Fundraising for the late Selene Cass, water quality guru seeks ag office, ‘Naughty Spelling Bee’ Sunday: Iowa Dailies for 4-11-26

DES MOINES — Friends, fans and colleagues of the late Irmin Luqueno, aka Selene Cass, gathered Thursday to raise $2,000 for the family of the drag queen, who passed away unexpectedly in their sleep Sunday. The memorial show and fundraising effort, held at The Blazing Saddle, is part of an overall effort to raise $26,000 for Luqueno’s family. As Selene Cass, Luqueno led The Blazing Saddle’s Noche Latino night for years and was a pivotal bridge between the LGBTQ+ community and the Latino community, said Blazing Saddle co-owner Bryan Smith. To donate, go to the GoFundMe page for Luqueno.

DES MOINES — Chris Jones, who literally wrote the book on how farming affects Iowa’s water, is seeking to become Iowa’s secretary of agriculture. Jones filed in January to challenge Republican incumbent Mike Naig for the post. Jones, a Democrat, says he wants more diverse agriculture than just corn and soybeans, more regulations on polluters, and more Iowa food products to stay in-state. Jones is a research engineer with the Iowa Water Center, a former University of Iowa professor, and author of “The Swine Republic: Struggles with the Truth about Agriculture and Water Quality,” which explores the relationship between fertilizer run-off and livestock waste from mass farming, and water quality. Jones has also written a blog since 2019 about Iowa’s water quality, considered among the most nitrate-tainted in the country.. According to campaign financing reports, he raised $4,300 to Naig’s $160,000 by the start of 2026.