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Nevada’s newest state park celebrates grand opening after years of delay

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Nevada’s newest state park celebrates grand opening after years of delay


After seven years, three governors and much anticipation from community members and paleontology lovers, Ice Age Fossils State Park is finally opening to the public.

The park celebrated its long-awaited opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday, though the park won’t officially open to the public until Saturday.

With 3 miles of trails and an interactive visitors center for kids of all ages, the 315-acre park tells the story of Las Vegas 25,000 years ago, when dire wolves and prehistoric camels roamed the valley’s lush marshlands that have since dried up.

Originally announced under Gov. Brian Sandoval’s “Explore Your Nevada Initiative” in 2017, the park was set to open in mid-2018. But, supply chain issues and a global pandemic threw a wrench in the park’s plans, Park Supervisor Garrett Fehner said.

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“We were really optimistic about our timeline starting out, and then, of course, COVID happened,” Fehner said. “That was a challenging time to be a state employee because the state didn’t have money all of a sudden — we had money that had been allotted to this project that got taken back by the state.”

Support from local nonprofits Protectors of Tule Springs and the Ice Age Park Foundation, along with the Helmsley Charitable Trust, which gave $3.5 million to the project, helped bring the park to fruition, Fehner said.

“That was a challenging time, but we worked through it and it makes it even more meaningful on a day like today when you can see the end result of that work,” he said.

‘We have got to save this’

Ice Age Park Foundation President Helen Mortenson was lauded during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for being instrumental in getting land protected as a state park.

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Mortenson said that when she first moved to Las Vegas in 1962, she quickly became enamored with the “Big Dig” project at Tule Springs — a massive archeological excavation that began that year where scientists moved more than 200,000 tons of dirt to uncover fossils thousands of years old.

The project’s remnants are protected by the state park today.

“It opened a whole new world for me, and I said, ‘We have got to save this,” Mortenson said.

Soon, scientists, the Nevada State Museum and politicians, including Mortenson’s husband, Harry Mortenson, who served as a state legislator, were working together to tell people about the area and find a way to protect the ice age fossils, she said.

“(Sen.) Harry Reid said ‘I had no idea that was out there,’” she recalled. “We just kept growing and growing — and look at what we’ve accomplished today.”

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Sandy Croteau, vice president of Protectors of Tule Springs, said that when she learned in 2006 that the area was going to be sold off by the Bureau of Land Management for development, she worked with other members of her community to form a coalition to protect the area.

“We contacted our senators, congressmen — anybody that would listen to us about how this land needs to be saved.” Croteau said. “With all the fossils out here, they were going to build houses, but this land needed to be saved for future generations.”

Croteau said people in Las Vegas who have supported the area’s protection for years are waiting eagerly for the park to finally open.

“They are so excited. … This has been high up on people’s list of things to do,” she said.

Future plans

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Though the park hasn’t even opened to the public yet, Jonathan Brunjes, deputy administrator for Nevada State Parks, said the park hopes to one day facilitate research opportunities for UNLV students at the park’s archaeological sites.

“We’d love to have a repository here where people can come and actually see them working on the fossils in real time,” Brunjes said. “Hopefully, we find more out here. That’s a neat thing about a state park is there’s always something new to discover.”

The park also plans to host guided hikes to show people where fossils are located along the trails, and field trips for students to learn more about Las Vegas’ history, Brunjes said.

Fehner said the park will start out being open only on Saturdays and Sundays, with hopes of expanding to more days of the week in the future.

“This park is just gonna get better and better.”

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Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com



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Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County

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Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County


EUREKA COUNTY, Nev. (KOLO) – On Friday, Feb. 27, the Nevada State Police assisted with a cattle crossing on State Route 306 at Interstate 80 in Eureka County.

“While not an everyday part of our job, we like to do our part to assist our local ranchers while keeping traffic from turning into udder chaos,” according to an agency Facebook post. “It was a perfect opportunity to be outside (even if our animal friends were a little moo-dy).”



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Nye County Sheriff urges caution after deadly month on rural Nevada roads

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Nye County Sheriff urges caution after deadly month on rural Nevada roads


A string of deadly crashes in and around Pahrump has prompted Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill to push for more safety measures along dark, sidewalk-free roads.

“The worst penalty is death, if you consider that,” McGill said.

The recent deaths include a single-vehicle rollover on State Route 160 during the morning hours of the last Wednesday in January that killed one person and injured another.

Then, into February, two pedestrians were killed in less than three days.

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The first was a 7 p.m. crash on Quarter Horse Avenue. Investigators believe a 2006 Jeep Liberty was driving on the street when it hit a pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

A few days later, this last Saturday, state troopers responded to a crash just after sundown at Charleston Park Avenue. A sedan hit a pedestrian, who was also pronounced dead at the scene.

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Nevada State Police investigators are still investigating both pedestrian cases before more details are released.

McGill said the recent crashes were enough to spur action.

“When the third one came out, I was sitting at home and watching TV. I looked at my wife and I said, ‘We got to do something about this,’” McGill said.

McGill is responding with a reflective vest giveaway, pointing to limited infrastructure as a possible factor. He noted a lack of street lights off State Route 160 and no sidewalks inside the community.

“The only light that you have is the ambient light from houses and cars so it is really dark,” McGill said.

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John Treanor of AAA Nevada said poor visibility can quickly turn dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians.

“It is very easy to be confronted with a situation that you cannot see coming because the visibility might be bad,” Treanor said.

Treanor encouraged pedestrians to carry lights and drivers to be prepared if they end up outside their vehicles in dark conditions.

“Having lights on you. Even carrying a flashlight allows something where a driver can see it,” Treanor said. “If you are a driver, make sure you have the right stuff in your car, in case you do get in a situation where you are on the side of the road and now you are in dark. Make sure you have a kit with some reflectors, some lights. Anything the trunk of your car in case you need it.”

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McGill said vigilance is important even in daylight.

“Any time of the day, you have got to be vigilant. You have to keep aware of your surroundings if you are a walker or on a bicycle or if you are the driver,” he said.

Authorities also urged caution as more people may pull off roads in rocky areas along the route toward Death Valley National Park during springtime blooms, increasing the need for drivers and pedestrians to stay alert.

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Mansion on the Nevada Side of Lake Tahoe Swiftly Sells for $46 Million

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Mansion on the Nevada Side of Lake Tahoe Swiftly Sells for  Million


A waterfront mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe just sold for $46 million, less than three weeks after hitting the market. 

The speedy deal marks a departure from the typical U.S. market.

Nationwide, homes took a median 78 days to land a buyer in January, five more than the same time last year and the 22nd straight month of homes taking longer to sell on a year-over-year basis, according to data from Realtor.com. 

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The lavish log cabin-like residence, in Incline Village, listed on Jan. 24 for $47.5 million. It sold 20 days later, on Feb. 13, listing records show. 

The more than 7,000-square-foot residence was built in 2014, and has double-height living spaces, walls of windows, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and plenty of rustic exposed stone and wood, listing images show. 

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There’s also a gym, a wet bar, a spa, a wine room, an office, two separate game rooms, seven bedrooms and dramatic Lake Tahoe views. Outside, there’s a private sandy beach, multiple decks, a heated driveway and two exterior fireplaces, according to listing information. 

MORE: Visited by Kings and Larger Than Manhattan, Giant Scottish Estate Asks £67 Million

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The seller and the buyer are both limited liability companies, according to property records. Both parties were represented by Jeff Brown of Tahoe Mountain Realty, who declined to comment on the deal. 

The median home price in Incline Village was $1.595 million as of December, a fall of 3.3% from a year earlier, according to data from Realtor.com. Listings, meanwhile, spent an average of 130 days on the market. 



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