The Final Word: Krysta Palmer

Spring 2024

Our conversation with Nevada-born Olympian Krysta Palmer,  who won the bronze medal in the 3-meter Women’s Springboard at the Olympic Games in 2020.

The Final Word: Mark Estee

Fall 2023

Chef, restaurateur, and community leader, Mark Estee has left a tasty mark on northern Nevada’s dining experience for more than 20 years. His company Reno Local Food Group has five restaurant brands and multiple locations around the Reno-Carson City area.

The Laxalt Brothers

Fall 2023

From adventurers and gunslingers to writers and thinkers, Nevada’s history was shaped by individuals witah grit and drive. Each issue, we look at one of these notable heroes from the past. Whether born or raised, these aren’t just Nevadans: they’re Legendary Nevadans. 

Legendary Nevadans: Helen Stewart

Summer 2023

On a quiet day in March 1926, businesses in Las Vegas shuttered their doors. Local schools closed and the federal post office was deserted. Most of the city’s residents were attending the funeral of Helen Jane Wiser Stewart. The homage paid to Stewart by the city she helped create would have surprised the unassuming woman. But the legacy of her strength, character, intelligence, and spirit was evident to all who knew her. 

The Final Word: Alicia Barber

The Final Word: Alicia Barber

Alicia Barber, Ph.D., is an award-winning writer, historian, and consultant. She is the author of “Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City.”

Thunderbird Lodge

Spring 2023

Thunderbird Lodge is a sight to behold. Even from the parking lot, visitors can’t help but snap photos of the manor nestled amid pine trees and car-sized boulders. The summer home of a Depression-era millionaire, Thunderbird Lodge is lavish and remote. It is also a place of many secrets that, when revealed, help paint a picture of the mysterious man who built it. 

Legendary Nevadans: Howard Hughes

Spring 2023

Who was Howard Hughes? He is remembered as the billionaire who spent much of his late life in near isolation. His demand for privacy is the stuff of legend. When he stayed in hotel rooms, adjacent rooms were also rented, and blankets were draped over all windows. Even employees rarely—if ever—saw him, and most communication was done by phone. 

But above all, Hughes was a shrewd capitalist. To best understand this, look no further than the four years he spent in Las Vegas.  

Sarah Winnemucca

Winter 2022-2023

Sarah Winnemucca was born around 1844, near what is today Lovelock. Her name at birth was Thocmetony, and she was a daughter of the leading family of the Kuyuidika-a—a band of the Paiute people.  

Within a year of her birth, Winnemucca’s grandfather encountered John C. Frémont—one of the area’s first white explorers—at what is now Pyramid Lake.

The Final Word: John Wright

Winter 2022-2023

Here’s our conversation with John Wright, western heritage artisan and the owner of J.M. Capriola Co. in Elko.

Don Newman

November – December 2018

Don Newman has been the head of the Elko Convention & Visitors Authority for 13 years, but will step down at the end of this year. Don’s contributions to the area are innumerable—from helping the Elko Convention Center become a reality to supporting the town’s growth at every step—and he will be sorely missed. He’s […]

Hudson Root

September – October 2018

Back in 2012, Hudson Root got a call from his grandmother. He was only 12, but he was already her tech guy, helping her with computer and cellphone problems. Hudson began helping some of his grandma’s friends and he started thinking about how many seniors hadn’t grown up with apps, laptops, or cellphones. Hudson—a recent […]

David Toll

September – October 2016

David Toll is synonymous with rural Nevada. His book “The Complete Nevada Traveler” is considered the one resource roadtrippers can’t live without when traveling Nevada’s back roads and small towns. Our Carrie Roussel recently spoke to David. DAVID TOLL Question: Where do you live? David Toll: I’ve lived in Gold Hill since 1958. As a […]

Notable Nevadan: Dawn Wells

May – June 2016

Dawn Wells is a Reno native and a national treasure. A former Miss Nevada, Dawn will forever live in our hearts as Mary Ann Summers—the Kansas farm girl from “Gilligan’s Island.” Dawn hasn’t slowed down since the show’s end, but she took a moment to talk with our Carrie Roussel about life before and after […]

Betty Snyder

March – April 2018

NOTABLE NEVADANS Betty Snyder was born in Manhattan in 1925, in a house that still stands today albeit looking a little different. Her life may seem ordinary, but the stories this Nevada native tells of living in some of central and northern Nevada’s most iconic towns are the stuff of legend. Her fierce love of the […]

Buck Weaver

January-February 2018

Buck Weaver Question: What is your connection to Nevada? Buck Weaver: I was born and raised in Fallon. I went into the service and then came back and ran the Nevada Youth Ranch with my wife. We cared for 32 boys there, and I met Paul Laxalt there. He heard about the boys ranch and […]

Notable Nevadan: Suni Chabrow

November – December 2017

Suni Chabrow has taken a cruel twist of fate and turned it into something sweet for others. Her son, Specialist Douglas. J. Green was killed in Afghanistan in 2011. Our Carrie Roussel recently talked with Suni about how she turned personal tragedy into a successful business and non-profit foundation that touches the lives of Nevadans […]

Mark Hall-Patton

September-October 2017

Mark Hall-Patton didn’t set out to become a celebrity, but thanks to his frequent appearances on TV’s “Pawn Stars,” he’s become just that. Mark is to southern Nevada history what Elvis was to music—an innovator with an enduring legacy. Mark talked to our Carrie Roussel recently about what life is like when the cameras stop […]

Maria Perry

July – August 2017

Known to many as Mama Maria, Maria Perry has created a culinary institution in Las Vegas. She and her husband, Al, opened their first restaurant in 1949 and she hasn’t slowed down since. She recently turned 100, and while playing host to such celebrities as Howard Hughes, Marlene Dietrich, and Sammy Davis Jr., Maria raised […]

Larry Friedman

March – April 2017

Larry Friedman spent more than 26 years at the Nevada Commission on Tourism, now TravelNevada. During his tenure, he developed the annual Rural Roundup conference; helped educate the industry through the Nevada Tourism University; assisted with the creation of Nevada’s National Scenic Byways; and expanded the rural grants program, resulting in special events and historic […]

John Ascuaga

January – February 2017

For 60 years, John Ascuaga could often be seen walking the casino floor of his namesake hotel-casino in Sparks. John Ascuaga’s Nugget became an anchor of the city, and one of its most fervent supporters. Our Carrie Roussel recently spoke to Mr. Ascuaga. JOHN ASCUAGA Question: Where were you born? Where do you live now? […]

Jonesing for Lake Tahoe

March – April 2013

Jones-ing for Lake Tahoe Successful brothers share a love of the outdoors and a talent for energizing corporations from a podium. By Matthew B. Brown Dewitt Jones and his younger brother Terry have, in many ways, conquered the world. In his younger years, Dewitt bypassed Harvard Business School to join an adventurous group that kayaked […]

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