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Stories from the KUNR newsroom and regional partners related to the 2022 elections

KUNR Today: Nevada Republicans call for unity during Adam Laxalt’s Basque Fry

Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown leans over two people who are sitting. The people are looking up at Brown as he talks.
David Calvert
/
KUNR Public Radio
Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown talks with attendees at Adam Laxalt's Basque Fry on Aug. 13, 2022, in Gardenville, Nev. Brown lost the Republican candidacy for Senate to Laxalt during Nevada's primary election in June.

Read or listen to the news headlines for Monday, August 15, 2022.

Nevada Republicans call for unity during Adam Laxalt’s Basque Fry
By Lucia Starbuck

Nevada Republicans called for unity within the party during Adam Laxalt’s Basque Fry in Gardnerville over the weekend. Roughly 1,500 people gathered under the hot sun at a cattle ranch in rural Nevada.

The fundraiser promoted Republican Adam Laxalt, a prominent 2020 election denier endorsed by former president Donald Trump. He’s running in a competitive race against Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Speakers and attendees, like retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, called for supporting Republicans down the ballot, no matter what. Brown lost to Laxalt during Nevada’s primary election in June.

“No two people are ever going to agree 100% on anything, and we need to just support people who are most closely aligned with us,” Brown said.

Other speakers included South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who was met with more enthusiasm than local candidates.

Voter groups object to proposed Nevada hand-counting rules
By The Associated Press and Report for America

Officials in some parts of rural Nevada are vowing to bypass voting machines in favor of hand counting ballots this November and the Nevada secretary of state's office is proposing statewide guidelines on how to do it. The communities pushing for hand-counting are in conservative rural parts of the state where election misinformation has grown. But four voting rights groups came out against the proposed rules Friday before the secretary of state holds a hearing seeking feedback.

The groups, including the Brennan Center and ACLU Nevada, called on Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske to ban the practice outright.

Ultramarathon to Stewart Indian School honors survivors, victims of Indian boarding schools
ByGustavo Sagrero

A two-day, 50-mile ultramarathon that started at the Yerington Paiute reservation ended at the Stewart Indian School in Carson City, Nev., Sunday. The goal was to honor the survivors and victims of Indian boarding schools.

The run was organized by Ku Stevens and his family, who started it last year when they heard about the mass graves of Indigenous children at a Canada school. Three generations ago Stevens's great grandfather, Frank "Togo" Quinn, ran away from the Stewart Indian School in Nevada three times when he was just 8 years old.

“It's to remember him and all the other kids who had to go through boarding schools – really, nobody should have had to,” Stevens said.

The ultramarathon passed through a mix of terrain, and up into the mountains between the Yerington Paiute reservation and the school, which is now a museum.

Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Mills, Walker River Paiute Tribe Chair Amber Torres, Woodfords Washoe Community Chair Irvin Jim, Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto were there at the end of the route, where they commemorated the run and Stevens’s efforts.

Students in Northern Nevada head back to school
By Jose Davila IV

Public school students head back into their classrooms across Northern Nevada Monday amid widespread staff shortages. In Washoe County, there are 87 teacher vacancies and a substantial bus driver shortage. In addition to Washoe, the Carson City, Storey County and Churchill County school districts are also starting their school year. In total, that means around 75,000 students are getting back to learning after a summer off.

Jose Davila IV is a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project.

UNR to reopen Argenta Hall for fall semester
By Maria Palma

The University of Nevada, Reno, will hold a reopening ceremony for Argenta Hall Tuesday, a little more than a week before fall classes start. The residence hall has been closed since July 2019 after an explosion involving the building’s boiler required remediation, construction and building updates.

The update to Argenta includes the redesign of a dining area, consolidated laundry rooms, new paint and carpeting, and individual study rooms on every floor. The total investment for the update was around $78 million. Argenta Hall has eight stories and houses up to 750 students. Student move-in and dining at Argenta Hall will begin Thursday.

California governor proposes extending nuclear plant's life
By The Associated Press

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to extend the life of the state's last operating nuclear power plant by at least five to 10 years to maintain reliable power supplies in the climate change era. A draft bill obtained Friday by The Associated Press said the plan would allow the plant to continue operating beyond a scheduled closing by 2025. The draft proposal also includes a possible loan for operator Pacific Gas & Electric for up to $1.4 billion. The proposal was confirmed by Newsom spokesman Anthony York. The draft was obtained ahead of a California Energy Commission meeting on the state's energy needs.

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