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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Iowa legislative session ends declaring ‘mission accomplished’ on property taxes and more abortion restrictions
Iowa Republicans ended a 112-day legislative session on May 3 with a long-promised property tax overhaul estimated to save homeowners $4.2 billion over six years. They also passed an abortion pill restriction that 80% of Iowa voters—including a majority of Republicans—said shouldn’t be the legislature’s priority.
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EXCLUSIVE: Josh Turek launches rural Iowa plan, points to right-to-repair win as proof of concept
The Iowa House just passed a bipartisan right-to-repair bill that Turek helped champion. Now he’s running for US Senate on a promise to take that fight to Washington.
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Joe Mitchell took a homestead tax credit in Mount Pleasant while living in Des Moines, records show
Where was Joe Mitchell living? The Iowa congressional candidate collected a tax credit on a Mount Pleasant property, while his voter registration, business filings, and a condo purchase all pointed to a different address in downtown Des Moines.
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Rob Sand unveils healthcare plan targeting Iowa’s cancer crisis, Medicaid privatization
Iowa’s cancer rate is the fastest-rising in the nation—Rob Sand says his plan would do something about it.
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MercyOne to close two South Des Moines clinics, citing expected Medicaid cuts
MercyOne is closing two South Des Moines clinics in June, and the health system is pointing to expected Medicaid cuts—the same cuts US Rep. Zach Nunn voted for—as part of the reason why.
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JD Vance’s Iowa visit canceled as Trump’s embattled farm bill is ‘in big trouble’
JD Vance has nixed a planned Iowa visit this week, rescheduling his campaign stop with Rep. Zach Nunn to May 4.
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EXCLUSIVE: House Majority PAC makes huge Iowa ad buy as Democrats go on offense
A Democratic Party-aligned super PAC is dropping hundreds of millions in media markets across the country, including three of Iowa’s biggest metros.
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Iowa Senate Democrats hold up Reynolds’ appointees
Now that Iowa Democrats have broken Republicans’ supermajority in the Senate, they’re using it to trip up Gov. Kim Reynolds’ choice for a key department lead. Starting in 2022, Republicans enjoyed a supermajority in the Iowa Senate. This meant that Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ state agency appointees, which require a two-thirds majority in the Senate…
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Photos show Iowa legislative pages stuffing campaign mailers for Dubuque Republican Rep. Jennifer Smith
As the Iowa Legislature heads for overtime, one member of the Iowa House is already gearing up for her reelection. And photos shared with Iowa Starting Line show she’s putting pages to work stuffing mailers. Iowa Starting Line obtained photographs that appear to show Iowa legislative pages stuffing reelection campaign mailers for state Rep. Jennifer…
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Wahls releases economic agenda targeting corporate power, Iowa costs
Zach Wahls released a sweeping 10-point economic platform targeting corporate monopolies, billionaire tax breaks, and the rising cost of housing, childcare, and wages. Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls, a candidate in the Democratic primary for US Senate, is talking a lot about the cost of fire trucks. “In the last decade the price for a new…
