Reno

Decades before Nevada was known for its casinos, it was world famous for offering quick divorces. In this segment of Time & Place, historian Alicia Barber explains how the process worked for those who traveled to the Silver State to end their marriages.

As many of us are traveling in and around Nevada for the holidays, the American Society of Civil Engineers says roads in Las Vegas are improving, but much of the infrastructure in Northern Nevada is aging.

The surge of holiday joy permeating the air from Thanksgiving through New Year’s can make a swell of grief for those who’ve experienced loss. 

Last year, more than 2,000 Washoe County youth experienced homelessness, according to local health officials. Jasmin Dardy, a youth who says she has struggled with abuse and trauma, spoke about what led her to the streets with KUNR's Stephanie Serrano.

In a $4.5 million dollar land deal, the Nevada Historical Society is moving to downtown Reno. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business has more. 

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 plunged the United States into the Second World War, disrupting the lives of millions of American residents. Among them were thousands of people of Japanese descent. Historian Alicia Barber tells the story of one Nevada family’s experience in this segment of Time & Place. 

On any given night there are, on average, 400 to 600 homeless youth living on the streets of Reno. That’s according to Michele Gehr, the director of the Eddy House, a trauma care drop-in center for homeless youth. She sat down with KUNR reporter Stephanie Serrano to talk about the severity of this problem.

“In 2017 we saw at Eddy House 769 unique youth. This is an issue because in 2015, when Eddy House opened as a drop-in center, there were about 100 kids. This year, 2018, we are slated to see nearly 1,000 homeless youth,” Gehr says.

Reno's median home price has jumped, according to a recently release October report by the Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has the details. 

The Extended Studies program at the University of Nevada, Reno has announced a new professional development certification program: Blockchain Basics. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has the details.

For some, an unexpected family emergency is all it takes to eat up the rent budget, pushing these families close to homelessness. A program from the Reno Housing Authority is meant to catch them before they get there. KUNR’s Holly Hutchings has more.

Lime, the owner of the dockless bike-sharing program, is holding off on launching a new fleet of bikes in Reno, due to theft and vandalism. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has the details.

A report from The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that arts and cultural production accounted for over $6 billion of the silver state's economy in 2015. As KUNR's Holly Hutchings reports, business leaders are looking for ways to use cultural contributions to grow and improve their industries.

Burning Man may be held in the Nevada desert, but its interest and appeal has a much wider reach. Visitors come from all over the world to attend the week-long festival, and even more people who don't attend have their curiosity piqued by tales from the playa. Trevor Hughes, Reporter for USA Today, has captured stories there for three years and stopped by our studio to talk to our arts reporter, Holly Hutchings before he headed up for burn number four.

Michael Mikel is a co-founder of Burning Man, the international anti-establishment festival in the desert, and has been involved since 1988. He still attends and has a small camp on the outskirts of the playa, where he says it feels more like the Burning Man of the early days; fewer people and a clear view of the expansive desert canvas. Ideas of the festival’s future come more freely to him there. He says they’ve developed systems that allow the organization to change and live on long after he and the other originators are gone. Our reporter Holly Hutchings sat down with Mikel to talk Burning Man.

Earlier this month, KUNR published a business profile by our contributor the Northern Nevada Business View about a third-party restaurant delivery service known as DoorDash. That story received a lot of negative attention regarding some of the business’ practices. In response, KUNR’s reporter Stephanie Serrano took a deeper look at the company and the local food industry to find out more.

Sculpture artist Peter Hazel is heading to Burning Man for his sixth time this year. And, he hopes the massive jellyfish creation he’s crafted for the dusty artistic showcase will catapult his craft to new levels. Our reporter Holly Hutchings caught up with Hazel where he works at Artech, a shared workspace in Reno. 

Through the first week of August, Wilbur D. May Arboretum in Reno will be illuminated by nearly forty larger-than-life Chinese lanterns. The touring festival Dragon Lights displays crafted designs in an effort to share their centuries-old tradition and their culture. Our reporter Holly Hutchings checked it out.

Dickerson Road is a one-mile, dead end street in an industrial area of Reno. It has a gritty history, including crime, motorcycle clubs and even a hippie commune at one point. Now, it’s experiencing a revitalization and becoming a haven for artists.

There are more than 100 motels in Reno alone. For some, they’re links to the city’s unique past as a gaming mecca. Others see them as hotbeds of criminal activity that bring down the surrounding area’s economic potential. But as Reno Public Radio’s Paul Boger reports, the motels are increasingly becoming a key player in Northern Nevada’s housing crunch.