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.
Florida lawmakers have introduced a controversial bill restricting some discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms with young students. Supporters say the move empowers parents to have more of a say in what their children learn. Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
Congress this week passed a bill that would end forced arbitration for workplace sexual assault and harassment, one of the most significant changes to employment law in years. Cheddar News speaks with Marjorie Mesidor, Sexual Harassment Attorney, who explains that arbitrators are often retired judges or attorneys who "tends to have a more conservative view both to law and rewards."
As the situation with Russia has grown more precarious, the White House urged Americans remaining in Ukraine to leave immediately. The Biden administration that it sees continuing signs of escalation but did not have specific information detailing a timetable for a potential invasion. Kristine Berzina, senior fellow and head of the geopolitics team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar News to provide her analysis. "There's talk of an impending phone call between President Putin, President Biden," Berzina said. "That is certainly a good sign to indicate that there would be significant cost."
Terrell Starr, host of 'Black Diplomats' podcast and senior nonresident fellow at the Eurasia Center for Atlantic Council, joins Cheddar News from Kyiv, Ukraine to discuss the mounting tension there.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
David Tafuri, Former Obama Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor & Former State Department Official, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest geopolitical stories from Beijing, amid China's human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and yet another Russian doping scandal.
Dr. Jennifer Haythe of Columbia University's Irving Medical Center, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the latest with the pandemic, as the debate over child safety rages amid low vaccination rates and states easing school mask mandates.
