Former US Rep. Neal Smith, who represented Iowa for 36 years in Congress, dies at 101

Neal Smith, Iowa's longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, died Tuesday at the age of 101.

His family confirmed his death Wednesday afternoon.

The Altoona Democrat served in the House from 1959 to 1995, a 36-year tenure that spanned from the Eisenhower to the Clinton administrations. During his time in office, he worked on issues of key importance to Iowa's farm economy, such as agricultural inspections and commodity trading, led efforts to create the Saylorville and Red Rock reservoirs, and passed a landmark anti-nepotism bill.

“He was part of the revival of the Democratic Party in Iowa,” said longtime friend Michael Gartner in March 2020, when Smith turned 100. “He was a wonderful combination of farmer, lawyer and very smart guy."

“He controlled the money back then," securing funding for projects that benefited central Iowa, said Gartner, majority owner of the Iowa Cubs and a former editor of The Des Moines Register. "Talking to him is like an oral history of Iowa. He remembers stuff that the rest of us have to look up.”

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/11/03/neal-smith-iowa-longest-serving-member-house-congressman-dies-101-obituary/6249942001/