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Iowa
Five Iowa dog breeders listed among this year’s ‘Horrible Hundred’
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.
1st round—RHP Cade Townsend
3rd round—RHP Carson Jasa
4th round—RHP Dylan Marionneaux
7th round—LHP Cole Tryba
10th round—RHP Luke Alwood
Catcher Owen Ayers was promoted from Double-A Knoxville to Triple-A Iowa.
Right-hander Jace Beck was also promoted to Iowa from Knoxville.
Right-hander Kevin Valdez was promoted to Knoxville from High-A South Bend
Catcher Miguel Useche also went from South Bend to Knoxville.
Smokies right-hander Yenrri Rojas was transferred to the development list.
Iowa Cubs right-hander Liam Hendricks, right-hander Kyle Wright, left-hander Aaron Bummer and catcher Eric Yang have all been released.
Right-hander Jake Woodford has elected to become a free agent.
If I missed anyone, I apologize. I know there are a lot of announcements on amateur free agents, but none of those have been made official yet.
The Iowa Cubs were edged by the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), 10-9.
Jaxon Wiggins started this game and ran into a lot of trouble in the third inning, giving up five runs. The final line on Wiggins was five runs on two hits and five walks over 2.2 innings. Wiggins struck out three.
Iowa fought back and took the lead with a four-run fourth and a two-run fifth, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead. Corbin Martin ended up getting the loss after giving up a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. Martin’s final line was one run on three hits over 1.1 innings. The run was unearned, but it was his own throwing error that caused it to be unearned, so he has no one to blame but himself. Martin walked two, one intentionally, and struck out one.
Iowa had 12 hits and ten walks in this game, but all 12 of the hits were singles.
Center fielder Brett Bateman was 2 for 6 with three RBI and one run scored.
Third baseman Owen Miller was 2 for 5 with two RBI.
Second baseman James Triantos was 2 for 4 with a walk and a run scored.
DH Owen Ayers didn’t slow down in Triple-A. Ayers was 3 for 4 with a walk and a stolen base in his I-Cubs debut.
Nice defense from Bateman.
Martin took the loss in the ninth, but he got out of trouble in the eighth on this nifty double play.
The Knoxville Smokies were burnt by the Montgomery Biscuits (Rays), 5-1.
Luis Martinez-Gomez was activated off the injured list and pitched the first four innings. Martinez-Gomez allowed one run on two hits, with one of those hits being a solo home run in the fourth. He walked two, hit one batter and struck out one.
Evan Taylor pitched the next two innings and got the loss after allowing one run on two hits. Taylor struck out one and walked no one.
The Smokies managed just three hits tonight. DH Andy Garriola was 1 for 2 with a sac fly. Right fielder Alex Ramírez went 1 for 4 with a double and he scored on the sac fly.
The South Bend Cubs were caged by the Peoria Chiefs (Cardinals), 9-3.
Starter Ethan Flanagan pitched 3.1 innings and surrendered two runs on two hits. The two hits were a triple and a home run though. Flanagan struck out five and walked no one.
Luis Rujano had a rough go of it and took the loss. Rujano got rocked for five runs on three hits and two walks over just one-third of an inning. He struck out one.
First baseman Josiah Hartshorn was 2 for 3 with a walk. He had an RBI single in the third inning and later scored in that frame.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans got blasted by the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox), 9-1.
Emilio Ramos started and got the loss after he was tagged for three runs on four hits over just two innings. Ramos walked three and struck out one.
Just four hits, all singles, for the Pelicans. Left fielder Ethan Conrad was 1 for 3 with a walk.
Alexis Hernández was also 1 for 3 with a walk. He scored once.
Second baseman Ezequiel Pena hit his first professional home run.
Video: Iowa football QB Jeremy Hecklinski provides summer update
Iowa football’s Jeremy Hecklinski meets with media on July 15, 2026.
The accounting student whose name is attached to the University of Iowa’s endowment for the head football coaching position and who created an athletics excellence fund at the school grew up as a “truck-stop kid.”
Will Moon raced around towering semis while his parents labored to grow what, six decades later, is now the massive, hugely popular Iowa 80 World’s Largest Truck Stop along Interstate 80 at the Walcott exit.
The longtime UI donor and namesake of the Moon Family Head Football Coach died on Thursday, July 16. He was 64.
“I was very saddened to hear about Will’s passing,” Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz said in a news release. “Will and his wife Renee have been very generous in their support of our program and Hawkeye athletics. Hawkeye student-athletes will benefit from their gifts for years to come.”
Moon arrived in Iowa City at the perfect moment for a football fan in the fall of 1979, just as coach Hayden Fry was beginning the revival of the Hawkeye football program, and Moon was captivated.
“From that point on, Iowa football was fun again,” Moon told the University of Iowa Center for Advancement in 2021.
Moon grew up working at the truck stop during the summers after his parents took over in the 1960s. His father, Bill Moon, an entrepreneur, bought the truck stop after he found the land for Standard Oil as construction of Iowa’s portion of I-80 neared completion. A year later, Bill Moon convinced Standard Oil to let him run the truck stop, and he took full ownership in 1964.
As a teenager, Moon became interested in the family business and its operations, and, with an aptitude for math, came to the University of Iowa to study accounting, paving the way for a successful business career and to take over the family business.
While at Iowa, Moon met his wife, Renee Breckenridge Moon. Their first date was at The Airliner in downtown Iowa City, where they watched the Hawkeye football team defeat Penn State. Ever since, they cheered for the Hawkeyes from inside Kinnick Stadium, in opponents’ venues and at bowl games.
Moon and his wife rank among UI Athletics’ most generous donors. Their support created an endowment fund for the operational needs of Hawkeye football, establishing the Will and Renee Moon Excellence Fund for unrestricted athletics initiatives, and providing leadership support for the Kinnick Edge Campaign to revitalize the north end zone. In recognition of this generosity, the UI permanently designated the football leadership position, ensuring that Moon Family Head Football Coach will be the official title held by Ferentz and all future UI head football coaches.
“Will was one of the kindest, most genuine people you could ever meet, and his love for the Hawkeyes was unwavering,” Iowa athletics director Beth Goetz said in a news release. “His generosity and loyalty helped shape Iowa Athletics, but it was the relationships he built and the way he cared for others that will be remembered most. He was a dear friend and truly part of the Hawkeye family.”
Visitation will be Monday, July 20, from 4-8 p.m. at Runge Mortuary in Davenport. Funeral services will be Tuesday, July 21, at 10 a.m. at Calvary Church of Walcott, followed by burial at Walcott Cemetery.
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @rishjessica_
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told Gray Media Iowa that he got briefed late Thursday afternoon, a few hours before President Donald Trump gave a prime-time speech to make his latest claims about election fraud.
“Yeah, I just got off of a telephone call literally in the motorcade as we were driving here,” Johnson said after arriving at a campaign appearance with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R – 1st District, Ottumwa) at a Pella bakery.
Miller-Meeks is running for re-election in what is again considered a competitive race with Democrat Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor from Iowa City.
This is the third straight election that the two will meet in a general election.
Johnson said the “off the record” intelligence briefing to leaders in the U.S. House and Senate previewed Trump’s new election fraud claims. He called it “blockbuster information.”
“It’s the result of an investigation that’s been ongoing for some time now about fraud and irregularity in in federal elections, American elections around the country,” Johnson said.
Gray Media Iowa asked Johnson whether he believes congressional colleagues were elected because of fraud.
He did not directly answer that question.
“…everybody’s going to be able to evaluate all that information on their own, and it will lead to other investigations, I’m certain,” Johnson said of the briefing.
He added, “we’ll have to see where all this goes.”
For years, Trump has alleged widespread fraud that cost him the 2020 election. Trump has lost dozens of court cases on the matter.
On January 7, 2021, Congress certified his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, a day after Trump supporters rushed the U.S. Capitol Building. Some attacked law enforcement officers and damaged the outside and inside of the building.
After returning to office in 2025, President Trump pardoned supporters for their crimes.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau. All rights reserved.
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