Iowa City Pride: The places, people that make this city so LGBTQIA+ friendly
Iowa City Pride: The places, people that make this city so LGBTQIA+ friendly
Any list of the country's premiere independent bookstores always includes several from both coasts. Yet, one bright light shines in the middle of the Midwest — Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City. For nearly 50 years, it has been a primary source of cultural understanding and community in this city of 75,000.Some point to Prairie Lights as a primary factor in Iowa City regularly appearing alongside San Francisco, New York and Miami as a destination for queer travel.'From the beginning, Prairie Lights has never shied away from whose books and what topics they would carry or what authors they would invite to special events,' says Joe Reilly, a gay man who, as night mayor, serves as a non-elected liaison between downtown businesses and city officials on issues like safety and inclusivity.'Iowa City has successfully planned for a safe and inviting community by providing good lighting, a healthy pedestrian mall and public safety that demonstrates this space is cared for,' he says. It should be noted that Iowa City's elected mayor, Bruce Teague, is openly gay.Reilly also credits the transitory nature of many residents for making Iowa City so welcoming. As the original capital of Iowa, the city is home to the University of Iowa and its 30,000 students from around the world.'People come here from so many walks of life and quickly learn from each other and grow together,' Reilly says.It was in this environment 25 years ago that Studio 13 opened in a downtown alley. Despite its offbeat location, it quickly became the most visible LGBTQIA+ space in town. Owner Jason Zeman acknowledges that a supportive local government has contributed to the club's success, but Studio 13's mantra is based on supporting individual identity.'We live by the philosophy that every customer should feel better leaving our venues than when they came in,' he says. 'Making people feel good about themselves and reminding them they're special, important and loved is something I emphasize to our staff.'Complementing businesses such as Studio 13 are Big Grove Brewery, Iowa's largest craft brewery, that produces a Rainbow Connection Brew. Proceeds benefit Iowa City Pride.The boutique movie theater FilmScene regularly shows movies with queer themes and by LGTBQ directors. The Iowa City Senior Center has a Queer Elders group.A popular boutique hotel, The Highlander, has won numerous recognitions by the gay travel community.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
6 days ago
- USA Today
Iowa City Pride: The places, people that make this city so LGBTQIA+ friendly
Iowa City Pride: The places, people that make this city so LGBTQIA+ friendly Any list of the country's premiere independent bookstores always includes several from both coasts. Yet, one bright light shines in the middle of the Midwest — Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City. For nearly 50 years, it has been a primary source of cultural understanding and community in this city of 75, point to Prairie Lights as a primary factor in Iowa City regularly appearing alongside San Francisco, New York and Miami as a destination for queer travel.'From the beginning, Prairie Lights has never shied away from whose books and what topics they would carry or what authors they would invite to special events,' says Joe Reilly, a gay man who, as night mayor, serves as a non-elected liaison between downtown businesses and city officials on issues like safety and inclusivity.'Iowa City has successfully planned for a safe and inviting community by providing good lighting, a healthy pedestrian mall and public safety that demonstrates this space is cared for,' he says. It should be noted that Iowa City's elected mayor, Bruce Teague, is openly also credits the transitory nature of many residents for making Iowa City so welcoming. As the original capital of Iowa, the city is home to the University of Iowa and its 30,000 students from around the world.'People come here from so many walks of life and quickly learn from each other and grow together,' Reilly was in this environment 25 years ago that Studio 13 opened in a downtown alley. Despite its offbeat location, it quickly became the most visible LGBTQIA+ space in town. Owner Jason Zeman acknowledges that a supportive local government has contributed to the club's success, but Studio 13's mantra is based on supporting individual identity.'We live by the philosophy that every customer should feel better leaving our venues than when they came in,' he says. 'Making people feel good about themselves and reminding them they're special, important and loved is something I emphasize to our staff.'Complementing businesses such as Studio 13 are Big Grove Brewery, Iowa's largest craft brewery, that produces a Rainbow Connection Brew. Proceeds benefit Iowa City boutique movie theater FilmScene regularly shows movies with queer themes and by LGTBQ directors. The Iowa City Senior Center has a Queer Elders group.A popular boutique hotel, The Highlander, has won numerous recognitions by the gay travel community.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Boston Globe
Needham Bank reaches $212 million deal to acquire Merrimack Valley bank that had suffered from bad crypto bet
Advertisement Together, the combined organization will have 18 branches, and $7.1 billion in assets, and will be the sixth largest Massachusetts-based bank in the Boston metro area. 'It's really a great opportunity,' Campanelli said. 'There are very few independent publicly traded banks left [in the market].' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up BankProv chief executive Joe Reilly, founder of Centrix Bank (now part of Eastern Bank), will join Needham's board of directors. Reilly, then a BankProv board member, became co-chief executive of BankProv in late 2022 at a time when the bank had been losing money because of its unusual venture into loans backed by crypto mining equipment — the bank stopped making those loans around that time — and he became the sole CEO two years later. Advertisement Campanelli said he plans to cut about 35 percent of BankProv's operating costs; the deal will add to Needham's earnings in the first year. BankProv employs around 160 people, though it's unclear how many of them will join Needham's 375-person team. Campanelli said he has slowed hiring at Needham recently and hopes that he may be able to find other jobs for any displaced BankProv workers, though the exact size of the new workforce has not yet been determined. He said Needham already has around $350 million worth of business in the BankProv footprint, primarily through business loans. He's looking forward to growing that amount. BankProv is around the same size that Needham was when Campanelli joined the bank as its chief executive in early 2017. As Needham grows, Campanelli vows to ensure it still has the feel of a small-town bank. Toward that end, he makes a point of making his cell phone number public, for all to see, on the company website. 'People still want to pick up the phone and talk to somebody,' Campanelli said. 'We always say, 'We get big by staying small.'' Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Yahoo
Uptown sex shop says it's 'dangerously close' to closing 'forever'
Uptown sex shop says it's 'dangerously close' to closing 'forever' originally appeared on Bring Me The News. The future of sex-positive sex shop The Smitten Kitten is in limbo. On Wednesday, the Lyn-Lake store sent out a newsletter sounding the alarm. "This week we came to the conclusion that we are dangerously close to shutting our doors forever," the newsletter reads. "Local product based businesses like Smitten Kitten are going up against Big Box stores, tariffs, and the constant struggle and vilification of being queer sex educators under fascism in 2025," the shop continued. While Smitten Kitten is a sex shop selling books, sex toys, and other products, it's also a community space. It offers inclusive, sex-positive classes, discussions, and social gatherings that have helped many in the community build connections. In Wednesday's newsletter, the shop announced a sale that will run on Thursday and Friday as part of an effort to keep the lights on. The company did not respond to a request for comment. "Smitten Kitten is more than just a s*x store, we are a safe place to explore, learn and find community in each other through our collective and individual struggles," the newsletter concludes. "Whether that's coming out, transitioning, cancer, sexual trauma, etc. We want to continue to serve our customers and community for as long as we possibly can." It's assumed that the business' mention of "fascism" is a reference to the second Trump administration, the rise of which has been characterized partially by attacks on sex education and targeting of the LGTBQ community. The administration has taken a series of steps since Trump returned to office that have hallmarks of authoritarianism, autocracy, and right-wing populism, including the suppression of certain political speech, the targeting of immigrant communities, and the minimization of the legislature and judiciary. But the claim from the left that his regime is fascist is the subject of ongoing debate even though the policies listed above tend to feature in fascist story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
