Is Pride a party or a protest? Are cops welcome? What does it mean to resist? Local leaders with skin in the game discuss what’s at stake as the state clamps down on LGBTQ+ rights. Also in this issue, trans writer Achilles F. Seastrom visits queer-friendly Iowa congregations that were practicing radical inclusivity long before conservatives learned the word “woke.” Plus, John Busbee profiles a pair of old friends, mural makers, DnD roleplayers and spouses that are painting Des Moines rainbow — literally. Meanwhile, Iowa City braces for Pokey’s Fest 3, a music festival bent on keeping local punk loud, proud and DIY as hell.
Also inside: The Prairie States Mushroom Club schools writer Jane Claspy Nesmith about edible and not-so-edible fungi found in Ryerson’s Woods; A Bolivian immigrant recalls packing his life into just 33 kilos; and an incarcerated Iowan describes his first days in minimum security prison. Plus: Kiki interrogates a reader’s desire to seduce older men (and some Meat Loaf lyrics), and LV reviews a new swath of local albums and books.
