Iowa
DCI agent say he was fired for questioning Iowa college gambling probe
ISU’s Kevin Dresser on gambling probe: ‘I knew this thing was a mess’
Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser on the gambling probe: “I hope all these athletes at Iowa and Iowa State take the state of Iowa to the cleaners.”
A longtime investigator for the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says he was forced out of the agency because he voiced reservations about a high-profile investigation into gambling in college athletics.
Mark Ludwick was hired by Iowa’s top investigative agency in 1997 and was terminated in November 2024, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 20 in Polk County. According to his complaint, Ludwick was fired after two “frivolous” investigations, one claiming he’d exceeded the speed limit driving to a murder scene, and the other for assistance he provided to a domestic abuse victim.
The real reason, Ludwick alleges, is that officials were embarrassed after Ludwick testified under oath about what he regarded as weaknesses in their sports wagering investigation, which resulted in dozens of Iowa State University and University of Iowa student-athletes facing suspensions, 25 being criminally charged and 19 pleading guilty to underage gambling.
Ludwick testified in early 2024 he believed investigators had conducted illegal searches to identify the online gamblers and that he and other agents had been directed to lie to students about whether they were subjects of the investigation. He also alleged that stress about the case contributed to another agent’s fatal heart attack, although the agent’s relatives disputed the connection.
Now Ludwick is accusing the state of violating Iowa’s whistleblower protection statute. He declined through his attorney to comment. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office also declined to comment, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety, which includes the DCI, did not respond to an inquiry about the case.
Gambling investigation raised constitutional concerns
In the gambling investigation, DCI investigators used software tools provided by GeoComply, a Canadian company that contracts with online sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings, to look for evidence of illegal gambling activity. Using a GeoComply system, the investigators created a so-called “geofence” around college athletic facilities that allowed them to detect student athletes using wagering accounts registered to parents and friends to place bets ― sometimes on their own games.
Although the investigation resulted in numerous arrests and suspensions, it also drew controversy, in particular for agents’ failure to obtain warrants before conducting their location searches. GeoComply, which had encouraged Iowa to use its service, responded by cancelling the state’s access.
A large group of current and former students sued the state, accusing investigators of violating their constitutional rights. In November 2025, a federal judge ruled that the state’s investigation “does not comport with the Fourth Amendment,” which provides protection from illegal searches.
Nonetheless, the court dismissed the lawsuit, finding the officers involved were entitled to immunity. An appeal is pending.
Ludwick’s reservations emerge in depositions
Ludwick was an experienced investigator for the DCI, working on high-profile cases including the 2015 murder of Shirley Carter, whose son was tried and acquitted, and the 2017 deaths of two girls in a fire started by a relative.
While not the lead agent on the 2023 gambling investigation, Ludwick was tapped to assist by interviewing some of the student athletes. He later testified he grew concerned that the state’s geofence searches amounted to illegal, warrantless searches, and declined to participate in the case any further. He alleges that other DCI agents shared his concerns and also maneuvered to avoid being involved in the case.
Ludwick says he reported his concerns to his superiors. In January 2024, he was deposed by defense attorneys for four of the students, and “testified truthfully during his deposition that he believed an illegal search had been conducted.” Defense attorneys cited Ludwick’s remarks within days in filings covered by numerous media outlets, including the Des Moines Register, which “caused embarrassment and increased scrutiny for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Commissioner Bayens, and other employees,” Ludwick’s suit states.
According to the complaint, officials launched an investigation into Ludwick for speeding on March 5, weeks after the embarrassing testimony was reported. On Aug. 8, officials initiated a second investigation after, Ludwick says, “he attempted to help a victim of domestic abuse flee her abuser.” He denies his actions violated Iowa law or department policy.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
See Governor Reynolds sign tougher animal torture law
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs a bill creating new felony penalties for animal torture at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Ember was an 8-week-old puppy when she came to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa “horribly abused,” animal welfare advocates recalled.
Officers of the state’s largest animal shelter found the dog thin, shaking and stained with blood, unable to stand or sit, when they were called to assist Des Moines police during a domestic violence investigation in March.
The puppy, who they later named Ember, suffered from a broken leg and jaw, a severely injured eye and another injured leg, bruising and swelling and a fractured jaw — an injury veterinarians say is consistent with multiple instances of abuse.
“This poor puppy was tortured,” said Tom Colvin, CEO of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
But on Monday, May 11, Ember joined animal welfare advocates, state lawmakers and Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in Des Moines to witness Iowa’s chief executive sign a law that would impose stiffer penalties in animal abuse cases such as Ember’s.
House File 2348 makes it a felony to torture companion animals, answering animal welfare advocates’ calls to fix Iowa’s status as the only state without those penalties on first offense. Before the new law, it was an aggravated misdemeanor to torture companion animals on first offense in Iowa.
In April, the bill unanimously passed the Iowa House and Senate after it stalled in the Senate for several months. A final push from animal welfare advocates helped send it to Reynolds’ desk.
“You’re doing really good,” Reynolds assured the now-5-month-old puppy as she signed the bill, while onlookers cooed over the furry guest of honor. She ended the ceremony with a gentle paw shake.
“This is already the legal standard across the rest of the country and it’s only commonsense that we adopt it here in Iowa, because this isn’t just about being punitive,” Reynolds said. “This is about cracking down on intentional, willful and malicious infliction of pain or prolonged death on innocent animals — horrible acts of violence that are evil in their own right and also certainly linked to violent crimes against people.”
Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, who floor managed the legislation’s passage in the Senate, cited research showing linking animal abuse to violence against humans.
“This law protects companion animals from heinous acts and provides appropriate punishment for anyone committing these unthinkable actions against companion animals,” Bousselot said. “But it also protects our communities. … It’s the right thing to do for those pets like Ember (that) have received torture, have been tortured, have been put through pain, and now those perpetrators can be punished appropriately.”
Under the new law, a person would be found guilty of animal torture who “intentionally, willfully, and maliciously mutilates, burns, poisons, drowns, starves or causes intensive or prolonged pain or death to a companion animal, or provides anything of value to another person to do the same.”
The measures enhances penalties to a class C felony for repeat offenders of animal abuse, animal torture, injury to or interference with a police service dog, bestiality or an act involving a prohibited contest such as dog fighting.
In Iowa, a class D felony is punishable up to five years in jail or prison and a fine between $1,025 and $10,245. A class C felony is punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of a maximum fine of $13,660.
Rep. Samantha Fett, R-Carlisle, who introduced the bill and owns three German shepherds, said the legislation was “long overdue.”
“It’s a commitment to what Iowa stands for, that in our character we want to protect our pets,” Fett said. “Our pets are there for companionship, for comfort, for therapy, for service, for working, and what better way to protect them … than by passing something like this? They deserve the value that they bring to our homes and our families, so elevating this penalty to a felony was the right thing to do.”
Colvin said this gives law enforcement another tool to crack down on animal abuse.
“Ember was fortunate enough to be a survivor of animal torture, but there are so many other ones that aren’t,” Colvin said.
Marissa Payne covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. Reach her by email at mjpayne@registermedia.com. Follow her on X at @marissajpayne.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City police are asking the public’s help identifying persons of interest connected to a vandalism investigation.
Police said a business was vandalized in the alley behind the 200 block of East Washington Street on Sunday at 2:35 a.m.
Investigators would like to speak with the persons of interest pictured. Police ask anyone who recognizes these individuals to contact them.
Anyone with information or security camera footage of the incident should contact the Iowa City Police Department at 319-356-5275. Iowa City Area Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Iowa State football coach Jimmy Rogers assesses the Cyclones’ spring
Spring commencement arrives at Iowa State this weekend, with a whole new generation of Cyclones set to get their diplomas and move on to the next things in their lives.
The options and choices will set their path for, potentially, the years and decades ahead.
Which got me thinking about the choices and circumstances of this school year that came for Iowa State athletics. There were no shortages of inflection points at which, it seems, programs and an entire athletics department pivoted to new directions.
Let’s explore.
What if Iowa State had hired Taylor Mouser as head football coach?
This seems to be the most discussed “Sliding Doors” moment for Iowa State football fans regarding head coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. And with good reason. It’s the most obvious, could have had the most immediate impact on the program and would have been largely seen as a continuation of the most successful run in school history.
Would promoting the Iowa State offensive coordinator, though, have been the right move?
If you assume a best-case scenario in which some of the star Cyclone players on offense – think Rocco Becht, Ben Brahmer, Carson Hansen, etc. – stay at Iowa State and a bulk of the coaching staff does as well, there are still likely defections that weaken the roster. Nothing like we saw back in December, but, still, there would be holes – and Campbell’s shoes – to fill by a first-time head coach taking over for a legend.
The calculation, as I see it, has to be – does the Year 1 continuity and relative stability gained by hiring Mouser provide for better long-term results than hiring Jimmy Rogers, who has the benefit of head-coaching experience?
It certainly would have made the fan base feel better back in December, but would it have positioned Iowa State to have better results in 2027 and beyond?
The roster almost certainly would have been “better” in 2026 if Iowa State retained Mouser, but would that have created a more solid foundation for the future or just delayed decay?
This “What If” becomes a lot less intricate and interesting if Rogers just wins a ton this fall and going forward.
What if Penn State had been able to hire Kalani Sitake as its football coach?
I think this is the most interesting question on the list.
By reports, Penn State was on the verge of hiring Sitake from BYU when the Cougars’ boosters – led by the Crumbl Cookie fortune – banded together to put together a financial package to keep Sitake in Provo.
What if they hadn’t, though?
Sitake goes to Penn State, and Dec. 5, 2025, is an uneventful day in Iowa State history rather than one of its most feverish.
But … what happens a few weeks later when Sherrone Moore is fired at Michigan?
Rather than plucking 66-year-old Kyle Whittingham from Utah/forced retirement, do the Wolverines try to make a Michigan Man out of an Ohioan? Does Campbell inherit the seat of Bo Schembechler?
And, for the sake of this thought exercise, if Campbell did move to Ann Arbor, does the timing of that decision change athletics director Jamie Pollard’s options and calculus about Iowa State’s opening? Is Jimmy Rogers still available? Or would he have taken a different opening or opted not to leave Pullman at that later date? Is Mouser the answer in this scenario?
Or is the Buckeye State distaste for the state Up North too much and Campbell returns for Year 11 at Iowa State?
Addy Brown on what went wrong in Iowa State’s loss to Syracuse
Iowa State’s Addy Brown talks about her team’s struggles in a loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.
What if Addy Brown doesn’t get hurt?
Iowa State women’s basketball was 14-0 on Jan. 4 when it played Baylor in Waco, and the season felt sure to realize the potential that was clear before it started with one of coach Bill Fennelly’s best rosters.
The Cyclones, though, returned home with their first loss and with Addy Brown sidelined with a back injury.
Four more losses in a row followed, and when Brown returned to the floor after six weeks, the Cyclones’ season was floundering.
They salvaged an NCAA Tournament bid, but a first-round exit gave way to a roster collapse with nine players – including Brown and superstar Audi Crooks – leaving via the transfer portal, putting Fennelly’s tenure and future under fire.
If Brown doesn’t get hurt – or just isn’t out as long – does that change the trajectory of the season? The offseason? And what the eventual end of Fennelly’s Iowa State career looks like?
What if Joshua Jefferson doesn’t roll his ankle?
The most recent “What If” I think is also the most straightforward.
If Jefferson’s ankle doesn’t roll in the early minutes of Iowa State’s first-round NCAA Tournament blowout win over Tennessee State, I think the Cyclones get a long second weekend in Chicago, but the Final Four drought probably remains intact.
Jefferson’s rebounding and offensive impact are, I think, enough to give the Cyclones the edge against Tennessee, but Michigan, the Cyclones’ would-be Elite Eight opponent, was just a juggernaut.
I’m not sure even a full-strength Iowa State team would have had more than a puncher’s chance. The Wolverines were just one of the best college basketball teams we’ve seen over the last few decades.
Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
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