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Forecasters say avalanche danger is lower than it was during the holidays, after a series of storms helped build snowpac...
01/15/2026

Forecasters say avalanche danger is lower than it was during the holidays, after a series of storms helped build snowpack. And calmer weather allowed the snow to settle. Still, experts remind backcountry users that improved conditions don’t eliminate the risk.

Since Christmas, one person has died in a backcountry avalanche near Lake Tahoe, with several others close calls. In a separate incident, a ski patroller at Mammoth Mountain was killed while conducting avalanche mitigation work.

Andy Anderson, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center, urges travelers to check daily avalanche forecasts, obtain safety training, and watch for warning signs.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/5aekyzhe
🎙️Reporting by Maria Palma
📷dsafanda / Getty Images

Bureau of Land Management officials say the new environmental review will take a closer look at routing options for the ...
01/14/2026

Bureau of Land Management officials say the new environmental review will take a closer look at routing options for the 350-mile Greenlink North transmission line, land-use conflicts and wildlife impacts.

Opponents argue the original review failed to adequately assess impacts to sensitive wildlife habitat, particularly for the greater sage grouse, a species whose range has steadily declined across the West.

The agency has not said how long the new analysis will take.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/yw4u26y5
🎙️Reporting by Kaleb Roedel with the Mountain West News Bureau
📷milehightraveler / Getty Images

The constitutional amendment would direct public high school and college athletics to categorize sports as male, female,...
01/14/2026

The constitutional amendment would direct public high school and college athletics to categorize sports as male, female, or co-ed — prohibiting athletes who were assigned male at birth from female sports.

However, Silver State Equality said the effort undermines the state constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment, which broadly protects against discrimination.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard on Tuesday this week on whether transgender girls and women can compete in girls' and women's sports.

The petition will need nearly 149,000 signatures in the state by June 24 to get on the November ballot. Gov. Joe Lombardo is also running for re-election this year.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/3sm94xda
🎙️Reporting by KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck

Across the drought-stricken Mountain West, where shrinking reservoirs strain limited water supplies, decisions about who...
01/13/2026

Across the drought-stricken Mountain West, where shrinking reservoirs strain limited water supplies, decisions about who uses how much water often rely on imperfect data. A nonprofit collaboration called OpenET hopes to change that.

The group has expanded a satellite-based platform that estimates water use down to individual fields across nearly the entire United States, including much of the arid West.

Using satellite imagery and climate data, the technology calculates evapotranspiration — the water that evaporates from soil and transpires through plants — to help farmers fine-tune irrigation and give water managers a more consistent way to track agricultural water use.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/33nm92km
🎙️Reporting by Kaleb Roedel with the Mountain West News Bureau
📷Alasdair James / Getty Images

Due to the USPS’s efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs, it’s now more likely that your mail will be postmarked...
01/12/2026

Due to the USPS’s efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs, it’s now more likely that your mail will be postmarked once it’s at a processing facility, at least a day after it’s collected.

That has big implications for mail ballots, especially for rural voters. Nevada, Texas, and New York are among the 14 states that allow mail ballots to be counted for a certain period after the election, as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said there are solutions – and the pressure is on to find one before the June primary.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court could decide this year whether states can accept mail ballots postmarked by Election Day that are received afterward.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/mpcumwu2
🎙️Reporting by KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck
📷Element5 Digital / Pexels

On Dec. 29, Federal Judge Anne Traum dismissed a lawsuit filed by Drew Ribar against the Washoe County library system an...
01/12/2026

On Dec. 29, Federal Judge Anne Traum dismissed a lawsuit filed by Drew Ribar against the Washoe County library system and Our Center over his exclusion from Drag Story Hour events, though he was allowed to amend most of his claims. Ribar told KUNR he’s already working on it.

Rachel Wise, an Our Center attorney, asked for a temporary restraining order. In her petition with the court, she included a copy of a threatening email she received after he shared her photo and contact information online.

In November, Traum approved a prior restraining order blocking him from approaching defense attorneys in person and requiring him to compile a log of videos he published about them.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/37xs9v83
🎙️Reporting and photo by Bert Johnson

U.S. forces captured former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in an operation aimed at enforcing federal charges, a mov...
01/09/2026

U.S. forces captured former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in an operation aimed at enforcing federal charges, a move expected to have wide-ranging diplomatic, economic, and political consequences.

Freddy Mijares, a former Venezuelan journalist and now a U.S. citizen living in Reno, left Venezuela more than two decades ago after experiencing censorship, threats, and physical violence during the presidency of Hugo Chávez.

After confirming the reports online, Mijares said he felt very happy at the news, while he and his wife tried to process what they were seeing.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/2ms75r29
🎙️Reporting by Maria Palma
📷Alex Dos Santos / Pexels

Congratulations to KUNR political reporter Lucia Starbuck on being awarded the 2026 JAWS Health Journalism Fellowship! W...
01/09/2026

Congratulations to KUNR political reporter Lucia Starbuck on being awarded the 2026 JAWS Health Journalism Fellowship! We’re proud to see her reporting supported nationally and look forward to seeing what she does next!

The fellowship is awarded by Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS), the premier not-for-profit organization dedicated to professional growth and empowerment of women journalists.

Starbuck is one of eight reporters who will work on a substantive reporting project with the support of a grant, one-on-one mentoring, and plenty of other professional development opportunities!

She’ll be working on a series investigating how anti-immigrant sentiments are affecting caregivers and their clients who come from different countries. If you would like to share your experiences on this topic, please do not hesitate to reach out.

🔗JAWS 2026 Health Journalism Fellows announcement ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/3edahf6k

Large farms in parts of the Colorado River Basin are paying little for federally supplied water, even as cities and resi...
01/08/2026

Large farms in parts of the Colorado River Basin are paying little for federally supplied water, even as cities and residents are being asked to conserve, according to a new report.

The report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and UCLA found that cities in the Lower Colorado River Basin, on average, pay more than $500 per acre-foot for water, while nearby irrigation districts tied to federal projects pay around $30 — or nothing at all.

“We are really setting ourselves up to pay huge costs in the future when we have to invest in new water sources, and when we have to make up for the decades of water mismanagement,” said Isabel Friedman with NRDC, one of the report’s authors.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/mdprkdea
🎙️Reporting by Kaleb Roedel with the Mountain West News Bureau
📷 Alex Ning / Pexels

While choir programs are valued in the Washoe County School District (WCSD), especially at Damonte Ranch High School, th...
01/07/2026

While choir programs are valued in the Washoe County School District (WCSD), especially at Damonte Ranch High School, they are suffering from a lack of funding. But, this problem is nothing new.

Damonte Ranch choir teacher Jennifer Tibben suggested that local businesses get involved and help out. Amy Barthel, the visual and performing arts coordinator for WCSD, focused on voting locally for candidates who support education funding.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/532bvr6n
🎙️Reporting by Addison Gwin who is a senior at Damonte Ranch High School and a participant in KUNR’s Youth Media program, a special partnership with the Washoe County School District to train the next generation of journalists.
📷 Courtey of Julie Gwin

Since 2011, this pub in midtown Reno has been a gathering place to share culture, music, and connection through traditio...
01/07/2026

Since 2011, this pub in midtown Reno has been a gathering place to share culture, music, and connection through traditional Irish sessions.

The sessions are a longstanding tradition in Ireland, and Ceol embraces that heritage with a full bar featuring classic Irish drinks and an extensive whiskey selection.

The Irish sessions are open to everyone and take place every Tuesday night starting at 7:10 p.m.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/bdf824nx
🎙️Reporting by Lela Lennon who is a student at Reno High School and a participant in KUNR’s Youth Media program, a special partnership with the Washoe County School District to train the next generation of journalists.
📷 Courtesy of Lela Lennon

Pinocchio’s Bar & Grill has been a staple in the Reno community since 1997 when the restaurant first opened. They have a...
01/06/2026

Pinocchio’s Bar & Grill has been a staple in the Reno community since 1997 when the restaurant first opened. They have also served the community in other ways.

The Pinocchio family founded Moms on the Run, which supports Nevada women diagnosed with breast cancer, and they also cater the Reno Rodeo, where they are the main food vendor.

🔗Hear the full story ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/y5cts7dm
🎙️Reporting by Anthony Angelopoulos who is a senior at Reno High School and a participant in KUNR’s Youth Media program, a special partnership with the Washoe County School District to train the next generation of journalists.
📷Anthony Angelopoulos / KUNR

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University Of Nevada, Reno MS 0294
Reno, NV
89512

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Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
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