Eight dog breeders in Iowa are being named to the national “Horrible Hundred,” a list of so-called puppy mills put out by the Humane Society of the United States. Kathleen Summers, spokeswoman for the organization, says the facilities on the list have slews of issues including thousands of dollars in fines for Animal Welfare Act violations, dead dogs and neglected puppies in need of urgent veterinary care.

“We selected 100 puppy mills that have been cited for multiple problems over the last couple of years and in some cases, over more than a decade,” Summers says. “What we’re trying to do is show the types of problems that are out there, not just with these 100 puppy mills, but actually at hundreds and hundreds of additional puppy mills across the country.” The 100 facilities listed are located in 20 states, with many of them in the Midwest, including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska and Missouri.

With eight, Iowa is one of the worst states on the list. Summers says the region is home to so many puppy mills because the central location is key to shipping animals to pet stores all across the nation. In most cases, Summers says the facilities listed have been cited for violations by the U-S Department of Agriculture. “The USDA regulates puppy mills that sell to pet stores but there are hundreds of additional puppy mills that sell over the internet through websites that make it look like it’s a small family breeder,” Summers says. “They sell puppies sight unseen to people across the country and many of those puppy mills are never inspected at all.”

For Iowa families who are in the market for a canine companion, Summers recommends never patronizing a puppy farm and never buying a dog over the internet.  “If you do decide to go to a breeder, make sure you visit in person and see how the puppy’s mother is living, see where the puppy was born and raised and see if it’s the kind of place you really want your dollars supporting,” Summers says. “Another fantastic option is going to an animal shelter. Your money there will be used to help save more animals instead of supporting a potentially cruel facility.”

The facilities in Iowa on the Humane Society list include: David and Joane Cline in Sully, Doug and Wendie Dettbarn at the Purple Heart Kennel in Strawberry Point, Gary Felts at the Black Diamond Kennel in Kingsley, Connie and Harold Johnson of CW’s Quaint Critters in Melvin, Kenneth and Leatrice McGuire in North English, Debra Pratt of New Sharon, Lennie and Lonnie Rumley at Tripple L Kennels in Leon, and Linda Thorpe of Sky Blue Ranch in Winterset.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) — The central Iowa city of Marshalltown skipped its usual summer practice of spraying for mosquitoes last year, as drought substantially curbed the pest’s population. Not this year. Heavy rains this spring and summer have the town scrambling to control an onslaught of the bloodsucking insects. The Marshalltown Times-Republic reports that crews sprayed along the town’s streets Wednesday and into Independence Day.

WELLMAN, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a small town just south of Iowa City have been advised to drink bottled water until repairs can be made on a broken water line. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says a line burst yesterday in Wellman. The water is now bypassing the reverse osmosis system used to reduce nitrates. The department says repairs are being made and that the water has to be tested to make sure it’s safe.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Davenport police have identified a man shot to death earlier this week. The Quad-City Times reports that the death of 30-year-old Zachary Thompson of Rock Island has been classified as a homicide. Thompson died Tuesday morning at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A former Dubuque cafe owner who was granted the nation’s first riverboat gambling license has died. The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald reports that 78-year-old Bob Kehl died at home on Wednesday morning shortly after being released from a local hospital.

A man suspected of stealing a vehicle and striking a Council Bluffs Police officer last month was apprehended Thursday afternoon, in Omaha. According to the Council Bluffs NonPareil, 24-year old Andrew M. Brown was taken into custody following a pursuit that reached speeds of up to 80-miles per hour. He was arrested after being found under a porch and a short scuffle with police, following the chase. An unidentified 22-year old female passenger in the vehicle was also apprehended.

The incident involving the injured Council Bluffs officer began on June 25th. Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s deputies were pursuing a vehicle Brown allegedly stole out of Omaha. As he entered the Council Bluffs city limits, Council Bluffs police officers were in the area and attempted to disable the vehicle with stop sticks. Officials say Brown directed the vehicle toward several officers before striking one. The officer was flipped in the air and against a utility pole before landing in a ditch. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries and released.  Brown then abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot.

Council Bluffs Police Department had obtained and issued warrants for Brown. He faces attempted murder, assault on a peace officer and first-degree theft charges.

The vanishing Midwestern tradition of supper clubs is the subject of a new book that features stories and photos of the remaining relics across the region.

The Supper Club Book

Author Dave Hoekstra says supper clubs were much more than just restaurants. Giving a clear definition of one is a bit challenging, but he says it starts with a great view in a typically rural location. “It would always have linen napkins, relish trays — that’s a good sign of a supper club, Friday night fish fry and prime rib on Saturdays,” Hoekstra says. “Clumsy furniture, like old orange naugahyde chairs and things like that.” 

Hoekstra, who’s a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, spent three summers visiting the aging establishments from Iowa to Ohio to create “The Supper Club Book.” Some remaining supper clubs have been given new life with new owners, up-scale menus and more “farm to table-style” cooking, but most still have the look and feel of T-V’s “Mad Men,” somewhat lost in a by-gone decade. “Back in the day, people would go to a supper club at suppertime, around 4 or 5 o’clock,” Hoekstra says. “You’d have a couple of Old Fashioneds, a couple of drinks, sometimes there’d be live music, you’d go sit down have a nice, leisurely dinner, take their time, look out at that beautiful view, then come back and adjourn to the bar, have a couple more drinks and listen to the music. It would be a six- or seven-hour evening.”

 Today’s fast-paced lifestyle helped to doom many of the region’s supper clubs, he says, as well as stricter laws about drinking and driving. Some of the clubs have their roots in the 1930s and began as speak-easies and Prohibition-era roadhouses, complete with gambling. Hoekstra says many were, and still are, dimly lit. “The dim lighting and just the escape, that you’re going somewhere different, exotic, you’re taking a little trip in a short while,” Hoekstra says. “The definition of a supper club, it just seems like you’re going out for this really enchanting evening and the dim light plays into that.” 

The book contains more than a hundred pictures and interviews with club owners and patrons. Hoekstra calls it a combination travel guide and social history.

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Red Oak report one person was arrested this (Thursday) afternoon, for trespassing on railroad property. 20-year old Kyle Robert Danick, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 3:05-p.m. in the vicinity of Marsden Avenue and Coolbaugh Street. He was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center in $300 bond.