Purple Politics Nevada with Lucia Starbuck

For the first time in the history of Nevada’s two public radio stations, KUNR and KNPR published a joint series called “Does Home Mean Nevada?” Six reporters collaborated to cover a wide variety of topics, such as the high cost of rent and home prices; how wildfires are impacting homeowners insurance; and what it means for Nevadans who want to live somewhere special to them, but can’t.

The journalists spoke about their reporting during a public forum at the University of Nevada, Reno, on Oct. 22. This hour-long special episode of Purple Politics Nevada is a recording from the live event. This is an edited recording for broadcast.

Guests: KUNR’s political reporter Lucia Starbuck, Lake Tahoe reporter Maria Palma, and reporting intern Mariel Day, along with KNPR’s political reporter and producer Paul Boger and Indigenous affairs reporter and producer Jimmy Romo. 

KUNR’s Senior Correspondent Bert Johnson produced and edited the audio.

Nearly 600,000 Nevadans do not have access to a 401 (k) or pension through their job, according to AARP. That’s why Nevada lawmakers created a state-facilitated retirement savings program for private-sector employees called the Nevada Employee Savings Trust (NEST).

Businesses with more than six employees, who have been around for more than three years, and don’t offer retirement options, must enroll in this program under a state law established in 2023. They are not required to match employee contributions and workers are automatically enrolled.

Tune in to this month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada, hosted by KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck, to learn about how the program works, why it’s so difficult for Americans to save, and the political hurdles of this type of policy.

Guests: Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine, UNR professor and chair of economics Elliott Parker, and former Lieutenant Gov. Kate Marshall.

The Nevada Department of Agriculture learned in March that it would no longer receive federal assistance for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The funding went to the state and tribes directly, who then paid small farmers in Nevada to grow produce to supply food banks in the state. Since 2022, Home Feeds Nevada has purchased 3.6 million pounds of food – or 72 semi-truckloads.

During the 2025 Nevada legislative session, one state lawmaker was able to partially replenish the funding. Still, it’s nowhere near what the program was receiving, and that money won’t go directly to tribes. That appropriation also hasn’t been made available yet, leading to produce rotting in the fields.

Tune in to this month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada with Lucia Starbuck to hear from small, rural family farmers and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe about what the assistance meant to them and food insecurity in Nevada.

Guests: Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Chairman Steven Wadsworth and food distribution center director Francesca Maipi, State Sen. Fabian Doñate (D-Vegas), Nevada Department of Agriculture division of food and nutrition administrator Patricia Hoppe, and farmers Cuco Alanis with Alanis Family Farm in Fallon and Rodney Mehring with Blue Lizard Farm in Caliente.

The Nevada legislature gaveled out in June, and lawmakers won’t return to Carson City until 2027 – unless there’s a special session, of course. That’s because legislators meet once every two years for 120 days, as mandated by the state constitution.

What makes an effective government? Who can run and serve in office? Is the state ready to go full-time? The answer isn’t so straightforward. It’s not just session length, it’s also lawmaker pay, organizational structure, and the political climate.

Tune in to this month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada with Lucia Starbuck to hear from elected officials and political experts.

Guests: Nevada Assemblymembers Selena La Rue Hatch (D), Gregory Koenig (R), Selena Torres-Fossett (D); Nevada Senators Rochelle Nguyen (D) and Robin Titus (R); College of Southern Nevada history professor Sondra Cosgrove; Vote Mama Foundation chief program officer Sarah Hague; and University of Minnesota Duluth associate professor of political science Cindy Rugeley.

Many last-minute changes took people by surprise in the final moments of the 2025 Nevada legislative session, including one of the state’s top Democrats proposing voter ID, and several of the governor’s policy proposals failing to survive at all, all while federal cuts loom. Gov. Joe Lombardo immediately started wielding his veto pen to reject gun bills and criminalize fake electors, while some legislation never stood a chance, like property tax reform. Tune in to June’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada to hear from political reporters Lucia Starbuck of KUNR and Paul Boger of KNPR, who break down what lived, what stalled, and how the governor has responded so far.

This month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada with host Lucia Starbuck featured Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who talked about his bills in the Nevada legislature to prohibit price-fixing of essential goods, including housing and internet access, and to protect young people on social media through age verification and disabling some functions. He also filed more than a dozen lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump and his administration. Listen to this episode to hear his answers to KUNR listener questions about protecting the rights of immigrants, election rules, and DEI funding in Nevada.

Congress is still debating ways to fund President Donald Trump’s agenda, including immigration, energy, and tax cuts for the wealthy. Earlier this month, House Republicans passed a budget resolution that allows them to avoid a filibuster in the Senate, which has been more conservative in their proposals. Both chambers will now draft the final legislation, which calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson have reiterated that they don’t want to touch Medicaid. However, the Energy and Commerce Committee has been tasked with finding $880 billion in savings, but itwould still be hundreds of billions of dollars short if it cut everything except for Medicaid, according to the New York Times.

What’s at stake for states across the country, and for tribal and rural health care in Nevada? In this episode of Purple Politics Nevada, host Lucia Starbuck speaks with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation senior policy advisor Katherine Hempstead, South Lyon Medical Center Administrator Toni Inserra, Nevada Rural Hospital Partners President Blayne Osborn, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Chairman Steven Wadsworth, and tribal clinic health director Dawna Brown to learn more.

KUNR's coverage of Nevada State Government is made possible by a generous grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that aims to boost awareness and engagement with coverage of Nevada State Government.

Any Nevada-based media outlet is permitted to republish any stories that appear on this page at no cost. We only ask that credit be given to KUNR Public Radio and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in your publication or on your broadcast. For questions or more information, please contact KUNR General Manager Brian Duggan at [email protected].

At a live taping of Purple Politics Nevada at the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City, KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck moderated a timely conversation between Republican Senator Robin Titus and Democratic Assemblymember Erica Roth on the future of healthcare and affordability in the Silver State.

With fewer than 100 days left in Nevada’s biennial legislative session, the uncertainty in Washington, D.C. loomed large. Proposed federal budget cuts could roll back Medicaid expansion and other programs, potentially impacting hundreds of thousands of Nevadans. Roth warned of serious consequences if federal reconciliation bills move forward, while Titus emphasized the state’s preparedness and the importance of not panicking over “what-ifs.”

The lawmakers also went head-to-head over a proposed expansion of the state’s film tax credit program. Roth said she is still evaluating the measure, while Titus voiced strong opposition, arguing the return on investment isn’t justified during a time of healthcare budget scrutiny.

From Medicaid to home insurance, and from tariffs to tax credits, this live event offered an honest, bipartisan discussion on how Nevadans may be affected by policy changes at both the state and federal levels.

Tune in to this episode of Purple Politics Nevada to hear how lawmakers are preparing for uncertainty — and what they say will matter most to constituents in 2025 and beyond.

There’s no way to avoid artificial intelligence in our daily lives. It autocorrects on your phone, it recommends the next movie you should watch on Netflix, and it translates languages. Anyone with a smartphone can generate whatever they put their mind to with one simple prompt. In this month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada, host Lucia Starbuck looks into how state legislatures are wrangling with this evolving technology.

The International Association of Privacy Professionals tracks legislation across the U.S., particularly of state houses trying to prevent AI from having discriminatory outcomes in decision-making for employment and health care, as well as increase transparency. Do consumers have the right to know if they’re interacting with AI? Tune in to hear from Cobun Zweifel-Keegan, the DC office managing director, to find out.

This episode also features Democratic Assemblymember Joe Dalia, a technology attorney by trade, who has a bill to strengthen child pornography laws by prohibiting this type of material from being generated using AI. Tune in to this month’s episode of Purple Politics Nevada to learn why this issue is so important at a time like this.

The 120-day biennial session kicks off on February 3. Two years ago, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo set a record with the number of bills he vetoed. He will again need to work with the Democratic-controlled legislature. With the session right around the corner, Purple Politics Nevada host Lucia Starbuck spoke to several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to understand their education, healthcare, housing, and environmental bills.

Tune in to the first episode of Season 3 to hear Sen. Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro’s promise to continue raises for public school teachers; Sen. Minority Leader Robin Titus’ goals to increase the number of health care providers in rural communities, like social workers; Assemblymember Erica Roth’s bill to hide the addresses of reproductive health care providers for their safety; and Senator Dina Neal’s returning legislation limiting how many homes corporate landlords can buy.