Iowa State House Representative Ken Croken, who represents Iowa’s 97th District, is holding a fourth film screening raising funds for two local LGBTQ nonprofits.
In 2023, the state of Iowa banned gender-affirming care for minors. Since then, Representative Croken has raised over $10,000 for Clock Inc. and Project of the Quad Cities to assist Iowan families seeking gender-affirming services.
The Davenport Democrat says the funding will increase access to accommodate the influx of Iowan families.
“I believe that the parents of these children are in the best position to make a decision about what health care their kids need and how they should manage their own family affairs," Representative Croken said. "This is not a place for Governor [Kim] Reynolds and the majority in the legislature to decide for other people how they will manage their health care.”
Representative Croken says he will continue to lobby his colleagues to change that 2023 law. He is also working on other issues ahead of the 2026 legislative session, beginning January 12th.
"The Iowa minimum wage, which is less than half than the Illinois minimum wage, is a good example of that. I've been submitting bills for the last three years trying to get our minimum wage up above $7.25 an hour, which is shameful," Representative Croken said. "We have other issues of concern, radon in schools is something that I'm also very concerned with right now. And in fact, spoke with your colleagues on River to River earlier this week about proposed legislation that I'm going to be submitting here as soon as the session is available to do so."
The 2022 documentary ‘Jimmy in Saigon’ is being shown at the Last Picture House this Thursday, starting at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased on the Project of the Quad Cities website. All proceeds go to Clock Inc. and the Project of the QC.
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