Nevada
Amodei puts Nevada public lands up for sale in late-night amendment
Rep. Mark Amodei led House Republicans in approving a reconciliation bill Monday that included a late-night amendment to sell off more than 93,000 acres of public lands in Nevada — much to the chagrin of environmentalists and congressional Democrats.
The House Natural Resources Committee approved a portion of the Republicans’ budget package with an amendment put forward by Amodei, R-Nev., and Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah., allowing the sale.
The amendment would allow the sale of 65,129 acres of public land in Clark County — an amount equivalent to 71 percent of the area of city of Las Vegas — 15,860 acres in Washoe County, 12,085 acres in Lyon County, as well as an unspecified amount of forest service land in Nevada, according to Amodei’s office.
It also authorizes the sale or exchange of approximately 356,100 acres in Pershing County that were previously identified for disposal by the Bureau of Land Managemen to be exchanged at a 1-to-1 ratio.
The amendment specifies that the land in Clark and Washoe will be used for affordable housing. The land in Lyon County will be sold to the city of Fernley and be developed as the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center II, according to Amodei’s office.
Amodei who represents Northern Nevada, wasn’t immediately available for a comment Wednesday afternoon.
Proceeds to D.C., not Nevada
Nevada’s House Democrats complained that under the amendment pushed through the Amodei, the proceeds from federal land sales would not go to Nevada as previously done and insteasd go to help cover the Trump administration’s proposed tax cuts.
“Nevada gets screwed. We don’t get any of that money,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., in a phone interview Wednesday.
Lands bills have been on the table for years with multiple iterations, but they’ve never been successful. Titus said Amodei’s version does not include conservation elements.
“For decades, federal law has ensured that proceeds from land sales in southern Nevada stay in Nevada,” Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., said in a statement. “Last night’s traitorous maneuver instead would send Nevada’s land proceeds to Washington to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”
Lee called Amodei’s proposal a “slap in the face to Nevadans” and pledged to fight it every step of the way.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., called the proposal “insane” and the “single biggest sell-offs of Nevada public lands in history.”
Cortez Masto and Lee had led the bipartisan Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, a years-long proposal to both help Clark County grow while also protecting acres for conservation. Cortez Masto said Amodei’s proposal ignores that longstanding effort.
Amodei’s amendment includes a savings clause to ensure that no proceeds deposited in the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act special account under previous lands sales are to be rescinded or redirected.
Tribes, environmentalists concerned
Native activists say the proposal targets Tribal homelands. The proposal targets the area near Nevada’s newest national monument, Avi Kwa Ame, as well as Gold Butte, and land that borders the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation.
“These are not excess acres,” said Taylor Patterson, executive director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, in a statement. “These are Native lands. And the people advancing this know exactly what they are doing. This is the same story our people have lived through for generations. Erase us, sell what is left, and pretend it was never ours. But it was. And it still is.”
Environmentalists said the move bypasses standard procedures when it comes to selling public lands and limits public participation.
Kyle Roerink, executive director of Great Basin Water Network, said land sales have to go through a time-consuming Resource Management Plan process under the Bureau of Land Management and requires environmental impact statements as well as public participation.
By turning the land sales into legislation, that process is done away with, Roerink argued.
“Go back and watch any hearing on SNEDCA (Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act) in Congress. You know what you won’t see? You will not see an opponent get any time at the microphone in Congress,” Roerink said.
Where would affordable housing be?
Titus said Amodei’s proposal doesn’t address water and infrastructure. The land included in the proposal is not the suburbs of Vegas, but in areas like Mesquite, Searchlight and Moapa. Infrastructure improvements for power, water, sewers and roads will be required to accommodate that growth, she said.
There’s no limitation on development related to capping development if water levels drop, Titus said, and there is nothing in the proposal requiring developers to contribute to the cost of infrastructure.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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