By Jack Dura
A local LGBTQ pride group was excluded from a southwest Iowa town's Labor Day parade, apparently by the city's mayor, who cited safety concerns.
Shenandoah Pride planned to have a small group walking with a banner and a drag performer riding in a convertible, with candy, popsicles and stickers to hand out in the parade in Essex, Iowa, said Jessa Bears, a founding member of the group. The parade was part of a four-day festival in Essex, which has about 720 residents.
Ryan Fuller, who planned to ride in the convertible as his drag identity Cherry Peaks, said he received an email Thursday from the parade's organizer notifying him of the decision.
Fuller told The Associated Press Essex Mayor Calvin Kinney spearheaded the decision, with no motions or city council vote. Council Member Heather Thornton, who disagreed with the move, said “it was the mayor himself,” and added she was told he had the authority and didn't need a council vote.
Kinney did not immediately respond to an email from the AP regarding the decision. The AP's phone calls to City Attorney Mahlon Sorensen went unanswered.
Bears said the decision left her feeling “really shocked and angry, then just very sad and motivated to get the word out,” she told the AP. “This ban has done more for our visibility than the parade alone ever would have.”
Shenandoah Pride sought to be in the parade to “let people know there is a queer community in southwest Iowa that they can be a part of,” Bears said.
The groups that organized the festivities “fully supported their efforts and (are) just as upset as everyone else that they were excluded,” said Thornton, who is on the board of the club that had unanimously allowed the pride group to join the parade.
The ACLU of Iowa sent the city attorney a letter Saturday urging the city to let the group participate. The letter included a Thursday email from the mayor that cited safety of the public and parade participants in not allowing “parade participants geared toward the promotion of, or opposition to, the politically charged topic of gender and/or sexual identification/orientation." Thornton said she knew of no threats.
Despite the parade decision, Shenandoah Pride did have a vendor booth at the festival, which Bears said was well received.
A stranger offered their yard for Shenandoah Pride for the group to watch the parade, and a few floats had pride flags in solidarity, Bears said.
“Overall, regardless of the very dark shadow over the day, I'd say it was a pretty positive day,” she said after the parade.
Fuller said community members offered their yard as space for group members to watch the parade, and some people planned to wear pride shirts in the parade to show solidarity.
The group had canceled its convertible for the parade, Fuller said. "An apology would sure be nice,” he added.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
The two-sentence footnote raised serious concerns about accuracy and credibility.
