Sierra Nevada Ally

On this edition of Ally Audio, Noah is taking a look into some leadership changes in Reno, including some top law enforcement and education roles, before exploring some water negotiations.

Then, contributor Richard Bednarski joins the show. He is finalizing a documentary film looking at Reno’s biking infrastructure and its Biggest Little Bike Network project.

Note: At about 15:50 Noah's microphone cuts out and the audio sounds a little off, different from the rest of the show.

Story links:

https://www.kunr.org/local-stories/2026-05-12/solferino-to-replace-nance-as-investigation-into-rpd-continues

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/washoe-county-school-board-selects-its-fourth-superintendent-in-6-years

https://thisisreno.com/2026/05/reno-city-council-data-center-moratorium-2/

https://thebarberbrief.substack.com/p/reno-city-council-will-consider-a

https://apnews.com/article/colorado-river-lake-mead-lake-powell-d94d5a36398d2a34be7e2c4d10ef1bf6

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this this episode of Ally Audio, we're focusing on spring travel and adventure as we all start spending a bit more time outdoors. Noah has a conversation with our Tahoe correspondent and contributor Kayla Anderson, who just published a new guide book to California’s state parks.

Book link: https://www.moontravelguides.com/titles/jenna-blough/moon-best-of-california-state-parks/9798886471656/

Author website: https://kaylaanderson.org/

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Multimedia Director Alex Couraud chats with the Ally's reporter and Managing Editor Hannah Truby about the first story in her ongoing series, Who Controls the West?

The series examines the people, companies and organizations that make decisions over how land and resources are used across the American West. Have ideas for the series? Email [email protected].

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Multimedia Director Alex Couruad steps into the hosting chair to talk about a few updates on energy and climate policy in Nevada, as well as how federal actions are impacting life here.

Then, Managing Editor Hannah Truby joins the show to talk about covering the latest No Kings rally in Reno, part of the largest single-day demonstration in American history.

Story links:

https://nevadacurrent.com/2026/03/31/nv-energys-peak-demand-charge-postponed-until-jan-1/

https://19thnews.org/2026/04/pam-bondi-ousted-attorney-general/

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-is-suing-to-stop-trump-order-to-make-eligible-voter-lists-is-lombardo-looped-in

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Noah talks about the latest on data centers in the region and some drama around the library board. Then, he adds context around last weekend’s No Kings rallies, and what getting to 3.5% participation would mean for the movement.

To wrap up, Noah was recently interviewed on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast where he got to talk about the future of journalism and how the Ally is working on solving some pretty challenging issues, and we share a snippet of that conversation.

Story Links / Sources:

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/have-data-center-tax-breaks-helped-nevadas-economy-heres-what-we-found

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevadans-get-few-details-into-data-centers-receiving-tax-breaks-and-it-might-be-illegal 

https://www.kunr.org/local-stories/2026-03-26/community-members-accuse-library-board-trustee-of-harassment

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Scott King is back in the co-host chair, joining Noah to talk the latest on the Washoe County School District Superintendent change, some updates from Lake Tahoe and an opportunity for the mining town of Tonopah.

Then, the guys talk about the potential for drought and wildfire this season, before jumping into another round of Grocery Price Tracker.

Story links and sources:

https://www.washoeschools.net/trustees/board-of-trustees/board-meetings-calendar?cal_date=2026-04-24

https://www.washoeschools.net/directory/communications-and-public-relations/wcsd-news-hub/news-release-post-page/~board/wcsd-home-page/post/washoe-county-school-district-announces-retirement-of-superintendent-joe-ernst

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanaenfield

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/washoe-schools-superintendent-submits-resignation-less-than-2-years-after-hiring

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-qa-an-exit-interview-with-outgoing-washoe-schools-leader

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/washoe-county-school-board-terminates-embattled-superintendent-litigation-likely-to-follow

https://www.aasa.org/resources/resource/a-job-they-werent-overtly-seeking

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-long-do-big-city-superintendents-typically-stick-around/2018/05

https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/03/nevada-utility-to-lake-tahoe-find-electricity-elsewhere/

https://www.nvenergy.com/cleanenergy/greenlink-nevada

https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/rps/

https://www.kunr.org/local-stories/2026-03-20/a-tahoe-nonprofit-is-using-storytelling-as-a-tool-for-solving-the-housing-crisis

https://tahoehousinghub.org/stories-updates/news/ 

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Multimedia Director Alex Couraud steps into the host chair to talk with long-time contributor Claire Carlson about what it's like on the ground in Minneapolis, and what the occupation of federal agents in the area can teach us about Nevada. Claire moved to Minneapolis a month before ICE agents stormed the city as part of Operation Metro Surge.

Stories / Sources:

https://sierranevadaally.org/2026/02/18/as-ice-agents-flood-minnesota-local-reporters-say-national-news-misses-the-mark/

https://www.kunr.org/local-stories/2026-03-13/nevada-urges-snap-recipients-to-meet-work-requirements-before-may-1

https://nevadacurrent.com/briefs/lombardo-breaks-silence-on-minneapolis-shooting/

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this edition of the show, we’re getting into some of the latest news headlines from around the region, including who has declared their intention to run for public office, ahead of Friday’s deadline for non-judicial races.

Then, we’ll have a conversation with our Tahoe Contributor, Kayla Anderson about the community reaction in Truckee following the tragic avalanche that killed nine people in the backcountry last month.

Story sources and links:

https://thenevadaindependent.com/2026-candidate-filing-tracker

https://www.nvsos.gov/elections/election-information/2026-election-information

https://archive.is/YxlO9 

https://www.kolotv.com/2026/03/11/miller-resigns-nevada-commission-post/

https://post.nv.gov/

https://archive.is/W2T0s

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

The Sierra Nevada Ally is working on a mini-documentary project about the Biggest Little Bike Network, with the first part expected to be published in the spring.

Our contributor and documentary filmmaker Richard Bednarski was recently interviewed by Ky Plaskon, the President of the Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance and host of the weekly show Bike Life, which airs on KWNK Community Radio, 97.7 FM in Reno.

The two chatted about Reno biking and Part 2 of their conversation airs this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on KWNK 97.7 FM and streaming live at kwnkradio.org. We were lucky enough to get that interview in advance, so we could share a bit with you all here, and encourage you to check out their full conversation this Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on KWNK.

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.

On this episode of Ally Audio, Noah is joined by the Ally's managing editor Hannah Truby to talk about Measure G, a local ballot measure in Truckee that was overwhelmingly passed by residents to build a new library. Not everyone is on board with the idea, and it leaves us wondering: what is the role of modern libraries and what does their future look like?

Story links and sources:

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/mark-amodei-explains-his-surprise-announcement-to-retire-from-congress-this-year

https://ballotpedia.org/Mark_Amodei

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/womens-rights-group-sues-to-stop-nevada-school-sports-ballot-measure

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lombardo-touted-womens-sports-measure-as-vote-getter-that-could-help-his-re-election

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lombardo-to-lead-2026-ballot-initiative-to-keep-transgender-athletes-out-of-female-sports

https://archive.is/n3DVr

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/11/washoe-tribal-land-return-california

This show is made possible by Press Forward, a national coalition investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage.

And from our readers and listeners at sierranevadaally.org.

Music for the show comes from local band, People with Bodies.

Visit SierraNevadaAlly.org to show your financial support of coverage on civics, climate and community in the Sierra Nevada region.

And sign up for our FREE newsletter and get the latest reports from the Sierra Nevada Ally sent directly to your inbox.