South Dakota
Defending the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment will cost South Dakota $242,000, the Associated Press reports:

South Dakota has agreed to pay $242,000 to attorneys for same-sex couples who challenged the state’s ban on gay marriages…The settlement provides about $182,000 to Madia Law, the Minneapolis firm for which Newville works, and about $59,000 to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

One of South Dakota’s two PFLAG chapters has closed, the Argus Leader reports:

Terri Carlson may have just worked herself out of a volunteer job.
The Sioux Falls woman announced Sunday that the local PFLAG chapter, which started seven years ago, is disbanding. PFLAG, once known as Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, is the nation’s largest family and ally organization. Its goal is uniting people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) with families, friends and allies.
“We have done great things over the past seven years, and the world has made significant strides,” Carlson wrote in her Facebook post.
“During the past months, our meetings have had very low attendance, and we feel it is time to ‘face the music’! Monthly meetings will no longer be held. Our September meeting involved significant preparation, and a number of speakers and actors came to share their skills and knowledge — with an audience of only two parents and our board of directors.”
That leaves South Dakota will only one active PFLAG chapter. The group in Spearfish has meet for a little more than a year, according to information it provided.

Iowa
A jury has rejected a claim of sexual orientation discrimination in Story County, Iowa, the Ames Tribune reports:

A Story County jury has returned a verdict in favor of Danish manufacturing company Danfoss in a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee who accused the company of wrongful termination, and who claimed he was harassed because of his age and sexual orientation.

Douglas Schilling sued the company in 2013, claiming he was subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment by four of his supervisors at the then Sauer-Danfoss, where he began working in January 2011.

Anti-LGBT Iowa radio host, Steve Deace, used transgender as a slur against Sen. Lindsey Graham, Media Matters reports:

In a September 23 article for Conservative Review that ranked each 2016 GOP presidential candidate’s chances of winning the Iowa Caucus, conservative political commenter and former radio host Steve Deace referred to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) as “transgendered:” Lindsey Graham (1,000-1) Iowa Caucus voters apparently aren’t ready for a transgendered candidate yet.

The Quad Cities Fall Pride Festival was held over the weekend, and the Dispatch Argus covered the events:

The final night of the Quad Cities Fall Pride Festival was in full swing, and people of every age and stripe were starting to pack the north end of the park, where dozens of vendors and food booths were doing business… Andrew Glasscock, the event’s creative director, said there is a substantial LGBT population in the community, and the community supports it.

He said the festival drew about 2,000 Friday night, and had had about 2,000 since it opened Saturday morning. Organizer’s expected 5,000 to 7,000 total for both days of the event.

Wisconsin
A man has been arrested in Madison for what police suspect of being an anti-transgender attack, the Badger Herald reports:

Joel DeSpain, MPD spokesperson, said the victim was punched in the face and was later admitted to the hospital for stitches and a facial fracture.

The victim hailed a cab to alert the driver of the situation; the driver then called the police. He said the police are treating the battery as a hate crime.

According to the report, the victim said the suspect used derogatory and homophobic names.