CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The number of traffic citations issued in Iowa has dropped from more than 20,000 in 1996 to about 4,000 last year. Part of that is due to the amount of troopers in the air.

Due to funding cuts and rising fuel costs, it is becoming increasingly harder to continue trooper pilots. The Cedar Rapids Gazette is reporting that the number of trooper pilots had dropped from 16 in 1996 to currently seven.

The Iowa State Patrol says airborne troopers, working with officers on the ground, are an effective way of finding speeders. They also help in fugitive manhunts, missing person searches as well as organ transportation.

State patrol Sgt. Dana Knutson says the planes remain a good deal for taxpayers.



(The Associated Press contributed to this story)