Zachary Smith

1 month ago | laurabelin.substack.com | Laura Belin |Spencer Dirks |Dave Price |Zachary Smith

I spent Monday afternoon at the capitol and can confirm that many people were wearing green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. I snapped this photo showing part of the House chamber while State Representative Hans Wilz (standing) was floor managing a bill to regulate the use of tanning beds by teenagers. The audio file from our March 17 show is embedded above, or you can find “KHOI’s Capitol Week” on any podcast platform or smart speaker.

Jan 15, 2025 | cornholechampions.substack.com | Zachary Smith

Once again, Reynolds has been mum about her priorities for the Legislature. The rough strokes of her plan finally got a public recounting Tuesday with the Condition of the State address. To a packed Iowa House floor and repeated standing ovations, Gov. Kim Reynolds rattled through childcare and energy, Medicaid regulations and cancer research.

Jan 14, 2025 | laurabelin.substack.com | Laura Belin |Spencer Dirks |Zachary Smith

Monday was an exciting day for members of the Iowa House and Senate, and also for me. Although I’ve closely followed legislative happening since the early months of Bleeding Heartland’s existence in 2007, this was the first time I was able to watch the opening proceedings from the Iowa House press bench. The Institute for Free Speech filed a federal lawsuit on my behalf a couple of weeks into the 2024 session, so I didn’t receive credentials to sit in the media area until late January.

Jan 8, 2025 | cornholechampions.substack.com | Zachary Smith

Half a million students are enrolled in Iowa’s public schools. And because Iowa charges students for meals, some rack up lunchroom debt and others go hungry. Studies show hunger impacts academic performance, classroom behavior, as well as overall health and even test scores. But so far, the powers that be in Iowa aren’t interested. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Sen.

Dec 11, 2024 | cornholechampions.substack.com | Zachary Smith

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -51:21Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Politics has a short memory. And consequently, it’s challenging to remember that the movement for reproductive rights does not begin with Dobbs or even Roe v. Wade. People here in Iowa and elsewhere have been locked in a fight for reproductive freedom that far predates any of us.