The “Governor Kim Reynolds Legacy Tour” kicks off in Cedar Rapids on Thursday at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center. The 90-minute event starts at 6 p.m. “Hors D’oeuvres will be […]
LGBTQ
Posted inStatewide
‘Chipping away at the rights of Iowans’: House passes bill to eliminate local civil rights protections for trans people
On Thursday, the Iowa House approved a bill that prohibits local governments from having any civil rights ordinances that provide greater protections for rights than state law does. Eliminating the power of local governments to protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary people is one of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ stated priorities for her final legislative session as governor.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
‘Queen of Iowa horror’ Carrsan T. Morrissey’s new short to debut at FilmScene Wednesday night
Bleeders, a new short film by local filmmaker Carssan T. Morrissey, will premiere at FilmScene in Iowa City Wednesday, following a showing of Evil Dead (2013). The two films are […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa House Republicans advance bills to eliminate local civil rights protections, allow parents to force LGBTQ kids into ‘conversion therapy’
Republican members of two Iowa House Judiciary subcommittees advanced two bills on Monday that continue the anti-LGBTQ agenda Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans have enshrined in state law since […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Des Moines’ new indie bookstores want to help Latino, LGBTQ readers ‘see themselves on the shelf’
Like a book, an independent bookstore can be a spiritual oasis in a chaotic world. It probably says something about our world, then, that three indie bookstores sprouted up in […]
Posted inDear Kiki
Dear Kiki: I’m a boring monogamist. Does that make me less queer?
Dear Kiki, Polyamory has taken the lesbian and queer community by storm. Every person I talk to wants me to read The Ethical Slut or Polysecure and be on board […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Queer history, pop culture and computers helped Iowa artist Ben Millett cover a gallery in quilts
Ben Millett’s quilts are tactile records, coded with color, memory and meaning. They look soft because they are, but their softness doesn’t dull their message. Instead, it amplifies it. On […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Plain Spoken: How the Planned Parenthood Book Sale made me the man I am today
My mother and I love each other dearly and we are both capable Christmas gift-givers. Ceramic chicken knick-knacks or matching salt and pepper shakers never fail to bring a gleam to Mom’s keen antiquer’s eye, brightening the tree’s particolored twinkles already refracted in her gaze.
Posted inBook Reviews
Fully Booked at DMPL: Read to resist LGBTQ+ erasure
Legislators in the state of Iowa are actively trying to erase the stories of LGBTQ+ people by removing books from public schools and denying access to important, life-saving stories for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
The pair of artists behind Des Moines’ Pride murals, Cat Rocketship and Dani Awesome, have a colorful love story
Artists Cat Rocketship and Dani Awesome have created some big, head-turning work together: massive rainbow murals in the East Village and Historic Valley Junction; human-sized Iowa wildlife painted along a […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Pride 2025 events across eastern and central Iowa
From raucous Pride parades and festivals to intimate LGBTQ+ support groups and book clubs, there are dozens of ways to celebrate Pride Month this June (and July, and August) in […]
Posted inCommunity/News
ACLU of Iowa warns five cities that their anti-drag ordinances are unconstitutional
The ACLU of Iowa has sent letters to city councils in five communities, asking councilmembers to update their city codes and remove language classifying performances by male and female impersonators […]
