A federal report finds the problem with pregnant women abusing opioids and other prescription drugs is worse in rural farm states like Iowa than in more populous urban states. U-S Surgeon General Doctor Vivek Murthy says the problem is only continuing to grow as more babies are born with symptoms of opioid withdrawal.

“This is a real tragedy,” Doctor Murthy says. “I’ve visited hospitals and heard from neonatal ICU nurses and doctors and about how heartbreaking it has been to see children who are withdrawing from opioids in the first hours and days of their lives.” A new report found five out of every one-thousand births in urban areas involve babies suffering from opioid withdrawal symptoms due to the mother’s abuse, while in rural areas, the figure rises to eight in every thousand.

He says women with addictions owe it to their unborn babies to seek help immediately. Murthy says, “Treatment can help pregnant women who are dealing with addiction to opioids and it can reduce the liklihood their children will have adverse affects when they’re born.” The trouble is, rural areas may offer few treatment facilities, if any. Murthy says the first step is for the mothers to admit they have a problem.

(Radio Iowa w/thanks to Karla James in Omaha)

Police in Council Bluffs say a man walking around naked late this (Monday) morning around Big Lake Park, was treated for exposure and then committed to a local hospital for psychological evaluation. A caller reported to police at around 11:15-a.m., that they asked the unidentified male subject if he needed help, but the man refused to answer and continued to walk toward the park.

Officers checking the area were unable to locate the man. The Council Bluffs Fire Department responded with their hovercraft and thermo imaging equipment. After approximately 2 ½ hours of searching, the man was located in the wooded area along Monument Road just north of Council Bluffs.

He was transported to Jennie Edmundson Hospital.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a single vehicle accident occurred Monday just outside of Elliott.  Deputies were called to the accident at 9:25am  in the 2300 block of 110th Street. A white 2016 Freightliner Semi-Tractor and Trailer owned by Ryder Truck Rental Inc. of Des Moines and operated by 44-year-old Steven S. Couchman of Norwalk crashed due to the icy conditions. Couchman was traveling west on 110th Street when the vehicle lost control  on the ice covered road and went into the north ditch. The semi and trailer came to rest on its right side.

No injuries were reported and damage to the semi and trailer was estimated at $4,000.

Ames Police are investigating a violent sexual assault which occurred over the weekend on the city’s west side. Ames Police Commander Geoff Huff says a woman was in a driveway north of Franklin Park when she was attacked around 2:45 a.m. Saturday. “The victim was getting into a car when she was forcibly removed from the vehicle by our suspect and she was dragged into the park where she was sexually assaulted multiple times,” Huff said. The suspect left the victim and fled the park on foot around 5:15 a.m. Police are asking for the public’s help, specifically if anyone in the area heard or saw anything.

“We’re obviously going around and looking for any kind of surveillance footage that may be in businesses, but we don’t know who may have private cameras at their home or apartment,” Huff said. The suspect was reported to be wearing baggy clothing, a hooded sweatshirt, possibly gray in color, and jeans.

“Our victim described him as a light-skinned, non-white male, about 5-foot-9, with possibly a heavier build,” Huff said. The victim is not an Iowa State University student, Huff added.

(Radio Iowa)

In an update to our reports over the weekend, Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports an Indiana man was being held in the Adair County on $5,000 bond, in connection with a crash that caused severe head lacerations to his 5-year old son. The child, Logan Lester, of Ft. Wayne, IN., also suffered from a broken wrist. He was  transported by Stuart Rescue to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.

His father, 30-year old Patrick Thomas Lester, of Ft. Wayne, IN., was arrested for: OWI/1st offense; Child Endangerment with bodily injury; Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana; Possession of Drug paraphernalia (A glass pipe); Open container; Failure to secure a child in a child safety seat; No seat belt (driver); Reckless Driving; Excessive Speed, and Failure to provide proof of financial liability/accident related. Lester’s Blood Alcohol tests results indicated he was more than twice the legal limit for intoxication (0.176%). In his vehicle, authorities found two jars with a green leafy substance, and cookies with marijuana as an ingredient.

Moments before Lester’s 2007 Honda CRV rear-ended a pickup truck on Interstate 80 eastbound near mile marker 83 at around 9:15-p.m. Saturday, motorists called 9-1-1 to report the vehicle was traveling at approximately 100-mile per hour. After the collision, the pickup left the road and entered the south ditch.

Lester’s SUV then swerved left and side-swiped a 2009 Saturn Outlook, causing both vehicles to enter the median, where they hit the cable barriers before coming to rest. None of the drivers involved in the crash were injured.

Atlantic Police Monday (today), reported several arrests took place over the past week. Today (Monday), 35-year old Brian Beard, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication, 3rd or subsequent offense. On Sunday, Atlantic Police officers arrested 32-year old Daniel Fredericksen, of Atlantic, on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear for Probation Violation on an original charge of Failure to Comply with the Sex Offender Registry. Also arrested Sunday, was 25-year old Morgan Dvorak, of Atlantic. She was taken into custody on a Cass County warrant for Probation Violation. That same day, 38-year old Kimberly Ruiz, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Illegal Dumping.

On Saturday, Atlantic Police arrested 43-year old John Eichelberger, of Atlantic, for Harassment in the 3rd degree, and 25-year old Joshua Peters, of Brayton, for OWI/1st offense. Police also cited into court, 42-year old Teresa Lennon, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

And, on Jan. 9th, 18-year old Austin Boggs, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Failure to Appear. Each of those individuals, with the exception of Teresa Lennon, were booked into the Cass County Jail.

(12:40-p.m. News)