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Mark Harper on Muck Rack

Mark Harper

Verified
New Smyrna Beach
As seen in: The Daytona Beach News-Journal, MSN, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Life, ResearchGate, The Independent (UK), USA Today, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Yahoo News New Zealand, Aol and
Covers:  Politics, government, transportation, jobs, education
Longtime newspaper guy who posts mostly about politics and local news, but dabbles a bit in music, baseball and the hashtag arts. Not the British MP.

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Mark Harper’s Biography

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A creature built on daily deadlines for 30 years. Last 20 with The Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida. Current assignment: Politics. Previous stints at papers in Michigan and Indiana, including starting at The LaPorte Herald-Argus, same paper where Ernie Pyle got his start. Was only two-time editor-in-chief of The Ball State Daily News. Personal: Married, one stepdaughter, three grandchildren.

Mark Harper’s Journalist Portfolio

Volusia and Flagler are aging rapidly. What does that mean for the area?

Volusia and Flagler are aging rapidly. What does that mean for the area?

America is aging. Florida is aging even faster. And Volusia and Flagler counties are aging even faster than t…

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Career-tech education gets buzz, but 4-year degrees key to lifting Volusia-Flagler's wealth

Career-tech education gets buzz, but 4-year degrees key to lifting Volusia-Flagler's wealth

Florida trails the national average of adults attaining four-year college degrees. And Volusia and Flagler co…

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Tom Wright lets GOP attacks against Mel Martin do all his talking

Tom Wright lets GOP attacks against Mel Martin do all his talking

What's this about mountain lions on treadmills? The campaign for Florida Senate District 14 is already unusua…

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For aerial challenge, Spruce Creek Fly-In pilot travels back to WWI

For aerial challenge, Spruce Creek Fly-In pilot travels back to WWI

100 years ago this month, the United States entered 'Great War' SPRUCE CREEK FLY-IN - Artists paint or sculpt…

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Florida studies show roundabouts safer than signals, signs

Florida studies show roundabouts safer than signals, signs

DELAND - The fatal crash that took the lives of Sandra Lopes and her three small grandchildren on April 5 del…

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Keeping community in our colleges

Keeping community in our colleges

DAYTONA BEACH -- Many nights last fall, Shawanda Crooms drove the stretch of International Speedway Boulevard…

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Articles

How is New Smyrna Beach commission proceeding on e-bikes?

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By Mark Harper Verified
| Yahoo Verified
Follow How is New Smyrna Beach commission proceeding on e-bikes? Mark Harper, Daytona Beach News-Journal Updated Wed, August 26, 2026 at 10:16 AM EDT New Smyrna Beach has put the brakes on an ordinance that would have banned e-bikes and other micromobility devices from two heavily populated districts. Mayor Fred Cleveland didn't say he wants to kill the ordinance, which would have restricted electric bikes, motorized scooters, and other devices in the Flagler Avenue and Canal Street districts.
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How is New Smyrna Beach commission proceeding on e-bikes?

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By Mark Harper Verified
| The Daytona Beach News-Journal Verified
Mark Harper Daytona Beach News-Journal Aug. 26, 2026, 10:16 a.m. ET New Smyrna Beach has put the brakes on an ordinance that would have banned e-bikes and other micromobility devices from two heavily populated districts. Mayor Fred Cleveland didn't say he wants to kill the ordinance, which would have restricted electric bikes, motorized scooters, and other devices in the Flagler Avenue and Canal Street districts. Rather, Cleveland wants the City Commission to decelerate.
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Sanford welcomes Byron Donalds and running mate Bryan Ávila

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By Nadia Zomorodian, Mark Harper Verified
| Naples Daily News Verified
Aug. 25, 2026, 9:13 p.m. ET Hours after Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, named him as his choice for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Bryan Ávila speaks to a Central Florida crowd at a rally on Aug. 25, 2026. Ávila is a state senator from Miami Springs, a college dean and a captain in the Florida Army National Guard. Nadia Zomorodian/News-Journal Byron Donalds, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, introduced his new running mate, state Sen.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

Chief reporter, The Ball State Daily News.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

The quick fox jumps over the lazy dog.

How is social media changing news?

Despite promises to connect, I fear it's driving us into corners.