(Radio Iowa) — The Emergency Department at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City is now using and airplane to transport patients who need specialized care for serious injuries or illnesses. The chair of the Emergency Department Andrew Nugent, says the airplane gives them more range. “Our helicopter has a range of about 150 miles and we found that between that and weight restrictions and weather — it was kind of tough to get to all the patients that really wanted to come see us,” Nugent says. Doctor Nugent says the propeller drive airplane has a range of some 700 miles, and holds a bigger payload. “We can take extra people and handle patients that have more acute illnesses, so they can come all the way to the university,” Nugent says.

He says the airplane costs about the same as the helicopter to operate. It gives them an option for a different type of patient. “We’re looking for people who have been stabilized and need to be transferred to a tertiary center, ” according to Nugent.”Whereas the helicopter will a lot of times take patients who are actively needing resuscitation or intervention that maybe needs to happen on a much faster basis. But most of these patients that we’re moving with the airplane, we can take to the airport, we can transfer back to the hospital safely, and then care for them at the university.”

Nugent says they expect the plane to be busy — and not just with flights to Iowa City. “We’re hoping that it’ll be used several times a week. And it won’t just be used by the university. There’s been a lot of demand for it to be used throughout the Midwest. Some the Des Moines hospitals want to use it, Omaha,” he explains. “There really isn’t a lot of options right now for critical transport fixed wing.” He says they also have plenty of need at the U-I. “I think the primary focus for the first year anyway is going to be neo-nate runs — moving sick babies. But we can definitely move I-C-U patients as well,” Nugent says.

The black and gold colored hospital plan joins the helicopter service which began transporting patients in 1979.

A man wanted on an active warrant out of Fremont County, was arrested Monday in Adams County. Tra Perry, of Villisca, was taken into custody at a residence in Brooks, after a search was conducted, and the man was found hiding inside a bedroom closet. Perry was charged in Adams County on two counts of Drug Paraphernalia possession. He was transported to the Adams County Jail.

(8-a.m. News)

(Radio Iowa) — A long-time legislator from Cedar Falls resigned abruptly Thursday afternoon. Democrat Jeff Danielson had been a state senator since January of 2005. He’s a Navy veteran and for the past 25 years he’s worked as a Cedar Falls fire fighter. He resigned from that job yesterday, too. Danielson told the Iowa Starting Line blog and K-W-W-L Television that he wouldn’t be leaving the state senate if he hadn’t decided to leave his fire fighting job. According to The Waterloo Courier, at least eight other Cedar Falls fire fighters have resigned in the past five months out of frustration over the city’s decision to train police to perform fire department functions.

Danielson told K-W-W-L he had a new job in the Cedar Falls area, but details of that job were still under wraps at 10 p.m. last night. Danielson’s senate district covered all of Cedar Falls, the community of Hudson and a portion of Waterloo. He won the district by 18 points in 2016. The governor must now schedule a special election to select a replacement who’ll serve the district until the 2020 election. The district looks to be competitive ground for both parties. There about about 850 more registered Democrats than Republicans in Senate District 30.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Lawyers for the city of Davenport have demanded audio recordings of several closed-door meetings of the city’s civil rights commission. The Quad-City Times reports that letters given to the commissioners Tuesday say the commission held at least eight meetings since January 2017 in violation of Iowa’s open meetings laws. Commission director Latrice Lacey says the commission holds closed meetings only as allowed under state law.

The letters ask the commission to turn over the information by Feb. 26 or explain the delay. Other information requested includes service contracts with outside legal counsel, which the letters suggest would be used by the commission against the city in court. The city and the commission have been in a dispute about commission membership since three commissioners were replaced against their will late last year.

The Creston Police Department reports two men were arrested on Valentine’s Day. 24-year old Jacob Alan Shinn, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County LEC for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. Shinn was released on a promise to appear in court. And, 42-year old Shawn Jason Parmenter, of Creston, was arrested at his home for Theft in the 4th Degree. Parmenter was later released on a $1,000 bond.

A Creston woman reported to Police Thursday, that sometime overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning, someone stole an HP laptop computer and book from her vehicle. The loss was estimated at $210.

(Radio Iowa) — New requirements for welfare recipients in Iowa are being considered — and some are being shelved — in the Iowa Senate. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, has sponsored four bills on the subject. “I hear constantly from constituents who are frustrated,” Schultz says. “They feel that they’re going to work every day, paying taxes, these taxes are going to people who are not going to work and could.”  One bill eligible for committee action would stop food stamp benefits for some adults who are currently exempt from work requirements. Bill backers say it’s aimed at parents with school-aged children. The other proposal would require welfare recipients to report their income every three months to confirm they’re still eligible for benefits. Karla Fultz McHenry is lobbying for a Florida-based non-profit called the Opportunity Solutions Project.

“This is our bill. We brought this forward because we believe strongly that welfare fraud does exist,” she said. “…Ten other states have passed this legislation and found that there were significant people that were fraudulently on the rolls.” Charlie Wishman of the Iowa Federation of Labor suggests there’s a better approach to moving people off welfare. “If the state of Iowa is serious about addressing its workforce issues, the way to do it is not by punching down at people who need help,” Wishman said. “Maybe we can look at raising the minimum wage.”

Jack Reardon of Des Moines is a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a group that opposes these bills. He told lawmakers his family is on the brink of financial collapse. “My mom’s car broke down and it’s going to cost $600 to fix it,” he said. “…To see people like you come in here and introduce a bill that will take money from my family makes me physically sick.” Two other welfare-related proposals in the Iowa Senate have been tabled. One attempted to require food stamp recipients to show some sort of photo identification at the store. The other would have imposed new work requirements on adult Medicaid recipients who live above the poverty line — but state officials can’t say how many of the 170-thousand that would have been affected aren’t already working.