NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration has finalized a rule limiting overdraft fees banks can charge, as part of the White House's campaign to reduce junk fees that hit consumers on everyday purchases, including banking services. President Joe Biden had called the fees, which can be as high as $35, “exploitative,” while the banking industry has lobbied extensively to keep the existing fee structures in place.
The Nevada 4-H State Expo was held this past fall at the Rafter 3C Arena and the Fallon Trap Club. Nearly 200 youth from across the state partici-pated in the year’s culminating event. The road to the Expo was long, as youth had to qualify for their con-test(s) or with their project(s) at a local or regional event before the expo.
RENO — University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Herds & Harvest Program is providing a certification program Jan. 22–March 19 geared toward new or up-and-coming ranchers and farmers that will allow them to obtain a Nevada Beginning Farmer & Rancher Level 1 Small Acreage and Farm to Fork Certification.
Northern Nevada benefitted from Wednesday’s passage of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act with Naval Air Station Fallon and the Hawthorne Army Depot receiving funding to enhance the training at the two installations. The $985 billion bill now goes to the president’s desk for his signature. The NDAA authorizes $48.3 million as part of the Fallon Range Training Complex modernization to pay ranchers for their land permits.
RENO — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Nevada has committed $1.79 million to support wildfire risk reduction efforts across the state through the Wildland Fire Community Assistance Program. The funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help local fire departments, counties, and non-profit organizations implement fuels management projects aimed at reducing wildfire risks to communities.
Nevada’s “green bank” is now looking to distribute $156 million in federal funds to help thousands of low-income households benefit from solar power, whether they own property or not. While rooftop solar has exploded in popularity, high upfront costs and physical constraints have prevented lower-income residents and renters from reaping the benefits of low-cost solar power. One solution enabled by the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest U.S. investment in clean energy ever – directs solar financing to governments, nonprofits, and businesses willing to share at least half of their solar energy gains with low-income households in exchange for millions in upfront financing.
Technically, the 119th Congress does not start until 2025 — but you’d be forgiven for not realizing that after this week. President-elect Donald Trump is making last-minute demands of Republicans in Congress, a bipartisan deal got thrown out the window, a brief government shutdown and in the middle of it all is Elon Musk, threatening to fund primary challengers to uncooperative members of both parties.
RENO — “Fragile and at-risk” is how Nevada’s public health infrastructure could be described based on the findings of a recent assessment conducted by University of Nevada, Reno Extension, in partnership with the Nevada Association of Counties. The assessment, which maps the public health infrastructure in 15 of 17 counties in Nevada (excluding the two most urban counties, Clark and Washoe), provides baseline data for decision-makers and stakeholders as they consider the needs of their communities.
BAKER — The Great Basin National Park Foundation has secured $110,000 in funding from the National Park Foundation to expand its educational programs and increase the capacity of the nonprofit organization. The grants will support the foundation's strategic growth and fund a new pilot educational program focused on engaging middle and high school students with the natural world.
As states across the nation grapple with a highly contagious strain of bird flu infecting livestock and commercial poultry facilities, Nevada has thus far remained largely safe from infection, according to state officials. Bird flu is a highly contagious virus that can lead to illness in livestock and death in poultry. There are two strains of the virus — one affecting wild birds and another affecting livestock and domestic birds.
ELKO, NV — Great Basin College (GBC) has been awarded nearly $1 million in federal funding to expand its distance learning capabilities and improve access to higher education for rural residents of Nevada. The grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine (DLT) program, will enable the college to enhance its interactive video technologies and establish new locations to better connect students across its 86,500-square-mile service area.
WALKER RIVER — The Bureau of Land Management today announced the withdrawal of lands around Walker Lake and transfer that land into trust for the Walker River Indian Reservation. A Secretary’s Order dated Nov. 26, 1906, set aside all lands within one mile of the lake’s high-water mark for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Truckee-Carson Project.
RENO, NV — The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued new federal orders to enhance testing and surveillance for the H5N1 variant of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in U.S. dairy herds. This decision comes following recent detections of the virus in dairy cows across 16 states, including Nevada, and aims to strengthen livestock biosecurity measures.
Wildlife biologists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services and the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDA) will begin removing non-native European starling populations around several dairies in Churchill, Lyon and Nye counties.
CARSON CITY — The Nevada Department of Transportation is installing ‘daytime headlights required’ signage in advance of an updated Nevada traffic law requiring daytime headlight use while driving on rural two-lane roadways. Beginning the week of Dec. 16, NDOT will install the first in a series of daytime headlight signage. The first signs will be installed on U.S. 95 near the U.S. 95 Alternate junction in Schurz.