In Las Vegas, giant, elaborate signs flash and blink at casinos. Las Vegas Boulevard is lined with vintage signs that remind drivers and pedestrians of bygone businesses. The city is home to The Neon Museum.

But it wasn’t always this way. For roughly the first 20 years of the city’s existence, there was no neon.

Neon signs came to Las Vegas in the late 1920s, according to Emily Fellmer, senior collections manager at The Neon Museum.

The Overland Hotel at the present site of Circa likely put up the first neon sign, Fellmer said.

“Las Vegas business houses are taking the initiative in installing ornamental electric signs,” a 1928 Las Vegas Age editorial said. “El Portal has a handsome one with moving lights and now the Overland Hotel has installed one of the attractive Neon signs in red and blue. They help to make the town attractive.”

Neon signs were enough of a novelty that when the Las Vegas Club on Fremont Street erected one in 1930 it made the Review-Journal’s front page.

UNLV history professor Michael Green said early neon signs in Las Vegas weren’t elaborate, but eventually, neon became central to the city’s identity and a tool hotels and casinos used to attract customers.

Fellmer said the element neon was discovered in the late 19th century and not used with glass tubes until the early 20th century. Neon light debuted in Paris in 1910, and the first neon sign was installed in Paris in 1912, she said.

Neon signs came to the United States in early 1920s, she said, and the first one was in San Francisco.

According to Fellmer, the oldest signs in the museum’s collection are a late 1930s Green Shack restaurant sign and a motel sign from 1940.

Once the Hoover Dam was completed, Las Vegas was able to expand its electrical grid, she said, and that probably helped drive an expansion of neon signs.

It was in the late 1940s and early 50s that neon became central to the city’s identity, she said. As neon signs disappeared around the country and some environmental groups opposed them, Las Vegas doubled down and built taller, more elaborate signs.

“Neon stood out and stands out,” Green said. “Las Vegas stood out and stands out.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.

Nevada elected officials and advocates raised alarms Tuesday following the Trump Administration’s pause on federal funding for grant, loan and federal financial assistance programs implicated by recent executive orders.

A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s push Tuesday afternoon, though some leaders worry the funding freezes on federal grants and funding will jeopardize services many Nevadans use — if the plan moves forward.

Trump Administration calls for funding pause

On Monday, President Donald Trump’s acting director of the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo requiring federal agencies to identify and review federal financial assistance programs, projects and activities “that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders” — citing specific orders, including ones on foreign aid, energy and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” the memo reads.

The memo said in the interim, federal agencies “must temporarily pause” all activities that might be implicated by the executive orders, “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the green new deal.”

Sowing confusion

Trump’s order, which was set to go into effect 2 p.m. Tuesday, was met with confusion across the country and in Nevada, where leaders worried about the status of funding for a variety of services with federal funds. Judge Loren AliKhan’s administrative stay pauses the freeze until Monday.

Related: AG Ford, other attorneys general sue over Trump administration funding pause

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, said Tuesday she heard from Nevadans worried about accessing Medicaid and VA benefits, as well as concerns about law enforcement funding, housing assistance, Meals on Wheels and Head Start, a program for early learning and development.

Nevada’s Democratic legislative leaders, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, said the freeze could impact Nevada’s state budget, as federal funding accounts for more than one-third of Nevada’s budget. It also funds services by local governments, the court system and local nonprofits.

“Trump’s funding freeze will cause massive confusion for Nevada families, delay delivery of vital services in health care and education, and could plunge our state budget into further chaos,” the legislative leaders said in the Tuesday morning statement.

Following the federal judge’s temporary block, Cannizzaro accused the Trump administration of reversing itself and saying the freeze doesn’t apply to as many programs vital to Nevadans. She called the judge’s decision a “temporary victory” and claimed Republicans in D.C. intend to target programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

The directive has already led to some questions from local education officials. The Clark County School District said it was seeking “further clarity on the language contained in the memo” from Trump’s budget office.

“Based on current information, we do not anticipate an immediate interruption to District programs and students’ services,” according to a Tuesday statement. “As we learn more about the impacts of this decision, we will inform our employees, families, and the community.”

Cannizzaro and Yeager urged Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office to demand answers from the federal government and to call on reversing the decision.

Governor’s office on the lookout

Lombardo’s office said it is in communication with the White House and will participate in a larger meeting with the Office of Management and Budget to discuss the potential impacts to state agencies.

The office highlighted those programs with direct benefits to Nevadans such as Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP and Head Start, will not see interruptions.

“Despite the shameless political theater on this issue, the Office of the Governor will continue to provide state agencies and Nevadans with timely, accurate and correct information,” the governor’s office said in the statement.

A spokesperson for Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada, said the office is engaged in ensuring scheduled payments like Medicaid and education programs are still flowing.

“We’re confident that they are, but that’s where the focus is right now,” Amodei Communications Director Carrie Kwarcinski, said in an email.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nevada, expressed concern that hospitals and health care providers will be forced to discontinue services, and federally funded infrastructure projects will halt. She also warned that people won’t get the food they need, and federal research into cancer treatment and cures will also pause, she said.

“All of this is just a fraction of what could be affected by Trump’s order,” Lee said. “It’s not just a presidential power grab – it’s plain wrong.”

National outlets reported Tuesday that states’ Medicaid payments were paused. A spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services said the agency was “reviewing funding sources and evaluating the potential impact of the federal grant and loan pause on programs,” but did not specify whether it still had access to funds.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com and McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah and @mckenna_ross_ on X.

Katie Futterman contributed to this report.

Plenty of gems throughout the Silver State await those who are willing to wander outside of the Las Vegas Valley.

In a list released this month, the Nevada Division of Tourism, also known as Travel Nevada, detailed 10 hand-picked experiences that its staff considers off-the-beaten-path outdoor adventures. Titled the “Top 10 ‘Out There’ Experiences,” it is sure to help Las Vegans discover new, outlying places.

For those with desert wanderlust — or who would enjoy a skydiving free fall with views of Hoover Dam at 120 mph — the list is fodder for bucket lists and exploration in the new year.

“Nevada’s public lands are home to some of the nation’s most diverse landscapes and exhilarating outdoor activities, and there’s something extraordinary waiting for everyone,” said Tracie Barnthouse, chief communications officer at Travel Nevada, in a statement. “Whether you’re chasing adrenaline or craving solitude, this list is a call to embrace the spirit of Nevada and ‘Get a Little Out There’.”

Heli-ski in the ‘Swiss Alps of Nevada’

Southern Nevadans may never have heard of the Ruby Mountains, near the city of Elko in northeastern Nevada. The snowy range, which was recently awarded 20-year federal protections against oil and gas exploration, is one of the state’s lesser-known untouched places.

National Geographic considers heli-skiing in the range one of its “Best American Adventures.”

In the rural town of Lamoille at the foothills, the Royer family owns the Ruby 360 Lodge — an idyllic home base for those looking to ride a helicopter up to the top of the mountain for skiing in the winter.

To book the aerial experience, Nevadans can go to helicopterskiing.com.

Skydiving near Hoover Dam

Standing on top of Hoover Dam conjures up a feeling of immensity felt in few other places in the world.

Millions of visitors make the trip each year to the dam located near Boulder City, but only a select handful can say they had the guts to jump out of a plane above it and fall at 120 mph.

Skydive Las Vegas, based out of the Boulder City Municipal Airport, boasts that it is has the only drop zone in the country with views of Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, the Colorado River and the golf courses of Boulder City. It also has views of the Las Vegas Strip, Mount Charleston, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Valley of Fire.

Information about pricing can be found at the company’s website.

Look up at the dark sky at Massacre Rim

To find the most impressive part of the state’s untouched landscapes, look up.

Massacre Rim Dark Sky Sanctuary in northwestern Nevada has been recognized as one of the darkest places on the planet by DarkSky International.

Located hours from hotels, electricity or paved roads, the experience is prime for backcountry exploring — and, of course, stargazing.

Hot springs, spooky town

Among the best-kept secrets of Nevada’s desert are its hot springs and its ghosts towns.

In an ideal one-two punch, the list recommends Gold Point, a ghost town in Esmeralda County where mining slowly died off at the start of World War II.

At its peak, the town had 125 houses, a post office, hotels, a store and saloons. It’s preserved today largely because of a Las Vegas jackpot earned by Herb Robbins, the man who bought most of the buildings alongside his partner Walt Kremin.

The town is a stone’s throw from Fish Lake Valley’s hot springs, a remote soak with views of the White Mountains.

Mine Nevada’s state gemstone

Nevada’s state gemstone, the Virgin Valley black fire opal, can only be found just south of the Oregon border and nowhere else in North America.

Rockhounding, as it’s called, is a popular outdoor activity in the Silver State, with many rare gems to be found across the Great Basin and Mojave Desert.

The Bonanza Opal Mines, Rainbow Ridge Opal Mine and the Royal Peacock Opal Mine all offer such an experience for those who relish in the rarity of gemstones.

World’s tallest outdoor climbing wall

Residents of the world’s biggest little city may be familiar with what claims to be the world’s tallest artificial climbing wall on the side of Reno’s Whitney Peak Hotel.

It reaches 164 feet, where climbers can see above the city’s downtown arch. Those seeking the thrill can find prices and information at basecampreno.com.

Mountain biking in Ely

The city of Ely, about 240 miles north of Las Vegas, features dozens of miles of trails that amount to a mountain biker’s paradise.

That includes Nevada’s only national park, Great Basin, as well as Ward Mountain Recreation Area and Cave Lake State Park. The relatively remote city is naturally stunning, home to 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine trees.

Zip line in Old Vegas

The Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas is known for its world-class performances, bars and dining experiences.

It’s also the location of the only travel adventure in the Las Vegas Valley to make the list: a zip line just below the attraction’s ceiling screen that launches riders off a 12-story tower. Riders can choose between a start point of 77 feet or 114 feet high.

Reservations are available at vegasexperience.com/slotzilla-zip-line/.

Be one with marine life at Lake Tahoe

Arguably one of the most well-known spots for recreation in Nevada, deep blue Lake Tahoe has plenty to see.

At South Lake Tahoe, Nevadans may be interested in see-through boats with Clearly Tahoe Kayak Tours. Several tour lengths are available to fit different paddling abilities.

To reserve a tour, go to clearlytahoe.com.

See ancient rock drawings

The final entry on the list is in Austin, about 325 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

So-called “petroglyphs,” or images carved into rocks, can be found throughout the state, including within the Las Vegas Valley. However, the ones in Toquima Cave are unique, largely because they are pictograph drawings rather than carvings.

The bright red, yellow, black and white colors of the pictographs at the Western Shoshone heritage site have allowed the drawings to withstand the test of time.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.