This episode is the second podcast in a two-part series. Kristen Hackbarth and Bob Conrad discuss the recent This Is Reno investigation Kristen did into spending at Reno City Hall. After months of digging, getting public records and combing through large amounts of information, we published a voluminous ten-part series about what we found.

This Is Reno subscribers got access to this podcast before anybody else. If you value local, independent journalism and appreciate Kristen’s extensive work in this series, please consider becoming a paying subscriber.  Subscribers get access to all articles and extra benefits, such as getting behind-the-scenes information, like this podcast, before anyone else.

In this two-part podcast, we discuss how we approached this story, what we found and what prompted us to start looking into city council spending in the first place.

Read the series: https://thisisreno.com/investigation-city-hall-spending/

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This episode is our first podcast in more than a year. Kristen Hackbarth and Bob Conrad discuss the recent This Is Reno investigation Kristen did into spending at Reno City Hall. After months of digging, getting public records and combing through large amounts of information, we published a voluminous ten-part series about what we found.

This Is Reno subscribers got access to this podcast before anybody else. If you value local, independent journalism and appreciate Kristen’s extensive work in this series, please consider becoming a paying subscriber.  Subscribers get access to all articles and extra benefits, such as getting behind-the-scenes information, like this podcast, before anyone else.

In this two-part podcast, we discuss how we approached this story, what we found and what prompted us to start looking into city council spending in the first place.

Read the series: https://thisisreno.com/investigation-city-hall-spending/

Support the show

Edward Coleman is the executive director of a new Reno nonprofit called the Black Community Collective. In today’s show we discuss why he started the collective and why it is needed in the greater Reno community. 

We also discuss some of his recent efforts including his work on the City of Reno’s charter committee – and what he thought of how the Reno City Council responded to that committee’s proposals in August. 

This show is also available on KWNK Community Radio in Reno.

Learn more about the Black Community Collective online: https://thebcc1.org

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The testimonials that Epic Brain Centers of Reno provide are hard to believe. Some of the anecdotes include those diagnosed with depression seeing results in few treatments. Other testimonials show people quickly recovering from conditions such as addiction and anxiety. 

For this episode, I visited the Epic Brain Centers clinic in Reno. The clinic and the technology it uses are potentially revolutionary. Similar brain health treatments are being conducted across the country, unrelated to Epic Brain Center in Reno, including at the Mayo Clinic. Those clinics are also reporting remarkable results.

Included on today's show are Epic Brain Center's Jordan Scott and Judi Kosterman, who is the cofounder of the Brain Health Leadership Foundation. They walk us through the technology they use, what patients experience and how the non-invasive treatment is helping people with various conditions.

For more about Epic Brain Centers, visit them online at epicbraincenters.com. The Foundation is at www.bhlfoundation.org.

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Lyndsey Langsdale helps to run the Reno Food Systems farm on Mayberry Drive. The nonprofit operation has been in business since 2018. For today’s show we talk with Lyndsey about her vision for the farm. 

I visited Reno Food Systems in the fall as the farm was still harvesting produce, volunteers and staff were weeding and the farm was preparing for the winter. 

Lyndsey describes the purpose of the farm being a “vibrant, resilient, and just local food system cultivated by an empowered community.”

She gave me a tour of the farm and explained the operation.
Visit Reno Food Systems online at: https://www.renofoodsystems.org/

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One of the Reno area’s few substance use, and gambling, addiction treatment facilities is the Bristlecone Recovery Center. The nonprofit is named after bristlecone pine, a tree found in Nevada, Utah and California.

The center uses this analogy: This remarkable tree can fully regenerate itself, even on the brink of death. Just like the Bristlecone Pine, the people who seek help at our facility for addiction, gambling, and mental health issues have experienced negative environments, weathered many storms and come dangerously close to death. 

On today’s show we talk with Peter Ott. He is the executive director of the center and he speaks candidly about the realities of addiction in the Reno area. He also discusses his hopes for the future of the community.

Learn more about Bristlecone at https://www.bristleconereno.com/.

Thank you for listening to the show on KWNK Community Radio at 97.7 FM and on your favorite podcast player. 

Subscribe and listen to the show here: https://thisisreno.buzzsprout.com

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The Dutch Cycling Embassy came to Reno in September. They were here to discuss how the Netherlands became bike centric and to help the Biggest Little City’s cycling efforts. The Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance helped organize the Embassy’s visit.

For this episode, we spoke with people who attended the Think Bike workshops, as well as members of the cycling embassy, including Margot Daris and Dick Vanveen.

The group hosted a discussion at Craft where they played the "Together We Cycle" documentary about how the Netherlands became the country with the highest use of bicycles in the world.  

David Grife with the Nevada Department Transportation and Scott Gibson with the Washoe County Regional Transportation Commission both give their perspectives on the visit from the Dutch team. 

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The heat of summer is one of the causes for why ducks and geese are dying at area ponds.

In this show, we hear from a wildlife veterinarian  who explains why botulism is suspected in the regional water bodies, and how that is impacting waterfowl.

We also hear from an advocate for local senior citizens. She said people were taken by surprise when they learned the city of Reno was making plans to lease out a senior gathering space to a local nonprofit.

Also, acting Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education, Dale Erquiaga, responds to faculty concerns about evaluations of Nevada campus presidents.

Faculty said campus presidents are not getting the regular evaluations that the public deserve. 

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Dr. Susan Enfield has been in Reno for just short of two months, and already she is making changes to the Washoe County School District.

As the new superintendent of schools, Enfield has generated optimism by saying in part she wants the district to own its mistakes and celebrate its successes.

In this show, we chat with Enflield about the future of the district and what she hopes to accomplish. 

The This is Reno radio show can be heard on Sunday mornings on KWNK Community Radio at 97.7 FM on your favorite podcast player. 

Listen below and subscribe here: https://thisisreno.buzzsprout.com

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If you’ve been to downtown Reno in the past few years, you have most likely seen the ambassadors in action. They wear blue shirts with the downtown Reno partnership logo and are often seen providing assistance to people.

They are also charged with cleaning up downtown. That includes litter control, graffiti removal and weed abatement. The group touts major successes since the ambassadors began working the streets of Reno, including things such as the amount of human and animal feces removed from streets.

The downtown Reno ambassadors were formed in 2018 as part of the downtown Reno business improvement district. That district is funded by fees levied on businesses and property owners downtown, including residents.

Yvonne Deslongchamp works with the Downtown Reno Partnership as an ambassador. In today’s show we discuss the successes and challenges she faces providing assistance to some of Reno’s most needy and marginalized members of our community. 

The This is Reno radio show can be heard on Sunday mornings on KWNK Community Radio at 97.7 FM on your favorite podcast player. Subscribe and listen here.

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