DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hospitals in Clarinda and Des Moines and an air ambulance service are teaming up to bring a helicopter to southwest Iowa and northwest Missouri. The partners are Clarinda Regional Health Center, Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines and Air Methods Lifenet. The companies say the new service will be based in Clarinda and will serve an area within 40 miles of the city. It will also transport patients to hospitals in Des Moines, Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska and St. Joseph, Mo. Mercy Medical Center, which has two helicopters, will staff the helicopter’s medical crew, and will be hiring flight paramedics and flight nurses who will be based in Clarinda. Air Methods will hire pilots and a mechanic. The Clarinda program is to start in September.