COURTESY PHOTOWilbur Becker, assistant to the Lander County Convention and Tourism Authority (LCCTA) executive director, right, presents $500 to Rick Bell, Lander County EMS commander, from the LCCTA board to the EMS team for donating their services to the World Human Powered Speed Challenge, held Sept. 9 - 15. There was also another $308 and 80 in Euros donated by the event's teams and volunteers. The money was given to them as a thank you for supporting the event.
BATTLE MOUNTAIN - Battle Mountain General Hospital staff and employees of The Battle Mountain Bugle unloaded three car loads of gifts for the residents of Battle Mountain General Hospital's Long-term Care Facility on Dec. 23.
WINNEMUCCA - There has been a recent increase in counterfeit $10 bills circulating this holiday season and several of these bills have already been passed at Winnemucca-area businesses.
RENO - A combined 498-kilowatt renewable energy project on the Reno campus of the Desert Research Institute is part of a statewide effort that will save DRI more than $160,000 in electricity costs annually and reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 3.6 million pounds per year.
CARSON CITY (AP) - Nevada's unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in November, reaching its lowest level in five years as employers added 9,500 jobs, state officials reported.
LAS VEGAS - Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto cautions consumers to monitor their credit/debit card statements for unauthorized transactions as Target recently announced "unauthorized intrusion" in their systems.
WASHINGTON - U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced a series of sweeping changes to a popular loan program for rural homebuyers. The changes are part of an extensive overhaul that will strengthen rural housing markets, increase the availability of rural home loans and spur the construction of new homes in rural areas.
CARSON CITY - Grant opportunities for fiscal year 2015 through three Nevada Arts Council grant programs for nonprofit arts and non-arts organizations, public institutions and government entities will be available online at nac.culturegrants.org  beginning Jan. 3.
LAS VEGAS - The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) recently launched the Nevada Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool (NVCHAT), a web-based planning tool that makes wildlife information available to the public in an easily accessible and user-friendly map interface.
CARSON CITY -The Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) is accepting applications for grants up to $400,000 to purchase private forest land. Local governments, qualified nonprofit organizations and Indian tribes are eligible to apply for grants to establish community forests through the acquisition of private forest land from a willing seller. NDF administers the passthrough of these grants from the U.S. Forest Service, which has $5 million to distribute nationally for this program.
BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Mount Lewis Field Office, is seeking public comments on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed modification to existing operations within the Cortez Gold Mines Operations Area, located 24 miles south of Beowawe, in Lander and Eureka counties.
CARSON CITY - Consumers who enrolled in a health plan through Nevada Health Link and paid their first month premium by the deadline will have health insurance coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Those who enrolled close to the deadline will not receive an insurance card from the carrier by Jan. 1, 2014.
BATTLE MOUNTAIN - There were 89 families whose Christmas wishes came true this year through the Family Resource Center's Christmas Alert program, an annual event that saw 110 families benefit last year.
RENO - University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, is offering a free workshop Jan. 29 to train people throughout the state how to properly handle and use pesticides. The workshop is meant for certified applicators, people who regularly handle pesticides as part of their jobs, such as farmers, ranchers, park employees and groundskeepers.
