Iowa
Iowa Utilities Board bill includes a good idea—and a lost cause
Wally Taylor is the Legal Chair of the Sierra Club Iowa chapter.
The Iowa Utilities Board has proposed companion bills on energy production in the Iowa legislature this year. The Sierra Club is focused on two provisions in House Study Bill 555 and Senate Study Bill 3075: including battery storage as part of an energy production facility, and designating nuclear power as an alternate energy production facility.
One of the primary criticisms of renewable energy, specifically wind and solar, is that they provide power intermittently. In other words, wind turbines don’t provide power when the wind isn’t blowing, and solar panels don’t provide power when the sun isn’t shining.
Technology has advanced to the point that batteries can store wind energy when the wind is blowing and solar energy when the sun is shining, and then make the power available when is it needed (commonly called “baseload”). Batteries, combined with wind and solar, would provide baseload. So it makes sense to include storage batteries as part of an electric generating facility. Sierra Club supports that part of the board’s proposal.
In practical terms, energy production facilities (or parts of facilities) would need a permit from the Iowa Utilities Board in order to include battery storage. In considering whether to grant a permit, the board must consider the legislature’s intent to ensure reliable electric service, to promote less carbon intensive energy production, and to comply with reasonable land use and environmental policies. Battery storage that enhances the effectiveness of renewable energy certainly fits the bill.
Sierra Club has opposed nuclear power since the 1970s and is deeply concerned about the provision on nuclear power in the utilities board’s bill. Uranium, which is mined from the ground, is not a renewable resource. Waste from mining and processing uranium creates environmental impacts. Construction of nuclear plants is expensive and subsidized by taxpayers. In addition, the waste from spent nuclear fuel is radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years, with no good place to store it. Finally, relying on nuclear power delays the critical transition to renewable energy.
Given those problems, nuclear plants have been closing down over the last several years, including the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa.
The board proposes to designate nuclear power as an alternate energy production facility in the Iowa Code. That would be advantageous for utility companies, because in Iowa, alternate energy projects can qualify for a practice known as “advanced ratemaking.” When the Iowa Utilities Board approves advanced ratemaking, utility companies can “recover costs proactively to reduce risk.”
Alternate energy production facilities are intended to be small renewable energy facilities owned by the person or entity using the power produced. Examples might be solar panels on a roof, or small wind turbines at an industrial or commercial site. It is hard to conceive how a nuclear plant would fit into this framework. Industrial scale wind and solar projects are in another chapter of the Iowa Code, not the alternate energy section.
Even if the intent is to refer to small modular reactors, the inherent problems of nuclear power are still present. Moreover, even if the Iowa Utilities Board hopes to incentivize small modular reactors, no Iowan is likely to have their own reactor. Operating a nuclear reactor requires expertise and experience, which only a company in the nuclear industry would have. And they are expensive. No one would choose nuclear power over renewable energy, which is much less costly.
Electric utilities and the nuclear industry have not given up on promoting nuclear power. It is their Lost Cause.
The utilities board has not explained what it had in mind when it drafted House Study Bill 555 and Senate Study Bill 3075.
Editor’s note from Laura Belin: An Iowa House Commerce subcommittee advanced HSB 555 on January 23, with support from Republican State Representatives Hans Wilz and Brian Lohse and Democratic State Representative Sean Bagniewski. The Senate companion bill has been assigned to a subcommittee, but no meeting has been scheduled.
Top image of solar panels is by Oliver Britton, available via Shutterstock.
Watch as Lilly Baron honors Molly, the dog who inspired anti-abuse laws
Lilly Baron and supporters gathered Aug. 14, 2025 in downtown Ocala to honor Molly, the dog who inspired measures to prevent animal abuse.
An animal-welfare organization has released its annual, national report on problem puppy mills, with five of the “Horrible Hundred” businesses located in Iowa.
The report, published Monday by Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States, highlights regulatory violations cited at 100 dog breeders across the country. The states with the highest numbers of breeders in this year’s report include Missouri, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Ohio.
More than 20 of the 100 breeders and dealers listed in the report have sold puppies to Petland, the largest chain of pet stores still operating in the United States, according to Humane World for Animals. Many others sell on social media, and on websites such as Puppies.com.
Humane World for Animals compiles its annual report from data included in the inspection reports of various state agencies and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Here are the Iowa breeders listed in this year’s report.
Ricky and Mary Brodersen of Mystical Cockers in Kiron
This is the third year Mystical Cockers in Kiron has been listed among the Horrible Hundred. In August 2025, state inspectors cited the business for recurring issues, such as a buildup of hair, debris and feces below the kennels and dogs kept in spaces without solid surfaces on which they could rest. In addition, there was only one caretaker to clean about 60 enclosures daily, with the inspector observing that the “condition of the enclosures indicates this is not adequate” staffing. When inspectors returned in September 2025, they noted that the business was “working on decreasing” the number of dogs.
Co-owner Mary Brodersen was criminally charged in 2012. Court records show Brodersen was charged with 88 counts of animal neglect, resulting in 44 convictions and 44 dismissals. She was later sentenced to 44 days in jail, or one day in jail for each of the 44 convictions. Five separate counts of animal neglect resulting in death or injury were dismissed by the court.
Humane World for Animals reported the arrest occurred after a raid on her previous puppy mill resulted in the confiscation of 88 animals and five dogs were found dead. The American Kennel Club later suspended her for a period of 15 years. Humane World for Animals, however, reports that Ricky Brodersen is still showing cocker spaniels at AKC-linked dog events and has been for years.
William Davenport of Afton
During a July 2025 visit to William Davenport’s business in Afton, a USDA inspector raised concerns about the medical care provided for three dogs. The inspector noted that records indicated Snickers, a 3-year-old female bulldog, had a prolapse on July 15 and 16, 2025, but there were no other medical records regarding the event or any medications that were prescribed.
The records also indicated that Muffin, a 2-year-old female bulldog, had a C-section and was given medication, but there were no records documenting the treatment or the medications that were prescribed. A similar situation involved Princess, a 3-year-old female bulldog who was taken to a veterinarian for a lump on her neck. The USDA also cited the business for a repeat violation related to eight puppies that were missing from the facility with no written record of what had happened to them. When USDA employees returned in November 2025 to check on the dogs, they were not given access to the facility.
In total, Davenport was found to be in violation during six consecutive inspections from July 2024 to November 2025. According to Humane World for Animals, his USDA license was recently canceled, but another license has appeared in the USDA’s database under the name BillieJo Davenport at a nearby address.
Ruth Ewoldt of Furkids in Toronto
For Furkids in the Clinton County community of Toronto. 2026 marks the second time it has been listed among the Horrible Hundred. Owner Ruth Ewoldt was cited for issues during three state inspections conducted in October and November 2025. Issues with fleas were noted at all three inspections.
Other issues included structural repair problems and puppies that had to be treated for giardia, an intestinal infection that can spread to humans. Inspectors also found multiple dogs that were observed to have “dirty ears with discharge,” and the inspector noted that puppies with upper respiratory conditions and ear mites were being sold to customers.
Furkids was listed in the 2021 Horrible Hundred report for issues that included recurring problems with unsanitary conditions and failing to follow disease prevention protocols. During one visit in 2021, inspectors warned Ewoldt that the “odor and stench” at the business could not “be masked with air fresheners and sprays.” The inspector watched as one dog sat down to scratch itself and then landed “in a pile of feces.”
Kimberly Olson of Kimi’s Precious Treasures in Joice
During an October 2025 visit, a state inspector indicated Kimberly Olson of Kimi’s Precious Treasures in Joice was “selling puppies to a broker without a USDA license,” and also appeared to be offering puppies online without the appropriate license. Also, the bottoms of two kennels appeared to be rotting away due to rust.
The inspector reported explaining to Olson that “a USDA license is necessary to sell through, or to, a broker.” In a report, the state inspector noted that Olson would be applying for a federal license with the USDA, but as of April 24, 2026, the USDA had yet to report the issuance of any licensee in the name of Olson or Kimi’s Precious Treasures. Olson held a USDA broker’s license from 2014 to 2022.
Wuanita Swedlund of Farmington
This year marks the third time Wuanita Swedlund of Farmington this business has been listed among the Horrible Hundred. According to Humane World for Animals, Swedlund has repeatedly failed to provide inspectors with access to the facility, “raising grave concerns about the welfare of all her dogs.” Inspectors from the state or the USDA who tried to check on Swedlund’s dogs were unable to do so during six separate inspection attempts from June 2025 to January 2026. Just prior to those incidents, in May 2025, state inspectors had found multiple repeat violations at the business, including unsanitary enclosures and a buildup of feces.
In February 2026, the USDA issued an official warning to Swedlund for the repeat “no access” violations. At the time of that warning, federal inspectors with the USDA had not been able to gain entry to the business since December 2024, when they found a number of concerns that resulted in Swedlund’s appearance on the 2025 Horrible Hundred list, including one heavily matted dog, several dogs with no water, and an enclosure that was “heavily contaminated with fecal material.”
In 2024, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals referenced Swedlund’s violations in a lawsuit against the USDA alleging a lack of enforcement action by the agency. That lawsuit, which is still pending, noted that six puppies had died in the cold at Swedlund’s business but she was not fined or penalized.
Past violations by Swedlund were tied to findings related to injured, limping dogs, and a dog that partially ate a puppy it was able to access in a neighboring enclosure.
Hypothermia death at Nebraska kennel
Breeders in states bordering Iowa that made this year’s Horrible Hundred list include At First Light Farms in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where a dog was allegedly killed after the licensee noticed it had diarrhea and was showing signs of weakness.
USDA inspectors noted that the licensee had not consulted her veterinarian about treating the dog’s illness, nor about the specific methods used to kill the dog. State inspectors said the woman who ran the business concluded the dog was “getting ready to die,” and so she “called her boyfriend” to take care of the matter, although she claimed to have no knowledge as to how the dog was then killed.
At Sandhills Dachshunds in Brewster, Nebraska, inspectors found a dead dog in an outdoor kennel. The dog appeared to have died from hypothermia, as temperatures had been below freezing, and the dead dog — as well as other dogs at Sandhills Dachshunds — lacked bedding or adequate shelter.
“The Horrible Hundred report shows the public the abhorrent reality for dogs at puppy mills — including those that are licensed and inspected,” said John Goodwin, senior managing director for puppy mills and equine protection at the Humane World for Animals.
Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – University of Iowa student and staff were asked to avoid the University Capital Centre as a small fire broke out inside the building.
The first Hawk Alert was sent around 9:30 p.m. as the building was evacuated. In about 15 minutes the situation was deemed under control.
The University credits the Iowa City Fire Department for extinguishing the blaze.
There have been no reports of any injuries in this fire.
The Centre is inside the Capital Mall which is home to several businesses.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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