USDA

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine — a nonprofit of 12,000 doctors — has placed two billboards warning Carson City residents that cancer-causing processed meats such as hot dogs don’t belong in school meals.

(Carson City, NV) -- The Second Annual Building a Stronger Nevada Economic Development Conference will explore the ideas, programs and products that are defining the new Nevada economy from Sept. 20-22, 2016 at the at the University of Nevada, Reno's Joe Crowley Student Union.

The multi-track conference is presented by the Western Nevada Development District, University of Nevada, Reno College of Business, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Center for Business & Economic Research, USDA Rural Development and Nevada Industry Excellence.

Getting involved with the activities at Carson High School, whether directly participating or simply watching, comes down to a decision to act upon the many opportunities available. Look at the exciting events in which students directly participate and businesses and parents indirectly participate and decide to engage.

Bee populations have been declining with the total number of managed honey bee colonies down from 5 million in the 1940s to 2.5 million in November 2015, according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 8th from Noon - 2:00pm at the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center - Bristlecone Room located at 1600 Medical Parkway; Carson City, NV for a FREE Health & Wellness Educational Series presented by Kim Mason, MS RD. Get to know the many benefits of a USDA plant-based approach to eating. Contact (775) 445-5169 for further information.

USDA Rural Development is holding energy workshops to help farmers and rural small business owners learn about how to use the Rural Energy for America Program grant to reduce energy costs.

Grant funding is available for up to 25 percent of the cost to purchase and build alternative energy systems (solar, wind, hydro power, etc.) or to enhance energy efficiency with new lighting, windows or more efficient HVAC systems.

Early Nevada miners historically used charcoal as a fuel source to smelt less valuable ore to extract silver and gold. Located near mining districts throughout the state, charcoal ovens were utilized to optimize the charcoal conversion process.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit is asking for public comments on proposed improvements to the existing skiing and snowboarding terrain near the top of the gondola at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

North Lake Tahoe and Tahoe Douglas fire protection districts, the Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service will continue widespread prescribed fire operations around the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next several weeks as conditions allow.

Aqua Metals, Inc., which is commercializing a non-polluting electrochemical lead recycling technology called AquaRefining, announced Friday a $10 million loan from Green Bank in conjunction with a 90 percent loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency for the development of its first AquaRefinery.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid announced Wednesday that the USDA has awarded $9 million in grant funding and a $4 million loan to Storey County to improve its wastewater infrastructure. The money will go toward replacing more than 13 miles of sewer lines in Virginia City and the failing community septic system in Gold Hill.

The entrance of companies like Tesla and Switch into Nevada means great things for the local economy. What they also mean are raising housing prices, as more and more people move into the Silver State, creating a housing shortage. This is good news for existing homeowners, but concerning for first-time homebuyers.

According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, “In January 2012, the median price for a home in northern Nevada was around $135,000. More than two and a half years later, home values have jumped by about 85 percent.”

A light smoke that began moving into Carson City early Saturday evening may be a result of controlled burn operations on the west shore of Lake Tahoe or open permit burning within the city limits, according to dispatch and the U.S. Forest Service.

More than $177 million has been invested through the USDA into rural Nevada communities in the past year, assisting more than 700 families in either helping them buy homes or to make improvements to their properties, and investing more than $28 million for community water and sewer system repairs, officials said Friday.

Housing prices are rising throughout Nevada, which means rental prices are going up as well. As the housing supply continues to try to catch up with demand, this upward trend promises to continue.

A project to improve teff grass, a staple grain that originated in Ethiopia, is underway at the University of Nevada, Reno. The aim is to make it more drought tolerant and productive under the harsh growing conditions being experienced worldwide as the popularity of this gluten-free grain grows with farmers and consumers in dry regions of the United States.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team, which includes numerous fire and land management agencies in the Lake Tahoe Basin, will begin fall prescribed fire operations as soon as weather conditions are favorable, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Carson City locals who believe in taking care of families for a Greater Good pulled through again. Among Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and USDA Rural Development, 1,042 pounds of food was collected for Carson City area nonprofits Ron Wood Family Resource Center and Friends in Service Helping as part of the Can-Struction Challenge.

The Feds Feed Families Food Drive kicked it up a notch this year with the CAN-Town Construction Challenge! US Bureau of Reclamation, US Geological Survey and USDA Rural Development all participated by building CAN-Projects.

Shown from top: Bureau of Reclamation TAHOE DAM with Debbie Blake, food Drive Coordinator, USGS Stream Survey Monitoring Station of Cans, cocrdinated by Chris Clark, and USDA's CAN-Town, coordinated by Kelly Clark. Judges for the CAN-STruction Challenge are Tony Zehring of FISH and Pam Winbebarger of the Ron Wood Family Resource Center.

An updated Lake Tahoe Basin Community Wildfire Protection Plan will be presented to the public during the Lake Tahoe Environmental Summit on Monday, August 24.

This new Community Wildfire Protection Plan was collaboratively developed by the 18 member organizations of the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team and is the culmination of a three-year planning effort.

Grocery Outlet in Carson City held its 5th Annual Independence From Hunger Food Drive through July with customers donating 160 bags of groceries and giving $1,387 in cash to a local food bank.

This year's recipient of the donations was the Dayton Food Pantry. Freida Carbery, volunteer coordinator for Healthy Communities Coalition, which operates the Dayton Food Pantry, was at the Carson City Grocery Outlet Store this week and extended her thanks to store owners David and Lynne Cox, employees and the Carson City community.

A Mound House RV repair outfit, a community agriculture ranch in Washoe Valley and a motel in Fallon are among the recipients of energy grants awarded Tuesday by USDA Rural Development Nevada.

USDA Rural Development and its two close housing partners, Nevada Housing Division and the Nevada Rural Housing Authority on Tuesday celebrated National Homeownership Month with a "Power Hour" to brief real estate professionals on the changes in real estate law resulting from the 2015 Nevada State Legislature and to honor their work to leverage homeownership across the state.

The Washington Fire in Alpine County, which began June 19 as a lightning strike and briefly threatened the town of Markleeville, is 94 percent contained with full containment expected soon, fire officials said.

Grocery Outlet has launched its 5th Annual Independence From Hunger Food Drive today to donate food throughout July, traditionally a time when food agencies experience the greatest need, to serve children who are off from school during the summer.

The Carson City Grocery Outlet has teamed up with Dayton Food Pantry and will be collecting donations throughout the entire month of July that will go directly to that partner.

"We are happy to help out the Dayton Food Pantry in any way we can," said Dave Cox, the Carson City store owner-operator.

Containment grew to 56 percent along the Washington Fire line south of Markleeville overnight, allowing for a reduction in firefighters Tuesday from 1,111 to 860, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. The fire has burned 17,787 acres.

USDA Rural Development and its two close housing partners, Nevada Housing Division and the Nevada Rural Housing Authority on Tuesday celebrated National Homeownership Month with a "Power Hour" to brief real estate professionals on the changes in real estate law resulting from the 2015 Nevada State Legislature and to honor their work to leverage homeownership across the state.

Most of the fires are single-tree fires with some ground fire, and the largest is only a half-acre in size. Winds are calm, and the Lake Tahoe Basin received substantial rainfall in the area of the fire starts, so the rate of spread is low. The Forest Service is staffing all nine fires with the assistance of Tahoe-Douglas and North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection Districts.

Tinder-dry vegetation, exceptional drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and several human-caused fires have prompted multiple agencies to implement fire restrictions beginning Friday on public land throughout western Nevada.

Tinder-dry vegetation, exceptional drought conditions, increasing daytime temperatures and several human-caused fires have prompted multiple agencies to implement fire restrictions beginning Friday on public land throughout western Nevada.