KUNR Public Radio: Local News Feed

Nevada’s 2019 Legislative Session is now underway, and for the first time in U.S. history, women will make up the majority of lawmakers in a state legislature.

Nevada’s 80th legislative session begins this week. For the next 120 days, lawmakers will debate everything from healthcare reform to education funding to gun control. KUNR’s Senior Political Reporter, Paul Boger, will be in Carson City covering the whole thing. He sat down with KUNR News Director Michelle Billman to talk about some of the major issues that are likely to come up this session.

Elko's 35th annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering wrapped up this weekend. Nearly 50 poets, musicians and musical groups, including diverse and dynamic new voices, have shared their artistry. The event is older than Josh Dugat, a first-time presenter, who's poetry pays homage to the boots that stood on stage before him. KUNR's Holly Hutchings has more with him.

Last May, 22-year-old Aaron Salazar was found severely injured along the train tracks in Truckee. While his recovery continues, Amtrak has released little information about its ongoing investigation into what happened. For the latest update, KUNR's Michelle Billman checked in with Bob Conrad, publisher of ThisisReno, who has kept in touch with Salazar and his family.

Tesla's apprenticeship for K-12 students is bolstering Northern Nevada’s workforce for the Gigafactory east of Reno. The program is continuing despite the company’s recent announcement that it will be cutting 7 percent of its workforce. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has more.

The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Nevada, Reno has been placed on probation, among other sanctions. The punishments are in response to the discovery of a document meant for pledges. That document contains songs lyrics that depict violence and assault against women. To learn more about state of Greek life organizations across the nation, KUNR’s Paolo Zialcita spoke with Alexandra Robbins, author of Fraternity: An Inside Look at a Year of College Boys Becoming Men .

The lawsuit against the City of Reno for the alleged harassment and retaliation against two former employees is continuing, and new revelations are still emerging. Bob Conrad of ThisisReno has been following this story and gave an update to KUNR News Director Michelle Billman.

The government is temporarily open following the longest shutdown in U.S. history lasting 35 days. In Nevada, nearly 3,500 federal employees continue to be impacted. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck spoke to several of them as they started returning to work this week unsure of when their back pay will arrive. Whether the government is open or closed, travelers going in and out of the Reno-Tahoe International airport have still been going through security. At just this one airport, there are 175 employees

Recently, Tesla announced the company will be cutting 7 percent of staff as it attempts to build more affordable vehicles. KUNR contributor Kaleb Roedel of the Northern Nevada Business View has more.

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is underway in Elko, Nevada this week. One young poet taking the stage is Olivia Romo, a bilingual activist who uses her art to tackle environmental issues facing the West. She told KUNR’s Holly Hutchings why she thinks poetry can spark change.