Officials at Cass County Health System today (Wednesday) announced the resignation of Dr. Vanessa Cook, family medicine physician.  CCHS CEO Brett Altman says Dr. Cook and her husband, Steve Brunin, will be moving her practice back to her home state of Kansas.  She has been caring for patients at CCHS since February 2010. Her last day at CCHS will be December 17th, 2017.  Altman said “It is with very mixed emotions we share this news. We are very pleased for Dr. Cook and her family for this opportunity to move closer to home. We will, however, truly miss her and appreciate her contributions to our organization. ”

Vanessa Cook, M.D.

Dr. Cook said in a statement that her “Decision to leave has been a difficult one,” and that she has enjoyed her time at CCHS, working with a great team and wonderful patients. ” I wish I could take CCHS with me!” Dr. Cook said.  “However, after my mother’s death last summer I have felt a pull to get back closer to family, which this change will allow me to do.”

Altman says CCHS has been and continues to be, actively recruiting physicians and advanced practice clinicians to ensure patients’ needs are met.  Recent additions of Dr. Ben Howard, Jessica Jackson, ARNP; Max Starlin, PA-C;  and Elisha Hardy, ARNP;  along with the 2018 addition of Dr. Autumn Keiser, will help to absorb the loss of Dr. Cook.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Frontier Airlines will offer nonstop flights from Omaha and southwest Florida this winter. The Omaha World-Herald reports the service will begin Nov. 9 and will be offered Thursdays and Sundays through Dec. 7. It will fly on Mondays and Fridays after Dec. 15th. The flight will leave Fort Myers, Florida, at 10:20 a.m. and arrive in Omaha at 12:53 p.m. It will leave Omaha at 1:50 p.m. and arrive in Fort Myers at 5:55 p.m. Frontier also flies nonstop to Denver and seasonally to Orlando International Airport.

A woman involved in a brief police chase in Spirit Lake has died after her vehicle wound up in East Lake Okoboji. Police say it started at about 12:30 Tuesday morning when an officer tried to pull over a vehicle. The driver didn’t stop and a pursuit began. Officers lost view of the vehicle, then found it a short time later after it had gone through a residential yard, hit a shed and wound up in the lake. The driver was taken to the hospital in Spirit Lake and was pronounced dead a short time later. Authorities say the incident is still under investigation and additional details will be released later.

(Radio Iowa)

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A man accused in a deadly shooting on Iowa City’s pedestrian mall plans to use Iowa’s new “stand your ground” law in his defense. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that 23-year-old Lamar Wilson is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and intimidation with a dangerous weapon in connection with an Aug. 27 shooting that killed one man and injured two others. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The state’s “stand your ground” legislation took effect July 1. It says law-abiding citizens don’t have to retreat before using deadly force if they believe they’re in danger. Court documents filed Monday show Wilson plans to also claim self-defense. Wilson is being held at the Johnson County Jail on a $1.75 million bond. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 7th.

A U-S District Court Judge in Council Bluffs, Monday, sentenced a Nebraska man to six-years in prison on a drug charge. Judge Stephanie M. Rose also sentenced 52-year old John C. Gundersen Jr., of Omaha, to four years of supervised release following his incarceration, for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute some or all of it.

Gundersen entered a guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on May 1, 2017. He was contacted by law enforcement at a traffic stop on June 2nd, 2016, and had active warrants for his arrest. Following his arrest, Gundersen’s vehicle was searched, during which  methamphetamine was found, which authorities say he intended to distribute to other people. They also found more than $1,000 in cash.

The Missouri Valley Police Department and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

Two Council Bluffs men have been charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree, Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree, and Theft in the 2nd Degree, in connection with the breaking and entry of a home. 59-year old Daniel Liston and 19-year old Alexander Dolezal were arrested Tuesday night following an investigation into an incident at a residence in the 18,000 block of Schoolhill Avenue, in Council Bluffs. The victim, 43-year old Jason Hall, advised Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputies that he had just been released from jail earlier in the day, Tuesday, when he came home to find his home burglarized. The suspects allegedly caused $150 damage to the home’s front door and south window. They also allegedly took $2,200 worth of property, at some of which was recovered.