COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a man from Omaha, Nebraska,  38-year-old Erasmus Luis Gonzales, was sentenced Wednesday March 30, 2022 in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to 46 months (approximately 3.8-years) in federal prison, for Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct.

His term of imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release. According to court documents, Gonzales pleaded guilty to the charge on October 22, 2021.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation engaged in an undercover investigation and Gonzales communicated with an agent who purported to be a thirteen-year-old girl in the seventh grade. Gonzales arranged to meet with the underage girl in June 2021 after he agreed to bring alcohol in exchange for a sex act.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement and this case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Council Bluffs Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s unemployment rate fell again in recent numbers announced for February. Iowa Workforce Development Director, Beth Townsend, says there were a lot of positive numbers in the monthly data.

She says there are several things that have helped drop the unemployment rate.

The number of people seeking work also increased in February. Townsend says some of the current economic factors play a role.

Democrats have criticized the job numbers, saying it includes people who have to hold two jobs because the jobs aren’t paying enough.

Townsend says the demand for workers is a major factor as well.

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to three-point-five percent in February from three-point-seven percent in January. The was down from the four-point-four percent jobless rate one year ago in February.

(Radio Iowa) – A Senate committee has scaled back a House plan to provide 200-thousand dollars in state tax money to launch the U-S-S Iowa, a nuclear-powered submarine that’s scheduled to join the Navy fleet later this year. Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee have voted to reduce the state contribution to 150-thousand — and half of that would be withdrawn from a state fund for veterans.

Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, says veterans groups strongly oppose the move and it taints the excitement of having a new sub named in honor of our state.

Iowans who get any of the two dozen specialty license plates for veterans pay a fee that goes into the Iowa Veterans License Plate Fund. Senator Mark Lofgren, a Republican from Muscatine, says it doesn’t seem outrageous to use some of that money for the U-S-S Iowa.

Money in the Iowa Veterans License Plate Fund is distributed by the Iowa Commission on Veterans Affairs. The state commander of the V-F-W says the money in that fund should be used for veterans who live in Iowa, not on a christening ceremony or Iowa-themed furnishings for a submarine.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court threw out one portion of the case, but has upheld an award to a transgender nurse who used to work for the Iowa Department of Corrections. Jesse Vroegh Jesse Vroegh sued after he transitioned from female to male in 2014 and was told to use a unisex bathroom in a different building instead of the men’s bathroom. He cited sex and gender discrimination and won in court.

The Supreme Court upheld the 120-thousand dollar jury verdict for gender discrimination but threw out the sex discrimination finding. The court also denied Vroegh’s cross-appeal against health insurer Wellmark for denial of coverage for gender transition surgery. The opinion says the state determined which procedures were or were not covered under the policy, not Wellmark. Vroegh was fired in 2017 for an issue unrelated to this case.

ATLANTIC, IOWA – Cass Health officials have announced board-certified hand and microvascular surgeon Dr. Caliste Hsu is the latest addition to the Atlantic Medical Center’s Surgery Clinic. Dr. Hsu specializes in hand and microvascular procedures and surgeries. Her discipline includes endoscopic and open carpal tunnel release, treatment for arthritis of the hand and wrist, as well as repairs for traumatic injury to the tendons, nerves, and arteries.

Tammy Bireline, Cass Health Chief Clinic Administrator, says “Cass Health is very fortunate to be able to add a needed orthopedic subspecialty to the many services we already have available. Adding someone with Dr. Hsu’s training and expertise will only raise the level of care we can provide our community.”

Dr. Caliste Hsu (Cass Health photo)

Dr. Hsu is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. She is fellowship-trained in Hand and Microvascular Surgery. She is a member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Medical Association. Dr. Hsu will provide care to patients on the second and fourth Fridays every month at Atlantic Medical Center Surgery Clinic. To make an appointment, please call 712-243-7535.