
Zachary Oren Smith
Eastern Iowa ReporterZachary Oren Smith is a reporter covering Eastern Iowa for IPR. A Mississippi transplant to Middle America, he came to IPR as a Talk Show Producer in 2021 after reporting on Iowa City politics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register.
You can contact Zach at zsmith@iowapublicradio.org and on Twitter @ZacharyOS.
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USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack said unprecedented federal money will promote the planting and maintenance of new trees. His tour to get out the word about the spending began in a town still recovering from the loss of many of its trees.
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Davenport city staff provided testimony, video and even voicemails painting a picture of the mistreatment staff suffered at the hands of Davenport Alderman Derek Cornette. City Council was receptive and removed him from office. But it's an open question whether the council can do that.
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An investigation of the Davenport building collapse reveals failures on the part of the building's owner, as well as his engineering firm and masonry contractors. The collapse, according to the report, could have been prevented.
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The first Iowa Democrat has announced plans to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Christina Bohannan is a law professor in Iowa City. She lost to Miller-Meeks in 2022.
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Ten percent of Iowa’s Methodist congregations are leaving the church. The denomination is wrestling over the future of LGBTQ members and whether they can be clergy.
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Why do we sleep? Why do we dream? How do sleep and dreams shape our memories?
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Since the collapse of The Davenport apartment building, it has become increasingly evident how long both the owner and the city were aware of its risks. The remains of the dead were found this week. One family remembers their lost loved one and discusses accountability after the collapse.
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An electronic paper trail shows the city was aware of structural problems that needed attention and reveals a sometimes off-hand attitude toward residents' and contractors' concerns about the 80-unit apartment complex that partially collapsed last Sunday.
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“I have no idea what this is going to look like in two months because we don’t know what it’s going to look like after all the students are gone. It’s wait and see, which is so hard for me.”
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"I mean the goal is to eventually automate everything that we're doing so we don't actually have to, you know, play any of our shows."