Zachary Oren Smith is your friendly neighborhood reporter. He leads Starting Line’s political coverage where he investigates corruption, housing affordability and the future of work. For nearly a decade, he’s written award-winning stories for Iowa Public Radio, The Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Send your tips on hard news and good food to zach@iowastartingline.com.
Zachary Oren Smith
Latest from Zachary Oren Smith
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Rob Sand wants Iowa to take on Big Tech over kids’ safety
Rob Sand believes social media should be off-limits for kids under 16. His plan would require age verification, make minors’ accounts private, and ban DMs from strangers.
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New refugee story project aims to bring Iowa’s overlooked immigrant communities into focus
Common Thread Iowa will cover the state’s refugee and immigrant communities — populations its founders say are bigger, and more overlooked, than most Iowans realize.
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Hinson says clinic closure talk is ‘lying by omission.’ State records tell another story
Ashley Hinson accused her critics of “lying by omission” about healthcare clinic closures. Then we checked what she left out.
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Trump’s push for ID has nothing to do with the election threats Iowa faces
Register to vote, check your registration status, and understand the actual threats to election security heading into 2026. Link in the bio for our voter registration guide. Read the full story on Iowa Starting Line.
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Iowa insurers seek premium hikes for 2027
Five Iowa insurers filed their 2027 rate requests. Four want double-digit increases—and the tables explaining why are redacted. Enrollment already dropped 17% this year.
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Iowa’s rural counties are losing SNAP fastest under new federal work rules
Iowa’s food assistance rolls have shrunk by tens of thousands since Republicans passed their signature tax and spending law — and the state’s own data shows rural, aging counties are being hit hardest.
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Ashley Hinson fought for a tax break that benefits her own fortune
Records show a major Iowa Republican and millionaire Ashley Hinson has benefitted directly from tax changes she has championed.
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Sand announces 100 Iowa Republicans backing his governor bid
“I don’t know Zach Lahn from a hill of beans,” said one of the more than 100 Republicans now backing the Democratic nominee.
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Rob Sand picks western Iowa farmer as his lieutenant governor running mate
Democratic governor nominee Rob Sand has chosen Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer, a fifth-generation farmer and cattleman from western Iowa, as his running mate. A pick to bridge the rural divide.
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Meet Zach Lahn: a Koch-connected political operative running for Iowa governor
Iowa’s new Republican nominee for governor Zach Lahn campaigned as an outsider farmer fighting the political establishment. But before he was “Iowa First,” he was a Koch-connected political operative who blocked Medicaid expansion in Montana, co-founded a Koch-funded private school in Kansas, and barely met Iowa’s residency requirement to run. A look at his resume.
