Silver State of Mind

The most recent show.

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

  1. 9:04Nevada Table

    The Fourth of July Party for Returning Soldiers That Never Stopped

    The Reno Rodeo started in 1919 as a two-day Fourth of July welcome-home party for soldiers back from World War I, built around a fake Old West town called Stingery Gulch. For decades, getting caught downtown without a cowboy hat during rodeo week meant a ride in a paddy wagon called the Black Mariah. It's missed only two years since, and it's still running.

  2. 9:18The One Percent

    The Lunch Lady Problem: Washoe Schools' $7 Million Food Fight

    Washoe County's school lunch company walked off its contract this fall, and the district says it left owing $7 million. This week the company's president fired back in public, calling the claim false, and the school board voted to bring back its old vendor starting January.

  3. 9:32Smart Start

    The River Path You Thought Was Public Has a Padlock, and the City Just Admitted It's Not Sure That's Legal

    A stretch of the Truckee River walkway downtown has had a locked gate on it since 2022. New records show city officials privately doubted whether that's even legal, and a fifty-year-old gap in the paperwork is the reason nobody can force it open.

  4. 9:46Smart Start

    The Hot Iron Still Beats the Paper Trail: How Nevada Proves Who Owns a Cow

    Nevada's first brand law dates to 1873, and the state still proves who owns a cow with a hot iron, a state Brand Book, and a handful of Agricultural Police Officers who can impound an animal if the brand doesn't check out. The registry doubles as a weird slice of Hollywood history: Bing Crosby, Jimmy Stewart, and Clara Bow all once ran brands up in Elko County.

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