Source: AP

Published 6:47 PM CDT, July 17, 2023

OWATONNA, Minn. (AP) — Members of an LGBTQ+ group are calling on the
mayor of a southern Minnesota city to meet their demands — or resign — after he asked pastors at a church holding a Pride event if there would
be stripper poles in the sanctuary and posted a public prayer alluding to “sin and brokenness” at the event.

In an open letter to Mayor Tom Kuntz, a Republican, and the Owatonna City Council, Rainbowatonna organizer Nathan Black said Kuntz used his elected position to harass and intimidate people involved in the city’s Pride celebration on July 8, the Star Tribune reported. The Pride celebration included a service at Associated Church, festivities at a pavilion and a
drag show after-party at the Owatonna Arts Center.

In his public letter, Black said Kuntz spoke to pastors at the church
about two weeks before the service. He said the mayor appeared to be
upset and asked several “bizarre” questions, including whether there
would be stripper poles in the sanctuary. Black said he wasn’t concerned about the mayor’s behavior until later, when he found that last month
Kuntz posted a prayer he wrote on social media.

In the prayer, Kuntz asked for wisdom in the face of upcoming public
events “where sin and brokenness will be celebrated and where sexually explicit acts will be normalized.” Kuntz didn’t mention a specific event but called for prayer “until July 8,” according to the Star Tribune.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/owatonna-minnesota-mayor-resign- lgbtq-pride-6fc9be98f33c74cae2d4d3bb997e839b

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