Iowa
Iowa City celebrates LGBTQ+ community during pride festival
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – No matter how oppressive the heat on Saturday, people like Kelsi Mann were determined not to miss Iowa City’s pride festival.
“There’s always someone in your corner. There are places you can go. They have resources for everyone and they make it loud and proud that they’re here and that they’re for us,” Mann said.
This is Mann’s third year celebrating Pride in Iowa City. Mann said the LGBTQ+ community can sometimes feel small, but the pride festival is a strong reminder nobody’s alone.
An especially powerful message to people who aren’t yet confident in showing their pride.
“You know I spent a long time in the closet before I was fully ready to come out. Now I’m out and I know the people who love me love me so much.”>
Mann isn’t alone.
Taygan Shilhanek said diversity is something to be proud of and the community’s acceptance can act as a sanctuary.
“Like coming out to friends and close family can be very difficult but it’s knowing that no matter what happens, you have someone. You’re not alone,” Shilhanek said.
Even as a state law removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights act is about to go into effect, all you’d see at the parade is an abundance of positive messages.
“Coming together as a community like this is a way for us not only to cope but to show that no matter what you do we will persist. We will still be here. You can’t erase our existence,” said Cori Jobman
Mann said they’re used to hostility as a response to self expression, and events like the pride festival are critical for the LGBTQ+ community.
“There’s people here who love you still. And it saves lives.”
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Audi Crooks, Jada Williams reflect on loss to Syracuse
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks and Jada Williams discuss what went wrong in the second half for the Cyclones’ to fall to Syracuse.
Iowa State’s first-round exit from the 2026 Women’s NCAA Tournament has triggered a mass exodus, with a reported eight players leaving the team to enter the transfer portal.
Junior forward Addy Brown announced her decision to “move on” from Iowa State and enter the transfer portal in a social media post on Tuesday, March 24.
“This decision comes after a lot of thought about my future and goals,” Brown wrote in a post shared to social media. “While it’s never easy to move on, I believe this is the right step for me and I’m excited for what’s ahead as I continue to grow and chase my dreams.”
By Thursday, March. 26, several other players followed suit. Junior guard Jada Williams confirmed she’ll be “pursuing my dreams elsewhere” for her senior season. She added in a social media post, “Iowa State will always have a place in my heart and I’ll never forget the Iowa State way.”
Williams transferred to Iowa State for the 2025-26 season after playing for Arizona for the first two years of her career. William averaged career-highs in points (15.3), assists (7.7) and field goal percentage (41.7) in her lone season at Iowa State.
Iowa State freshman guard Reese Beaty, freshman guard Freya Jensen, sophomore guard Reagan Wilson, sophomore guard Aili Tanke, junior forward Alisa Williams and junior center Lilly Taulelei all intend to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Talia Goodman.
The transfer portal opens on Monday, April 6, following the NCAA Tournament championship game on Sunday, April 5.
Could Iowa State junior center Audi Crooks be next? Crooks declined to answer whether she would return next season following Iowa State’s 72-63 loss to Syracuse on Saturday, March 21. She instead said, “We’re all still processing everything and just being there for each other right now is the priority. That’s the main thing, making sure everybody is mentally OK through this tough time.”
Crooks had 37 points (17-of-25 FG) and five rebounds in the losing effort against Syracuse.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@usatoday.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
If you are the site owner (or you manage this site), please whitelist your IP or if you think this block is an error please open a support ticket and make sure to include the block details (displayed in the box below), so we can assist you in troubleshooting the issue.
Block details:
| Your IP: | 65.108.124.35 |
| URL: | oskynews.org/iowa-senate-sends-health-insurer-tax-increase-to-governors-desk/ |
| Your Browser: | Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/143.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 |
| Block ID: | GEO02 |
| Block reason: | Access from your Country was disabled by the administrator. |
| Time: | 2026-03-26 09:14:06 |
| Server ID: | 21007 |
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Law enforcement has issued thousands of citations since Iowa’s hands-free driving law went into effect, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
The law went into effect in July 2025, prohibiting using phones while driving unless in hands-free mode. Citations started on January 1.
Since then, officers have issued over 2,400 citations and over 1,900 warnings.
The violation is a moving violation in Iowa, with a fine of $170.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Rubio meets G7 ministers in France as US leads on Iran — allies under fire for tepid response
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
Dementia risk signals could lie in simple blood pressure readings, researchers say
Indiana coach Cignetti sends message to star transfer with pre-practice dress code lesson
Drone food delivery launches in New Jersey
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
Rubio joins crucial G7 talks as Iran war set to dominate second day
A surprise resignation could open the door for an independent to win a Montana Senate seat
Video: Savannah Guthrie Says She Believes Her Mother Was Taken for Ransom
Stefanik grills University of Michigan leader on lack of audit after string of Chinese national arrests
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Science1 week agoHow a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Science1 week agoI had to man up and get a mammogram
-
Sports6 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico4 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Texas7 days agoHow to buy Houston vs. Texas A&M 2026 March Madness tickets
-
Tennessee3 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson