Nevada
Nearly 12% of Nevada's student loan holders in default as federal collection efforts restart
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nearly 5 million people across the country have not made payments on their student loans for nearly a year (360 days), according to the U.S. Department of Education.
But starting May 5, the department will begin collecting money from those who have defaulted, the department announced last Monday.
WATCH | What the federal collection efforts will mean for Nevadans
Nearly 12% of Nevada’s student loan holders in default as federal collection efforts restart
The mandatory collections come after a five-year pause sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bethel Kifle, a second-year mechanical engineering student at UNLV, has only taken out one student loan so far.
“I was taking summer classes and since I couldn’t use the fall scholarship yet, I just took out a loan, so I don’t have to use my personal money cause again, I need it for — to pay other stuff like bills and stuff. The loan helped me get through that summer without being zero dollars in my banking account,” Kifle said.
Even though she won’t be required to pay the loan back until after graduation, Kifle already has a plan in place.
“The big scholarship I had, I ended up getting like $9,000 refund, so I saved that money just so I can use to pay back the loan that I took out,” Kifle said.
But not everyone is as prepared. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 42.7 million borrowers have more than $1.6 trillion in student debt.
Roughly $12.4 billion of that money is owed by Nevada borrowers, according to the Education Data Initiative. Nearly 12% of them are in default.
“If you take out a loan, you have to pay it back, it’s very simple,” said Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary.
While no loans have been sent to collections since 2020, Trump administration officials announced that will no longer be the case. They say people who don’t make a repayment plan by the May 5 deadline could face involuntary collections.
WATCH | Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department says
Student loans in default to be referred to debt collection, Education Department says
“The government can and will collect defaulted federal student loans debt by withholding money from borrowers, tax refunds, federal pensions and even their wages,” Leavitt said.
Kifle’s recommendation for her fellow students is to keep applying for scholarships.
“Every semester, I’m still applying to scholarships. Loans should be the very last resort,” Kifle said.
All borrowers in default will receive email communications from Federal Student Aid (FSA) over the next two weeks making them aware of these developments and urging them to contact the Default Resolution Group to make a monthly payment, enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, or sign up for loan rehabilitation.
Detailed information to help borrowers get out of default is also available at StudentAid.gov/end-default.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Gov. Sisolak, health officials urge those who can help to join Battle Born Medical Corps
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak along with the state health officials urged Nevadas to those who can help to join Battle Born Medical Corps. Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and the Nevada Health Response Center joined to call on health care providers and health care administrations to assist in the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response. Gov.
Reno plan targets vacant downtown stores
Reno launches pilot program to lease vacant downtown storefronts and sublet to small businesses. Program is expected to launch in fall 2026.
There’s a debate over on Reddit right now about how dogs should be kept on leashes around town, on trails, or anywhere in public that’s not a dog park.
I should clarify: When I say “debate,” I mean that several users have created posts about how dogs should be kept on leashes, and almost every response is 100% in agreement.
Go ahead and look at the posts; nobody’s putting together a spirited defense of letting their pets run around licking strangers and pooping on nature. With that kind of general consensus, I’d want to say that leashing our dogs is one of Reno-Sparks’ “unwritten rules.”
Except for two things: One, this rule is very much written (see Chapter 95.220 of the Washoe County Code: “Owners must have animals leashed no more than 6 feet in length and under immediate control at all times.”)
And also: The phrase “unwritten rules” implies that everyone goes along with it without even thinking. But we’ve all interacted with dog owners on local trails, letting their giant furballs knock over toddlers or chase goslings through the wetlands.
“Aw, he’s just a big puppy!” they’ll say, followed up with a halfhearted, “Down, Barnaby.”
Clearly, leashing dogs is not an unwritten rule because it’s constantly being broken. A true unwritten rule for hiking trails would be something that rarely ever gets broken, like “wear pants at all times.” Really, the leash thing is more like a wish list for society, alongside such things as:
- Don’t mow before 8 a.m.
- Signal your turns and lane changes.
- Merge when you see a lane closure ahead, not at the last minute. (Yes, make all your arguments about how last-minute merging saves space. It all amounts to “I’m going to cut ahead of everyone else and pretend that it’s for the greater good.”)
- If you’re driving a large vehicle, park at the far end of the lot.
- Several more things about driving, actually.
But let’s move on. I’ve been wracking my brain to think of actual “unwritten rules” for Northern Nevada that outsiders might not grasp right away, and I didn’t come up with many. But here goes:
It’s not rude to keep your favorite spots a secret, even from friends and family: Got a favorite local park or Lake Tahoe beach? You’re not even required to tell your own mother about it, because word will get out and everything will be ruined. We value our personal space, and the community is too small to keep anything under wraps.
Side note: You can’t do this with businesses, because you need your burrito spot to stay crowded and busy. If nobody goes to your secret hot springs, it’s not going to suddenly go out of business and turn into a vape shop.
On Tahoe beaches, you can claim one beach towel’s worth of space per person, and that’s it: If word gets out about your favorite beach, you’ll have to start your day battling for a parking spot (bonus unwritten rule: You can’t reserve a parking spot by standing in it.)
The slightly less annoying ― but still difficult ― territory battle will be on the beach itself. Everyone but you will have a pop-up tent, several coolers and some sort of sound system. But societal convention dictates that any group can only claim the square footage of one beach towel per person, and leave ample space to walk between their beach site and the next one over.
Twenty minutes is a long drive in Reno-Sparks, but four hours is completely reasonable if you’re heading out of town: Recent transplants from more urban places like the Bay Area or Las Vegas will drive for 45 minutes to get to the one Target they like best. Around here, that sounds like hell.
On the other hand, driving for several hours to go see ichthyosaur skeletons or attend a Basque festival or go to a Giants game is completely reasonable. I can’t explain why this is. It might have something to do with hatred of stoplights.
Settle in a bit before complaining about outsiders: Yes, we know you just got here, and you want to prove your worthiness by complaining about Californians or Southern Nevadans, because that’s our local sport.
On average, we’re not nearly as closed off as people say; only about one-quarter of Nevadans were actually born here, so most of us know what it’s like to be the new kid. But at least wait until you’ve unloaded the last box from your U-Haul before you start griping about how new arrivals are pricing everyone out.
You, on the other hand ― you, the person reading this article right now! ― know a lot more unwritten rules for Northern Nevada. Either that, or you have ideas on what should be unwritten rules. Send them my way at bmcginness@rgj.com, and we’ll debate all of them next week.
Guys, we’re bringing back Shopko
What lost places in Reno-Sparks should we bring back? That’s the question I posed last week; here’s what you said:
Let’s start with department store ShopKo, which had the highly underrated slogan, “Say hello to a good buy.” We had three ― on South Virginia, Mae Anne and Oddie Boulevard. Lauri Ferguson wrote in to compliment the selection, and noted “their products lasted too.” Sadly, the entire chain disappeared nearly a decade ago, so bringing them back might be the heaviest lift ever.
“Bring back Famous Murphy’s,” wrote E. Pollard. “Can’t believe it ever closed and was then bulldozed and has been an empty dirt lot for more than 25 years.”
For the record, it’s actually been 18 years since it closed and 11 years since it was bulldozed, but the point stands.
“The purpose of the demolition is to make way for a new development being planned at this site,” developers told the RGJ in 2015. Anyway, it’s still an empty lot.
And finally, I had lamented over the lost Century Theaters dome on South Virginia, but Kurt Kinder mentioned one even more venerable, but equally lost: the Granada Theater, which originally opened in 1916, burned down in 1953 and reopened in 1954. It was torn down in 1997 and is now the site of the Palladio.
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.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada veterans who say they were exposed to radiation and toxic chemicals at the Nevada Test and Training Range are one step closer to getting recognized and help.
Senator Jacky Rosen and Congresswoman Susie Lee are introducing an updated “Forgotten Veterans Act,” now renamed the Sergeant Dave Crete Forgotten Veterans Act, to force the Defense Department to document contamination on the range and identify every service member who served there.
Veterans say years of classified work have kept them from proving their exposure and getting VA benefits, even as they deal with cancer and other serious illnesses.
Under the bill, the Pentagon would have to formally list the range as contaminated, unmask where veterans served the VA, and clear up a path for them and their families to qualify for care and compensation.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
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