"The Last American Gay Bar" docuseries to debut in Des Moines

A new television docuseries filmed in Des Moines about the decline of gay bars debuts next week at Varsity Cinema.

Why it matters: " The Last American Gay Bar " weaves decades of Iowa's queer history together to show how the state's LGBTQ+ community organized against discrimination locally and influenced nationwide change.

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• Iowa was one of the first states to legally recognize gay marriage following a court challenge.

Zoom in: The six-part series focuses on the employees and patrons of The Blazing Saddle . The downtown bar opened in 1983, and some patrons call it "the gay 'Cheers.'"

• Owner Bob "Mongo'' Eikleberry — one of several gay military veterans in the film — discusses how events like the AIDS crisis and " don't ask, don't tell " policies stigmatized but ultimately rallied the LGBTQ+ community.
• That resulted in support networks and advocacy groups like The All Iowa AIDS Benefit.

The intrigue: The production explores why there are fewer gay bars today, which were once the predominant meeting place for the queer community.

• Greater social acceptance and technologies like dating apps eroded their purpose in recent years, some of the series characters conclude.

Catch up fast: Director Kristian Day , a DSM resident, envisioned the project after writing about local gay bars that closed decades ago.

• The community's passion for civil rights and the local movement's beginnings as an underground subculture made the series a "passion project," he tells Axios.

What's next : The first three episodes will premiere at The Varsity and include a discussion with Day and the project's local crew and characters.

• June 13 at 7pm; tickets are $12 .
• After that, the 20-minute episodes will air on OUTtv starting July 3.

Bob "Mongo" Eikleberry recounts how locations of metro hospices for people with AIDS were kept secret in the 1980s for fear of retaliation. Photo: Courtesy of OUTtv and Daylite/ Kristian Day Media