KUNR

A wall decoration says, "The strength of the pack is the wolf...and the strength of the wolf is the pack." — Lucia Starbuck

UNR Students, Staff React To Anti-Semitic Graffiti

This fall, the University of Nevada, Reno has been confronted with numerous acts of white supremacy, hate and bias on campus. Different incidents have occurred across multiple buildings, including Wolf Pack Tower, a residence hall located in downtown Reno. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck and Andrew Mendez visited the tower to see how students and staff are doing.

Youth Suicide Rates Soar Across Mountain West

The NPR Student Podcast Challenge Is Back!

UNLV Professor Studies How The Internet Cultivates Hate

By Noah Glick • 9 hours ago

UNLV Sociology Professor Simon Gottschalk — University of Nevada, Las Vegas

With white supremacist violence on the rise nationwide, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas sociologist is studying how the Internet can turn hateful feelings into deadly actions.

A Half Million 2020 Census Jobs: Will They Be Filled In Time?

By Hansi Lo Wang • 18 hours ago

With less than five months until the 2020 census is fully underway, the federal government is already seeing signs of potential hurdles to staffing up in time for the national head count.

The low unemployment rate and delays in processing background checks have hindered hiring this year for early rounds of census jobs, including positions at local census offices and those involved with setting up outreach partnerships with local organizations.

Billionaire Tom Steyer: Limiting Corporate Power Would Be A Priority

By Paul Boger • Oct 21, 2019

Across the U.S., and especially in Nevada, nearly every Democratic presidential hopeful has pitched themselves as the only candidate who understands how to beat President Donald Trump in next year's general election. But for billionaire businessman-turned-political activist Tom Steyer, the race is about more than unseating the president. He told KUNR's Paul Boger that all of Washington D.C. is in need of a shake-up.

Justice Department Announces Plan To Collect DNA From Migrants Crossing The Border

By Bobby Allyn & Joel Rose • Oct 21, 2019

Updated at 9:10 p.m. ET Tuesday

The Justice Department is proposing to begin collecting DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of immigrants crossing the border, creating an enormous database of asylum-seekers and other migrants that federal officials say will be used to help authorities fight crime.

Partisan Divide Grows Over Opioid Settlement Plan

By editor • Oct 20, 2019

The nation's response to the deadly opioid epidemic has been broadly bipartisan, but deep divides have emerged over a settlement plan offered last month by Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin.

Democratic state attorneys general have generally panned the deal, which would force Purdue's owners, member of the Sackler family, to give up control of their company while paying roughly $3 billion in cash from their personal fortunes.

Poll: Number Of Americans Who Favor Stricter Gun Laws Continues To Grow

By Rachel Treisman • Oct 20, 2019

The percentage of Americans who favor stricter gun laws is on the rise, though significant partisan divisions persist. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in September found that 60% of Americans say gun laws should be tougher, up from 57% last year and 52% in 2017.

As California Passes ‘Roadkill Bill,’ Nevada And Wyoming Remain Holdouts

By Noah Glick • Oct 18, 2019

In most of the West, a deer killed by a vehicle, such as this one in Idaho, could be harvested for its meat. But not in Nevada and Wyoming. — Idaho Department of Fish and Game

Most states in the Mountain West allow people to harvest roadkill, and California passed its own “roadkill bill” earlier this week.

But Nevada and Wyoming are holding out. They are the only states in our region that don’t allow the harvesting of meat from animals killed by vehicles.

A New Hospital Is Planned For South Reno

By Lucia Starbuck • Oct 18, 2019

It’s been a century since a new full-service hospital opened up in the Reno-Sparks area. KUNR’s Health Reporter Anh Gray talked with fellow reporter Lucia Starbuck about Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center, a facility that’s slated to open in a few years.

Near Durango, A Highway Will Bulldoze Indigenous History

By Ali Budner • Oct 18, 2019

Rapid population growth in the Mountain West means new infrastructure. Under federal law, potential sites for things like road expansions must be surveyed and possibly excavated to see what’s below the ground. That means cultural artifacts can be disturbed and destroyed.

High-Intensity Wildfires Are Changing Plant Habitat Structures In Sierra Nevada

By Bree Zender • Oct 18, 2019

Researchers say forest fires are typically good for rebooting the health of forests, but a new study published in the journal Ecosphere says that high-intensity wildfires are dramatically changing the plant habitat structure of forests in the Sierra Nevada.