KUNR Public Radio: Local News Feed

While neon once brought to mind retro advertising for seedy adult businesses and dive bars, it is now often seen as art. Holly Hutchings talks to one artist who has been making the colorful craft for decades.

Washoe County School District (WCSD) has a critical shortage of school bus drivers. The unemployment rate is low in the Reno-Sparks area, at 3.2 percent, and there is fierce competition for qualified employees. The district is seeking qualified people in the community to apply for school bus driver positions.

With just a little more than a month left in Nevada's legislative session, hundreds of bills still remain up for consideration. That includes dozens of measures introduced by minority Republicans. KUNR's Paul Boger spoke with Assembly Minority Leader Jim Wheeler in Carson City to discuss whether Republicans are seeing the bipartisanship they were guaranteed by Democrats.

Vibrant glowing tubes of neon have illustrated the Nevada story for a century, as they line quaint main streets and urban centers. The stories behind the bright and bended glass have also dominated our arts and culture coverage through the month of April in a series we called Sparked . Holly Hutchings took a deeper look into this part of our history with multiple stories. She talked to Bree Zender about the series and how neon lives on. The story of Nevada’s neon is as varied as the pioneers who

Tech companies moving in and creating a housing crunch is a familiar story in California. But it’s happening in Nevada too. With companies like Tesla operating near Reno now, locals say they’re getting priced out, and homeless youth are bearing the brunt. KUNR's Anh Gray has more.

Persistence of vision. That’s what Will Durham, executive director of the Nevada Neon Project, calls it when he talks about seeing the Nevada Neon Project through years of setbacks and successes to achieve his ultimate goal to have a world-class museum in Reno. His goal is firm, as is his resolve and dedication to reach it.

Nevada has recently seen more suicides in youth under the age of 18. Last year, there were 27 of these deaths, compared to 15 the year before. KUNR’s Karina Gonzalez examined this growing problem and recent prevention efforts.

Truckee Meadows Community College is canceling its lease at its Keystone Avenue Performing Arts Center. As first reported in ThisisReno last year, TMCC is not renewing its lease at the Keystone location for financial and safety reasons. Although considered by the college as far back as 2015, TMCC President Karin Hilgerson surprised faculty last year by quietly deciding not to renew the lease.

Census data shows Nevada is the fastest growing state in the nation. Historically, most of that growth has come from Californians moving East. But in recent years, that growth has led to some backlash among conservative Nevadans who see the influx of Californians as the number one reason the state has begun to shift from solid red to purple and, now, blue. KUNR's Paul Boger has the story.

Community members in Reno gathered this week at a local school to look over a proposed sexual education curriculum for high school students. KUNR’s Stephanie Serrano was there and has this report.