headlines today. And first up, the United Nations is hoping to help end a brutal civil war in the country of Syria. The two main groups met yesterday in Geneva, Switzerland. The goal? A peace deal.

This is what five years of civil war in Syria looks like: 250,000 dead, more than

10 million on the run and hundreds of thousands starving, some being forced to eat grass. Just yesterday three explosions went off near the capital city of Damascus, killing 45 people. And that is why yesterday, the United Nations called on all sides to put the interests of Syrians above their own.

So who is attending? Delegates from the Syrian government who support President Bashar al-Assad and members of the main opposition block, or rebels fighting against Syria's President al-Assad. Topics being discussed are a possible cease-fire, release of prisoners and aid and food deliveries to the worst-hit areas. Secretary of State John Kerry is urging both sides to make progress and bring an end to the war.

Next up, it was a meeting of the minds. The leader of the Catholic Church and one of Hollywood's heavyweights got together to talk about their shared views on climate change. Leonardo DiCaprio, the famous actor who has starred in films like The Revenant and The Great Gatsby, met with Pope Francis last week.

The pair talked about their shared concern for Planet Earth. They both have campaigned to combat climate change. DiCaprio showed the pope a book of historic paintings that have influenced him since he was a kid.

Leonardo DiCaprio: So it represents to me the promise of the future and enlightenment. It is representational of your view here as well. I wanted to give you this book as a gift.

Pope Francis: Thank you very much.

Azia: And from the concerns here on Planet Earth to some big news for one of our neighbors in the solar system — it appears Pluto has a lot more ice than previously thought. NASA says the dwarf planet is coated with a large amount of ice, so much that it is kind of like an endless winter.

Now, NASA knew there was ice on Pluto; it discovered that last summer, but this new map suggests Pluto has towering ice mountains and ice volcanoes. And NASA says this discovery is important because massive amounts of water in another world is considered one of the key ingredients to life as we know it.

Well, we know getting to Pluto is kind of tough, so we have got an alternative ice world that you can visit right here on Earth; that is coming up.

Azia: Okay, guys, if you love playing in the snow, Arielle is here with me now to talk about a dream job for you.

Arielle: That is right. One guy has made a career out of building polar palaces. Take a look.

Maybe you are one of the 75 million who recently watched this viral video and thought, “No way that ice castle is a real place.” But it is. These parks are straight out of a winter wonderland.

Brent Christensen: We've got slides; we've got mazes made out of ice and slot canyons and little crawl tubes.

Arielle: Covered in ice with thousands of LED lights.

Christensen: They go from a white to a blue to a green, and then we even have them synchronized to music. 

Arielle: This ice sculpting all started as a hobby seven years ago.

Christensen: The kids and I would go out and build igloos and ice rinks, and I just was fortunate enough to stumble upon the idea of using icicles and spraying water as a way to build these structures.

Arielle: It takes a lot of work, piece by piece, day and night. But eventually the mountain is manmade into a masterpiece, using nearly a quarter million icicles.

Christensen: I've gotta be one of the luckiest guys in the world, really.

Arielle: Now he has a $2 million business. This year four crews are creating ice parks in Canada, Utah, Minnesota and New Hampshire. Warm weather forced a late start in New Hampshire, so his team of 20 artisans worked 14-hour days for three weeks spraying 5 million gallons of water in temperatures as low as 2 degrees. Work continues on the sculptures throughout the season, and some will grow to as high as 40 feet.

Christensen: To actually share it with other people and also make a living from it, it's — I can't think of anybody I'd want to trade places with. It’s really amazing.

Arielle: He is the king of ice castles, even if his reign only lasts as long as the winter does.

I would totally chill in there.

Azia: Agreed. Thanks, Arielle.

All right, guys, that is all for now. But have an awesome day, and we will see you right back here tomorrow.

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