Iowa
A transgender woman who was sent to jail in Des Moines after a hotel called the police alleging she and he friend were sex workers, has been able to post bail thank to the help of activists, the Des Moines Register reports:

A 22-year-old inmate who says her gender identification landed her in the Polk County Jail has posted $2,000 bail raised by donations from strangers.
Meagan Taylor, whose legal name is Derez Flowers, signed an extradition waiver allowing authorities to transport her back to Illinois, where she could face additional fines of about $1,700. But an online fundraising effort in the wake of a Des Moines Register column Friday might also cover Flowers’ fines in Illinois.

The Advocate spoke with Taylor who was released on Wednesday:

Des Moines activists Mira Bellweather, Tony Tyler, and Kaija Carter expressed concern to The Advocate that if Taylor had been extradited, she could have been held with male prisoners on the transit vehicle and in jails along the way, opening her up to possible physical and sexual assault. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Chase Strangio adds that that St. Clair County Jail in Illinois — where Taylor could have been detained over the weekend while awaiting her scheduled August 10 court appearance — has a history of institutional violence towards trans women.

Taylor was released at 11:44 a.m. Central time Wednesday, Rohrer tells The Advocate.

Taylor tells The Advocate that she felt her July 13 arrest was unequivocally unjust. “I was accused of prostituting … [when] I was just doing my normal [thing],” she recalls. “I wasn’t even doing anything criminal. I was just sitting in my hotel room that I paid for, just like everyone else.” Taylor says she was visiting Des Moines from Illinois, accompanied by another trans woman, when she was allegedly profiled by hotel staff, who called police to investigate “possible prostitution activity.” Taylor had signed in with a name other than her own, which in itself is not a crime.
“It seemed like they were trying to find something to charge me with,” she explained to theRegister. “I lied about my name [but] I was not doing any illegal activity. The lady called police because I was transgender and was with a transgender friend.”
When it was discovered that Taylor was not engaged in sex work, police arrested her for carrying spironolactone hydrochloride, a transition-related medication, without a prescription, and for “malicious prosecution.”
Taylor did emphasize to The Advocate that when she first arrived at the jail July 13, several correctional officers were especially concerned about what they considered the injustice of her arrest, and they had researched how to help her. This, in part, led to McCarthy contacting the Register in hopes that its reporters would spread the word through news coverage. That outreach resulted in an editorial by Register columnist Rekha Basu, who offers commentary on “current events, community and culture with a focus on human rights and social justice,” according to her bio at the paper’s website.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz released a new video last week praising an Iowa couple that was found guilty of discriminating against a same-sex couple, Huffington Post reports:

The couple whom the Odgaards turned away quickly filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The Odgaards agreed to pay them $5,000 and to stop discriminating against same-sex couples. In order to comply, they decided to stop providing wedding services altogether, rather than start serving gay couples.
“Dick and Betty inspire me,” Cruz says in his video, highlighting “their incredible journey fighting to defend religious liberty.”

At a meeting in Iowa, Cruz told evangelicals they need to take their country back from the “lawless” Supreme Court and its marriage equality decision, On Top Magazine reports:

Speaking over the weekend at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa, Cruz told social conservatives who had gathered to hear from 10 Republican presidential candidates that he would not give up the fight.
“And I will tell you what my prayer is in the face of this disgraceful, lawless decision from the court. That it will spark an awakening. That it will awaken the body of Christ and lift us up to rise up for the 54 million evangelicals who are staying home to say, ‘We will take this country back for our values.’”

A conservative Christian group is trying to block an anti-bullying conference, WHO reports:

The group, titled “Concerned Citizens” is petitioning for the school to ban the event towards students in the future and called the district’s decision to allow the students to attend the conference, “a gross misuse of taxpayer money.”
However the district’s superintendent, Greg Darling, said the school did not pay for the students to attend the conference since it was hosted through a student – run club. He said the club’s organizer is in charge of fundraising efforts and must determine if the event will be attended next year.

The Gazette profiles University of Iowa’s UI Health Care clinic which has become an important destination for trans* health care in the state:

UI Health Care in 2012 opened the state’s first LGBTQ clinic at its Iowa River Landing site. The clinic — which offers appointments on Tuesday evenings for a host of health needs like hormone therapy or post-surgical care — starting filling up immediately.
Since then, it has seen 175 new transgender patients, a central focus of the clinic. They make up 80 percent of its patient population, and Imborek said most come from outside Johnson County.

Wisconsin
A gay baker called LGBT activists “nazis” for demanding nondiscrimination, the Huffington Post reports: “It’s plain and simple: you are bullying someone,” he said. “You are forcing someone. You are being a Nazi and forcing someone to bake a damn wedding cake for you when there are hundreds of other gays and lesbians who would gladly have your business.”

Another Wisconsin business defended itself from a Tea Party type who didn’t like the owners support for LGBT equality, the Lacrosse Tribune reports:

A Facebook profile picture sparked a digital scuffle this week between local business Gracie’s Gyros and Wraps and La Crosse Tea Party activist Greg Luce.
The dispute started when Despina Kozidis, known as Gracie, commented Tuesday on a post on the La Crosse Foodie Facebook page. A woman was visiting La Crosse and looking for a new place to eat. Gracie took the opportunity to plug her business.
At about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Gracie called her daughter, Sofia Kozidis.
“She was freaking out,” Sofia said.
The Facebook message to Gracie from Luce, a fellow member of the La Crosse Foodie page, read, “Hi Despina. I saw your post on La Crosse Foodie. I love gyros, but I detest people with rainbow filters on their picture. It’s an abomination that we are being forced to condone deviant sexual behavior. I will NOT be visiting your restaurant, I’m sorry.”
Gracie was floored by the message. It was the first time she had received a negative comment from a stranger, and her original comment had nothing to do with same sex relationships.
“I’m overwhelmed because I grew up in such a negative atmosphere,” Gracie said.

North Dakota
North Dakota Episcopals won’t be going to any same-sex weddings in the denomination’s churches, the Grand Forks Herald reports:

Earlier this month at its general convention in Utah, the U.S. Episcopal Church voted overwhelmingly to allow same-sex marriages in the church, a decision that one reverend called a “huge step” for equality.
But the Episcopalian leader in North Dakota, Bishop Michael G. Smith, said in a church newsletter this week that he plans to resist the new policy when it goes into effect Nov. 29.
“I remain unconvinced that God is doing something new by altering the order established in creation,” the bishop wrote in a letter Monday. “Therefore, I cannot in good conscience authorize the use of these trial liturgies for the Diocese of North Dakota.”
Cindy Roholt, a board member of the Fargo-based LGBT rights advocacy group Pride Collective and Community Center, said people were sure to be disappointed by Smith’s stance. But she said “this is a matter for faith communities to decide on their own.”