This is Reno

by Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Jimmy Tobias for High Country News; photography by Roberto “Bear” Guerra, High Country News The federal government is rewriting its rules governing ranching on public lands to increase the number of cattle, sheep and other livestock grazing on 155 million acres in the West, an area twice the size of New Mexico.

A health and wellness program designed to provide Truckee Meadows firefighters with immediate access to physical therapy and strength training may already be reducing injuries and workers’ compensation costs, according to a presentation Tuesday to the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Board of Fire Commissioners.

Twenty artists have taken over a restaurant on a dying desert lake, two hours south of Reno on U.S. 95. This July, The Bighorn Crossing, a local landmark and restaurant on the shore of Walker Lake, becomes the site of a free monthlong art show about a lake the state is letting disappear. “Resilience in the Desert: Walker Lake & Bighorn Sheep” gathers painters, printmakers, ceramicists and metalworkers around a single subject.

The University of Nevada, Reno will expand its StreetReach mobile healthcare initiative after the Washoe Board of County Commissioners approved nearly $500,000 from the Washoe Opioid Abatement and Recovery Fund on June 23. The two-year award will support expanded access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness and individuals who use or are at risk for opioid use disorder in Washoe County.

Submitted by Rick Benbow Across nearly every major industry, experienced professionals are increasingly being asked to adapt to AI-powered tools and evolving digital systems just to remain competitive. Research from the World Economic Forum suggests a majority of workers worldwide will require additional training as AI and emerging technologies continue to reshape industries and workplace expectations. For workers in Nevada, this shift is creating a new kind of workforce pressure.

By Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida Many major tech companies have pledged to pay their fair share of the costs associated with generating and transmitting more electricity to serve large data centers. But ratepayers across the United States are worried about the potential costs they might have to bear. That’s because it’s not immediately clear how the cost of data centers’ energy will be calculated.

Fireworks in downtown Reno July 4, 2026. Eric Marks / THIS IS RENO Reno’s July 4th celebrations featured a newly launched parade and several fireworks displays. Beginning at 10 a.m. the city of Reno’s parade featured dozens of participants and an estimated thousands of views who lined West Fourth Street. Later that evening, several fireworks displays occurred. From a drone display at the University of Nevada, Reno to fireworks action downtown, at the GSR and at the Sparks Nugget. MORE RENO NEWS

Get out and enjoy the myriad events that this time of year offers to Reno and beyond. Artown is in full swing, and this week, we have an author day, plus fairs and festivals. Besides the events below, there are hundreds of other Reno events on our full calendar. Are you hosting an event? Get it published here (free and paid options are available) to be considered for next week’s events preview column.

by April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current July 6, 2026 Nevada lawmakers last week punted on a proposal to weaken the state’s worker safety standards. The Nevada Legislative Commission, which gives final approval to regulations drafted by state agencies, did not vote on a proposal by the Division of Industrial Relations to align the state’s penalty structure with a more lax penalty structure adopted by the federal government last year.

By Suzanne Potter | Public News Service AARP Nevada has announced the winners of its 2026 Community Challenge grants, with eight Nevada nonprofits receiving a total of nearly $100,000 to improve residents’ quality of life. Nationally, the program will fund 750 quick-action projects totaling more than $8 million. In Northern Nevada, Reno Food Systems will use its grant for new fruit trees and fencing at the Paradise Park Community Orchard.