Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders signed an executive order on Thursday in response to President Biden’s new Title IX regulations that added protections for transgender athletes.
Sanders said Thursday she was “appalled” by the “attack on common sense.”
“According to the rule, sex is no longer based on the commonly understood biological differences between men and women,” Sanders said. “It’s based on how a person feels or their gender identity. To put it another way, Biden thinks anybody can be a woman just because they say so. As a woman, the mother of a daughter and our state’s first chief executive to give birth … I can’t think of anything more offensive or dismissive of the very real, very scientific traits that all women share and that no man does.”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders. (Al Drago/Pool via AP/File)
“This issue goes far beyond a single locker room or a missed scholarship. The truth is important. Biology is important. The differences between men and women are important,” she continued.
Sanders added that she won’t let Biden “erase our existence as women.”
Under the new rules, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. A school must not separate or treat people differently based on sex, except in limited circumstances, under the provisions, but critics say the change will allow locker rooms and bathrooms to be based on gender identity.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders has signed an executive order in response to President Biden’s new Title IX regulations. (AP Photo/Will Newton/File)
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The executive order states: “Educational institutions of Arkansas will continue to enforce state law guaranteeing the right of students to maintain their privacy. Students must not be forced to shower or undress with members of the opposite sex.
“Female students must not be denied equal athletic opportunities or forced to risk their safety by having biological males placed into female-designated sports leagues.”
Six states sued the Department of Education due to the overhaul of Title IX this week. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Tuesday that they are leading the charge.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders said Americans are “under attack in a left-wing culture war” in the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)
“The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms,” Skrmetti said in a statement.
The Department of Education sent Fox News Digital a statement that said “the Department does not comment on pending litigation.”
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan and Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Monkee’s of Indianapolis, a new women’s boutique owned by Missy Llewellyn and Whitney Schmitt, opened on March 12, 2026. The store, located at 8659 River Crossing Blvd. in Indianapolis, offers a personalized shopping experience featuring clothing, shoes, home decor, and gifts.
The boutique is the first Monkee’s franchise location in Indiana and aims to provide a welcoming space for shoppers seeking wardrobe updates and specialty home items.
Llewellyn and Schmitt, who met as neighbors nearly 20 years ago, launched the business as they entered their empty-nester years. Both bring decades of marketing experience and prior franchise ownership.
“I think the best thing that we’ve heard is everyone says Indy needed this,” Llewellyn said. “So that makes it worth it to us that we’ve brought something that the community feels like was needed.”
Llewellyn said she first discovered the Monkee’s concept while traveling in the South. “We went in, and it was a Monkee’s, and I’d never been in one, and I fell in love,” she said.
The owners said their different styles help shape the store’s selection. “We both have different personalities. We have different styles,” Llewellyn said. “So we tried to combine those two when we were shopping and thinking of what we wanted at our store.”
The boutique carries casual and event wear, a denim selection, and footwear brands such as Back 70. It also features jewelry, home decor, and gift items.
“We tried to have something for everybody,” Schmitt said. “We have clothing, shoes, lots of jewelry, but we wanted to have plenty of gifts — hostess gifts, wedding gifts, shower gifts, birthday gifts.”
The store also offers a candle, Opulence No. 6, created to represent the owners’ friendship and their six daughters.
Monkee’s of Indianapolis is the 69th location in the franchise, which is primarily based in the South. The store operates Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
The boutique also plans community events, including girls’ nights, sip-and-shop gatherings, mahjong events, and trunk shows.
To learn more and explore the shop’s website, visit monkeesofindianapolis.com.
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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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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