Congress Created a Federal Land-Sale Boundary Around Las Vegas on Oct. 19, 1998. The City Just Bought 940 Acres Inside It for 6,000 Homes.

The federal government finalized a $94 million land sale to the City of Las Vegas on Sept. 10, 2026 — land that was on the market at all only because of a boundary Congress drew around the valley in 1998. Twenty-eight years later, that boundary is still deciding where Las Vegas can grow, and how… Continue reading Congress Created a Federal Land-Sale Boundary Around Las Vegas on Oct. 19, 1998. The City Just Bought 940 Acres Inside It for 6,000 Homes.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority Formed by Cooperative Agreement on July 25, 1991. Washington Finalized Its Next Colorado River Rules in August 2026.

Seven local water agencies dissolved their separate authority over the Las Vegas Valley’s water supply in 1991 so Nevada could negotiate the Colorado River with one voice. That voice spent 2026 fighting Washington over how much water it still gets. The Southern Nevada Water Authority became a political subdivision of the State of Nevada on… Continue reading The Southern Nevada Water Authority Formed by Cooperative Agreement on July 25, 1991. Washington Finalized Its Next Colorado River Rules in August 2026.

The Dunes Opened on the Strip in 1955. Its 1993 Implosion Became Las Vegas’s Blueprint for Starting Over.

Bally’s Corporation imploded the Tropicana on Oct. 9, 2024, clearing 917,400 square feet of Strip casino floor for a Major League Baseball stadium and a new resort. The same demolition method cleared a different aging resort on the same Strip 31 years earlier, and Las Vegas has been financing its next generation of casinos by… Continue reading The Dunes Opened on the Strip in 1955. Its 1993 Implosion Became Las Vegas’s Blueprint for Starting Over.

Nevada Began Paying to Remove Grass in 1999. Starting in 2027, State Law Will Require It on Non-Residential Land.

Nevada’s slice of the Colorado River is already shrinking under federal shortage declarations, and starting Jan. 1, 2027, state law will bar many Las Vegas Valley properties from using any of that water on grass that nobody walks on, sits on or plays on. The Southern Nevada Water Authority launched its Water Smart Landscapes rebate… Continue reading Nevada Began Paying to Remove Grass in 1999. Starting in 2027, State Law Will Require It on Non-Residential Land.

Chief Tecopa Led the Pahrump Valley’s Southern Paiute Band Through Nevada’s Settlement Era. No Recognized Tribe Holds Land There Today.

A Southern Paiute band lived in and around the Pahrump Valley for thousands of years before Nevada’s mining boom reached it, led through the era of white settlement by a chief who chose diplomacy over resistance. More than a century later, no federally recognized tribal government holds land in the valley he called home. Southern… Continue reading Chief Tecopa Led the Pahrump Valley’s Southern Paiute Band Through Nevada’s Settlement Era. No Recognized Tribe Holds Land There Today.

Nevada Licensed Steve Wynn to Run the Golden Nugget at 31. Fifty Years On, Regulators Are Still Closing the File on His Career.

Nevada built its casino-licensing system to vet organized crime out of gambling one owner at a time. Steve Wynn passed through that system as a young operator, then used the state’s later shift toward Wall Street financing to build the Strip’s first modern megaresort. Fifty years after he took over his first casino, state regulators… Continue reading Nevada Licensed Steve Wynn to Run the Golden Nugget at 31. Fifty Years On, Regulators Are Still Closing the File on His Career.

The U.S. Sued Over Truckee River Water Rights in 1913 on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe’s Behalf. A Final Decree Didn’t Come for 31 Years.

Reno, Sparks and the farms of the Lahontan Valley still divide Truckee River water today under an operating agreement signed in 2008 and a court decree that dates to 1944 — the end point of a fight over the river that the federal government first took to court in 1913, on behalf of the Pyramid… Continue reading The U.S. Sued Over Truckee River Water Rights in 1913 on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe’s Behalf. A Final Decree Didn’t Come for 31 Years.

Hoover Dam’s Construction Workers Walked Off the Job in August 1931. The Government Deputized Marshals to Keep Six Companies Building.

Nevada’s construction workforce today can organize, strike and sue under federal labor law. None of that existed for the roughly 21,000 people who built Hoover Dam under a private contractor’s total control of their jobs, their housing and their town. When Six Companies’ workers walked off the job in August 1931, the federal government’s response… Continue reading Hoover Dam’s Construction Workers Walked Off the Job in August 1931. The Government Deputized Marshals to Keep Six Companies Building.