Nevada

Sept. 12, 1885: Morrill Hall construction begins (in Reno, not Carson City)

Published

4 months ago

September 12, 2025

Sept. 12, 1885: Morrill Hall construction begins (in Reno, not Carson City)

The cornerstone of Morrill Hall, the first building on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, was laid on Sept. 12, 1885.

The original plans called for a two-story building at the cost of no more than $20,000 (about $700,000 in today’s dollars). When the three-story Morrill Hall was completed in 1886, it came in under budget at $13,500 (about $480,000 today).

At the time, it housed the entire university — classrooms, offices, library and all. It’s still standing, serving as the home of UNR’s development and alumni relations department.

But if one vote had flipped in the Nevada Legislature in 1885, the university instead would have moved to Carson City.

And it was a Carson City senator that cast the deciding vote not to move the campus to the state capital.

University of Nevada’s 11-year Elko experiment

By all accounts, the state university at Elko was a disaster.

The school, known then as Nevada State University, began instruction Oct. 12, 1874, with a class of seven students inside a brand-new brick building in Elko.

There were only 40,000 people in all of Nevada in 1874, mainly clustered in mining towns with questionable futures. There were only about 50 schoolhouses in the state; 15 were rented and eight were classed by the superintendent of public instruction as unfit for use. Carson City and Virginia City had the only high schools.

Elko was chosen as the site for the new school because it made the most attractive offer to the state Legislature in 1873, agreeing to provide and furnish the building.

For four years, Nevada had a one-man university. D.R. Sessions, a native of South Carolina and a scholar in Greek, Latin and modern literatures, was the faculty and staff of the institution. This talented educator, who was later to be superintendent of public instruction for the state, taught a wide variety of preparatory courses to a handful of students.

The remote location proved to be too great a challenge, and the Elko campus closed on July 15, 1885, with a class of 15 students.

Carson City opts for prison over university

By 1883, Nevada politicians already were pushing to move the university to the more populated western side of the state, and funding to the Elko campus was reduced during the Legislature’s 1883 session.

It was during the next session that legislators pushed to resolve the issue. On Feb. 19, 1885, a pair of dueling bills were introduced — one to move the campus to Reno, and another to move it to Carson City.

The other political football that session: the location of the state prison, which meant funding and jobs.

Carson City Senator Hub Parker voted against the university-to-Carson bill, allowing the university-to-Reno bill to pass a few days later. In doing so, Parker picked up some key votes to keep the state prison in Carson City, its home since 1862.

“Senator Parker made a gallant fight yesterday for the State Prison and kept Reno from pouncing on it,” the Carson Appeal editorialized on March 1. “By voting against the removal of the University from Elko to Carson, he gained five votes to keep the State Prison here, and it was a good trade.”

Requirements for admission, 1874

The enrollment at the Elko campus may have been light, but the academics were rigorous. The Nevada State Journal’s Oct. 10, 1874 edition published the admission requirements. Among them: knowledge of English language syntax, and thorough familiarity of intermediate geography. (There were only 37 states. How hard could it be?)

Admission also required expertise in Swinton’s Condensed History of the United States and Eaton’s arithmetic texts from the 1870s. Would you be able to gain admission to Nevada State University in 1874, using these actual study questions from the texts?

Brett McGinness is the engagement editor for the Reno Gazette Journal. He’s also the writer of The Reno Memo — a free newsletter about news in the Biggest Little City. Subscribe to the newsletter right here. Consider supporting the Reno Gazette Journal, too.

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Nevada

Nevada City community rebuilds house for widow 1 year after fire

Published

7 hours ago

January 14, 2026

Press Room

Nevada City community rebuilds house for widow 1 year after fire

Lori Wisniewski lost her Nevada City home in a fire last year and has been living in a 150-square-foot tiny home while she waits for her house to be rebuilt.

It’s being rebuilt at little to no cost to her, thanks to her community stepping up to help.

“I had to jump off the deck, and I thought the dogs would be coming out too, and they didn’t, so that’s very sad,” she said, recounting the day of the fire on January 27, 2025.

Wisniewski lost her pets and home after an accident with her wood-burning stove. She says she wasn’t sure how to move forward without proper insurance and navigating the process without her husband, who died from cancer.

“In First James, it talks about serving widows and orphans as being true religion. So when I saw Lori’s story come across my path, I knew that was an opportunity to put my money where my mouth is with my faith,” said Matthew Sutherlin, CEO of Green Bee Construction.

Sutherlin is spearheading the rebuild of Wisniewski’s home with the help of donated time, labor and materials from other local tradespeople and businesses.

“Who am I to have a designer? And part of me, too, is when I have to choose everything, I always try to go for the least expensive item or tile or front door,” she said.

“Everybody has been shaving things off and donating things and getting reduced costs all the way across the board. That’s what has made it possible for this project to have worked,” said Sutherlin.

It’s been all hands on deck during the last year.

Wisniewski was excited to show us the inside of the house and what’s to come. As a former post-surgical nurse, she even decided an accessible room would be a nice touch for friends or anyone who lent a hand.

“If somebody has to recover or needs a few days to get around after a surgery, they can come and stay in here,” she said.

The builders say the weather has been posing a challenge, especially coupled with hazardous materials leftover from the fire. But they’re getting through it together.

“Every person has stepped up to offer their help. The timing with all the different processes has worked out in our favor. I really believe the whole thing has a blessing on it, really,” said Sutherlin.

Builders expect to be finished with the house in late spring or early summer.

“This community, a lot of them have seen your reports. At Grocery Outlet, ‘oh, you’re the one whose house burned down,’ and I always go into the most important thing about this is what people from the community are doing for this purpose or cause. I sometimes wonder why me? Why am I getting this opportunity? So that’s where I am today,” said Wisniewski.

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Nevada

LIVE: Nevada Attorney General shares status of lawsuits against Trump administration

Published

19 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

LIVE: Nevada Attorney General shares status of lawsuits against Trump administration

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is set to hold a press conference to discuss the status of multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Officials say the address will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The conference will cover both the financial and nonfinancial wins regarding claims that the Trump administration has “practiced destructive overreach.”

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Nevada

Monday’s high school scores, top performances

Published

1 day ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

Top performances

Boys basketball

■ Mekhi Carter, Canyon Springs: The sophomore collected 17 points, five assists and two steals while leading the Pioneers to a 63-49 win over Tech.

■ Gian Haddock, Desert Oasis: The senior scored 23 points as the Diamondbacks outlasted Silverado for a 70-68 triple-overtime win.

■ Rylan Hearns, Arbor View: The senior finished with 28 points in the Aggies’ 71-55 win over Foothill.

■ Uzo Nwapa, The Meadows: The junior scored 18 points to help the Mustangs hold off Shadow Ridge for a 57-54 victory.

■ David Quesada, Cimarron-Memorial: The sophomore racked up 28 points and eight rebounds to lead the Spartans past Del Sol 84-49.

Girls basketball

■ Samantha Chesnut, Liberty: The senior led a balanced attack with 11 points as the Patriots rolled past Las Vegas 68-14.

■ Greta Piepkorn, Rancho: The sophomore collected 12 points and five steals while leading the Rams to a 42-34 win over Green Valley.

■ Bella Robinson, Coral Academy: The senior finished with 29 points, 14 rebounds, 13 steals and six assists in the Falcons’ 59-20 victory over Eldorado.

■ Sabrina Stewart, Del Sol: The sophomore scored 27 points and the Dragons rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Canyon Springs 62-58.

■ Nation Williams, Centennial: The senior posted 16 points in the Bulldogs’ 76-24 victory over Faith Lutheran.

Flag football

■ Amaya Mackey, Legacy: The sophomore had three interceptions to help the Longhorns secure a 19-6 victory over Moapa Valley.

■ Manahere Peters, Sloan Canyon: The junior caught 10 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns in the Pirates’ 41-24 loss to Bishop Gorman.

■ Charli Taylor, Liberty: The freshman completed 23 of 48 passes for 384 yards and four TDs to lead the Patriots beat Green Valley 35-6.

Scores

Boys basketball

Arbor View 71, Foothill 55

Canyon Springs 63, Tech 49

Cimarron-Memorial 84, Del Sol 49

Desert Oasis 70, Silverado 68 (3OT)

Laughlin 72, Liberty Baptist 52