Editor’s Note: This story is a collaboration between The Nevada Independent and Carson Now. In May 2021, Tony Stephenson filed an open meeting law complaint against the Lyon County Commission, alleging that the board violated the state’s bedrock open government law by not fully disclosing the legislation it planned to lobby against ahead of commission meetings. Stephenson, the chair of the county’s Democratic Party, eventually got his answer — the attorney general’s office determined that the commission’s votes to officially oppose bills related to tiny homes and criminal charges for obtaining “ghost guns” being considered in the 2021 Legislature were violations of state law, and required the board to include a notice of the violation on its next agenda.
During their regular meeting on April 15 the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners approved efforts to expand their search for a new Comptroller, as the current Comptroller has announced her retirement, although the date is open-ended.
Nevada Department Agriculture (NDA) State Entomologist Jeff Knight told the Humboldt County Board of Commissioners that he believes that Nevada is on the tail end of a peak in the Mormon Cricket population. His comments came during their regular meeting on April 15.
Nevada has a lot to be proud of, including its illustrious mining industry and the 20 different critical minerals that it supplies not only domestically, but throughout the globe. Amanda Hilton, the Nevada Mining Association’s (NVMA) new president as of January 2024, is dedicated to being an advocate for the industry and the thousands of individuals that work at and with Nevada’s mines.
Enjoy the spring weather this Saturday, April 20, during the annual Color the Mucc 3K and 5K beginning at 10 a.m. at the Ralph Whitworth Recreation Complex. Registration open at 9:30 a.m., and celebrate afterwards at the Party in the Park with Winnemucca Domestic Violence Services (WDVS).
The Nevada Department of Corrections is asking NV Energy to keep the lights on in the state’s prisons while it comes up with the money to pay the bills.
The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is seeking public comments on fee changes at certain recreation sites across four of the Forest’s ranger districts and the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area. These fee changes will assist the Forest in closing that gap and continue to maintain sites to the level visitors have come to expect, as well as expand current opportunities.
Preparing students to enter the workforce with the necessary tools in order to have successful careers ensures that the workforce in rural Northern Nevada stays strong and continues to grow. Recently, Great Basin College (GBC) was awarded just under $2.2 million total in federal funding, with $760,000 that will go towards establishing reservation-based health science training and credentialing opportunities for Native American students opportunities that will allow students to attain the MAPE (Medical Assistant/Phlebotomy/EKG) and/or CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) postsecondary certificates.
In the 2023 Legislature, small Storey County, 30 miles east of the Reno-Sparks area, won a major battle with some lawmakers in neighboring county and city governments. A coalition of some Northern Nevada lawmakers, first supported by Gov. Joe Lombardo, proposed to siphon off about 80 percent of the $50 million in annual taxes from the Tesla Gigafactory at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center that were due to Storey County when Tesla’s 10-year state tax abatements expired at the end of 2024.
The Legislature may need to be called into a special session to shore up funding for a state account used for emergencies and unexpected costs that could run out of money, the governor’s office said. The state is able to transfer money from certain accounts to others, but a key emergency reserve fund responsible for replenishing another account (that is low on money) is also running low on funds.
Nevada will pay $1.35 million to the estate of a former prisoner whose 2018 suicide while incarcerated led to allegations of negligence and a wrongful death lawsuit. Melody Morgan died by suicide at the age of 25 while incarcerated at the state-run Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in North Las Vegas. She had suffered from seizures, migraines, bipolar disorder, multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia, and had three psychiatric hospitalizations, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2021 that described her as a creative person who was especially close with her mother and sister.
There are just over 70 days left for supporters of a proposed referendum to overturn the public financing deal bringing the Oakland Athletics to Las Vegas to gather the signatures necessary to get the measure on the ballot, but just how the language will be presented to voters is now in the hands of the seven-member Nevada Supreme Court. Tuesday saw roughly an hour of arguments from attorneys representing the Schools Over Stadium political action committee, which was organized by the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) and proposed the referendum, and attorneys representing labor leaders opposing it.
In March, NCAA President Charlie Baker said the organization was asking state gaming regulators nationwide to ban proposition wagering, or prop bets, on college athletes because of evidence that gamblers are harassing collegiate players, both online and at games. “Oh, yeah, it happens all the time,’’ Purdue center Zach Edey told The Athletic. This month, Louisiana became the 12th state to enact the ban. It won’t be the last. Minnesota, one of five states where lawmakers are actively considering sports betting legalization, would ban the activity, which allows fans to wager through mobile accounts on aspects of a player’s performance during games — total rebounds or points scored for a basketball player; total touchdowns scored or total yards gained for a football player.
Despite a growing interest in lithium mining, Nevada has limited understanding of the precise location of the highly sought mineral deposits or how exploration may impact groundwater. That lack of mapping isn’t unique to Nevada, however. According to the Association of American State Geologists, the United States lacks an effective nationwide process for gathering, organizing, compiling, or publicly sharing geologic data on mineral deposits.
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is asking the federal government to pause the state’s application to establish a public health insurance option and reinsurance program, though officials say it’s not an attempt to abandon the endeavor.