Renoites- The Podcast about Reno Nevada

One of the frequent criticisms of the criminal justice system in the United States is that people who violate the law often cycle in and out of the system, and a focus on punishment often doesn't serve to solve the actual problem at hand. Today's guest on the podcast is Judge Christopher Hazlett-Stevens, who presides over the Reno Municipal Court system's Community Court. Community Court is held a...

This week's guest on Renoites is the Community Director for Yelp Reno, Michael Tragash. Through his position with Yelp, Michael helps local businesses connect with their customers through events and sharing their stories and make the most of the customer feedback they receive. Conor and Michael discuss Yelp and how it works, how trust and reliability are essential for business owners and their onl...

This week on the podcast, Conor welcomes Reno’s city council member from Ward 1, Jenny Brekhus. Jenny has served on the Reno city council since 2012 and is running for Mayor of Reno this year. Conor and Jenny discuss current issues facing Reno, including the controversial Jacobs Entertainment Neon Line District and accompanying development agreement with the city, the CARES Campus and homelessness...

Renoites is back for the new year with more great guests and episodes every Tuesday! This week on the podcast, Conor welcomes local stand up comedian David Gamble Jr. to talk about the world of stand up comedy both nationally and here in the Biggest Little City. David has been performing stand-up in the Reno area for 7 years, including creating and hosting a regular showcase of local and regional...

One of the greatest frustrations for people who are large, chunky, plus-size, fluffy, husky, or (to skip all the euphemisms) just fat is that we live in a society that has labeled fat as a "bad word" and assigned various judgments and criticisms to people who have big bodies. From having diets recommended that they didn't ask for, being assumed to be unhealthy based on nothing more than their appe...

Black Wall Street was the name of a thriving black-owned business district and surrounding residential area in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1921, just over 100 years ago, it was destroyed in a racial massacre that left many residents and business owners dead or injured, and their businesses burned to the ground. It is among the worst cases of racial violence ever recorded in the United States. This week on...

This week's guest on Renoites is Manuel Mederos, Language Access Specialist at the Northern Nevada International Center. NNIC provides multiple services with the goal of improved global diplomacy, including exchange programs, refugee resettlement, and Manuel's specialty: translation and interpretation services. Learn more about the Northern Nevada International Center at nnic.org NNIC has also rec...

But what about Sparks? The "Reno Area" is of course inclusive of more than just the city of Reno. We also have the city of Sparks immediately adjacent to us as a major part of our shared economy and community, and Sparks shares many of the same concerns Reno does around growth, development, homelessness, and more. This week on the show we welcome the best person to talk about the city of Sparks- M...

After reading in school about a double decker bus in London being converted into a mobile book shop, 11-year-old Broden McClelland loved the idea and suggested to his parents that they do something similar here in Reno. The Golden Owl Bookshop was born, and has become a staple at the Riverside and Sparks United Methodist farmers markets, Sprouts Farmers Market in Sparks, and various other location...

2021 marks the 40th Anniversary of one of Reno's biggest community events, the Great Reno Balloon Race. It's held at Rancho San Rafael park (September 10-12 this year) and is the largest free ballooning event in the world. This week on the Renoites, Conor is joined by the executive director of the Great Reno Balloon Race, Pete Copeland. Pete and Conor talk about the balloon event industry, how the...

Eric Henry Andersen is one of the most active, hardworking musicians in Reno. You may know him from the popular local band The Novelists, last year's Artown music video "Heartbeat to Heartbeat, Eye to Eye (From Reno with Love)" or from his work as a solo artist playing shows both on tour and here in town. He's also a recent appointee to the Reno Arts and Culture Commission.  On this week's episode...

You've probably seen the Reno Ambassadors rolling around on their Segways downtown, giving directions and checking on businesses and generally tasked with keeping the streets of Downtown Reno clean and safe. They're a part of the Downtown Reno Partnership, a Business Improvement District (BID) tasked with improving Downtown Reno. But what is a BID and how does it work? On this week's episode of Re...

Netflix recently released the documentary "Pray Away," the story of the religious belief that it's possible or desirable to "convert" LGBTQ people to heterosexuality. The story is told by the former leaders of that movement, who have since spoken out against ex-gay ministry and churches that still fail to affirm the gender and sexual orientation of their members. One of those former leaders featur...

On this week's episode, Conor welcomes Jolene Cook! Formerly a manager of the Great Basin Community Co-op, current board member of Reno Food Systems, and creator of Reno Local Food Week and GrowingNV.com . Jolene is passionate about local food and building community here in Reno. Conor and Jolene begin the episode with Jolene's story of how she realized the importance of healthy food in her own li...

One of the most fun and eco friendly ways to be transported from one place to another is via pedicab, essentially an oversized tricycle with room for passengers. This week's guest, Jaime Chapman, has been driving pedicabs since 2012 and opened Pineapple Pedicabs in 2019, bringing this fun form of bike-driven transportation here to Reno. Jaime is also involved in dog rescue and rehoming, trying to...

Saturday, July 24 will be Reno's annual Northern Nevada Community Pride Parade and Festival. In this week's episode, Conor is joined by YeVonne Allen from Northern Nevada Pride and Our Center, Reno's LGBTQIA+ community gathering place.  Conor and YeVonne talk all things Pride, from Reno's LGBTQ history, the origins of Northern Nevada Pride, what to expect at the events this year, how the pride par...

The Sierra Arts Foundation has been one of the major drivers of Reno as an arts-friendly city for over 50 years. Tia Flores is the Program Director and works to create programming, artist services, gallery spaces and much more. Conor and Tia discuss arts in Reno generally, and Sierra Arts Foundation's work in the region. Topics include arts education in the Washoe County School District, creating...

Tucker Rash is the program director for Reno's community radio station, KWNK 97.7. With an army of volunteer DJs, the station runs 24/7 powered by regular people with the desire to put something of themselves out onto the airwaves. Tucker began volunteering as a teenager before the station even began broadcasting, and will now be guiding and developing KWNK's programming. On this week's episode, T...

Summer in Reno means events, and some of the most consistent and well-attended events in town are food truck nights at local parks. This week, Conor is joined by Melissa Williams, the owner of Feed the Camel, a Wednesday night food truck event at the McKinley Arts Center currently operating in their 8th year. Melissa and Conor talk about the early days of Reno's food truck scene and the origins of...

This week's guest is Reno's City Councilman At-Large Devon Reese! Devon was appointed to the city council when a vacancy opened in 2019 and went on to run for the seat and be elected to the position for a full term in 2020. Conor and Devon enjoy a wide-ranging discussion about what the city council is responsible for in Reno (and what it isn't), how Devon communicates with constituents, the challe...

This week's special episode of Renoites is our first audience Q&A! Renoites has been on the air for about 4 months, and this time Conor takes a week off from interviewing guests to instead answer questions from listeners about himself, the podcast, Reno, and much more. Topics include the behind the scenes of how to make a podcast, the best way to spend time outdoors, meeting people in the post-pan...

Downtown Makeover is one of the longest running blogs in Reno, reporting largely on development projects in and around Downtown Reno. Mike Van Houten has been closely tracking developers and their projects for 15 years, publishing everything from permits to concept drawings to photos of new housing developments as they grow. Conor and Mike discuss the benefits of an urban lifestyle and downtown Re...

Rising homelessness has become a major topic in Reno in recent years, with a massive increase during the pandemic. A large new shelter, the NV Cares campus, is opening in phases and will include a safe camping area, there's conflict around the disbandment of existing encampments, and the conversation continues over the best ways to help bring people from homelessness to stability and growth. In th...

This week on the show, Conor is joined by Ky Plaskon, President of the Truckee Meadows Bicycle Alliance. Ky has been riding bikes his entire life and is now leading TMBA in advocating for better bike and multi-modal infrastructure in Reno. Conor and Ky talk about the near future of e-bike and scooter sharing in Reno, a major bike infrastructure project along Center Street that needs your help, why...

This week on the podcast, Conor welcomes Michael Moberly, a spirits educator, bar consultant, writer, event planner and all-around bar industry expert who has been working in Reno's bar and spirits world since he was 19. Conor and Michael talk about the history of Reno's bar scene and why bars have continued to be an important part of our city's culture, the economic challenges facing both bars an...