It’s Monday, June 23, 2025.

Amie here. I talk about loss and grief sometimes here (normalize it, right?), so I wanted to also take time to share my joy: Over the weekend, my brother and his wife had a child: my new nephew!

 

The squishy newborn photo is my brother’s to share; instead, here’s a photo of my brother as a baby (which I am using for reference to see which of his features his baby inherits. Like height!).

Yes, he was basically taller than me (I was three in this photo!) since he came out of the womb.

I grabbed this photo from my late mom’s Facebook feed; she’d like to post old photos of us on our birthdays or randomly, and (when she tagged us) they still show up in Facebook Memories.

 

We lost Mom to surprise late-stage lung cancer in 2017. Not having Mom around for the birth of his child—her first grandchild—was tough on my brother. Even amid joy, grief is still there, worming its way into the could-have-beens and should-have-beens of momentous occasions like this.

 

I’m sure it will always have a hold on our family like that. And I suspect many Iowa families who have lost loved ones to cancer have similar stories.

 

We’re collecting those stories as part of our Cancer in Iowa series. If you’d like to share yours, I invite you to submit it here.

 

Mom may not have been at the birth of her grandchild physically, but I like to think she was, and is, very much there in other ways. I have felt her presence deep in the throes of my own grief. I was taught, and have come to believe myself, that our ancestors watch us—even guide us, if we’re open to that—and when I remember that, I have less anxiety and more confidence about my decisions and my future. They’ve got me through it all, just behind that curtain.

 

Life is a hell of a journey for us all. I’m just glad I’m still around for the joy, too.

Speaking of loss: I’ve grown accustomed (pretty much since high school graduation) to seeing good friends leave the state. But the exodus of my fellow queer Iowans in particular has ramped up in the last few years, especially as our state legislature passes laws making it clear they’re not wanted here and won’t be supported. Iowa Starting Line summer intern Victor Robbins is looking to tell the stories of why LGBTQ+ Iowans have left the state, and I figured some of you may be able to help him out. Email him at victor@couriernewsroom.com to tell your story.

 

Corn Bred Cornbread Festival Renaissance: The state legislature made them take “festival” out of the name because of DEI (???), but that’s not stopping this 6-day celebration of Iowa youth culture starting today in Des Moines. (Black Iowa News)

 

Big Gay BBQ: Hosted by the Grinnell Pride Collective and Grinnell PFLAG, the inaugural, free, family-friendly LGBTQ+ grill-out will be Saturday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Central Park and Grinnell UCC.

 

Protesting war in the Middle East: More than 100 people gathered to protest President Trump’s bombing of Iran in Des Moines on Sunday (and there are more Iran bombing protests below). (WHO 13)

 

Protest him in person: Trump also announced he’d return to the Iowa State Fairgrounds on July 3. (KCCI)

 

This week’s protests:

• Tuesday, Waterloo: Shame on Them: No War, No Cuts, No Complicity, 5 p.m., 531 Commercial St.

• Tuesday, Council Bluffs: 50 Days of Shame, 5:30 p.m., 149 W. Broadway.

• Wednesday, Cedar Rapids: ‘No Cuts’ Letter Delivery to Sen Ernst Cedar Rapids Office, 11:30 a.m., NewBo City Market

• Thursday, Dubuque: Disappeared in America Visual Action, noon, Dubuque County Courthouse.

• Thursday, Davenport: Speak Out to Iowa’s Delegation, 2 p.m., 201 W. 2nd St.

• Friday, Des Moines: Fed Up Fridays, 2 p.m., Neal Smith Federal Building (210 Walnut St.)

• Saturday, Waukee: Community Rally for Democracy, 10 a.m., northeast corner of Hickman Road and Alice’s Road.

• Saturday, Decorah: Weekly Rally in the Wayside Park, noon, Carl Selland Park (5th Ave.)

Town Halls and Meetings:

• Wednesday, Waukee: Rob Sand Dallas County Town Hall, 5:30 p.m., location upon RSVP.

• Wednesday, Des Moines: Action Iowa Indivisible – June Community Event, 6 p.m., Merle Hay Mall Food Court.

• Wednesday, Ankeny: Rob Sand Polk County Town Hall, 7:30 p.m., location upon RSVP.

• Thursday, Tipton: Cancer Consortium, 10:30 a.m., Extension Office (107 Cedar St.)

• Saturday, Cedar Falls: Indivisible Iowa Black Hawk County – Member Meeting, 11 a.m., Cedar Falls Public Library.

• Saturday, Des Moines: IA: Food & Water Action 101 (Organizer Training), 1 p.m., Franklin Avenue Library.

• Monday, Forest City: Rob Sand Winnebago County Town Hall, noon, location upon RSVP.

• Monday, Algona: Rob Sand Kossuth County Town Hall, 2:30 p.m., location upon RSVP

• Monday, Estherville: Rob Sand Emmet County Town Hall, 5 p.m., location upon RSVP.

• Monday, Okoboji: Rob Sand Dickinson County Town Hall, 7 p.m., location upon RSVP.

Liz Conklin of Indivisible Black Hawk County sent me these photos of a protest “in solidarity with the immigrant communities being terrorized in Los Angeles” on June 12 in Waterloo, which she noted around 100 people attended.

 

John Clayton sent me this video of the Des Moines No Kings rally on June 14.

 

Send me your protest and rally photos here.

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