The Daily Rundown - December 11, 2025
Essential workers can now get help purchasing a home from the Nevada Housing Division. The Worker Advantage Program unveiled Wednesday morning will provide $20,000 for a down payment to help 900 Nevada households achieve the dream of homeownership. Eligible professions include health care, education, public safety and construction, according to a press release. The $20,000 can be used toward the down payment and closing costs. Applicants must have lived in Nevada for at least six months, and household income is limited to up to 150% of the area median income.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was held out of practice Tuesday with a right shoulder injury, and there is a good chance that he will miss Sunday's game in Philadelphia. Coach Pete Carroll said that Kenny Pickett will get most of the first-team reps with Smith out and will be ready to go if he is needed, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. It would be his first start of the season. Smith was hurt during Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Broncos at Allegiant Stadium and missed the fourth quarter. The Raiders are 2-11.
Read more about the Raiders stumbles from KNPR's Paul Boger.
The City of Henderson says it is cracking down on leash law violations this month. They remind residents that all dogs must be leashed and under control while in public areas, although they can roam freely in designated fenced dog parks. Park Enforcement and Animal Protection Services will both be out looking for violations, they say, and will be checking that dogs are up to date on rabies vaccinations, licensing and sterilization.
One of the biggest attractions at Nevada's only national park is closed for a lighting upgrade, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Park officials say Lehman Caves, a marble cave system in Great Basin National Park, needs new lighting, with the current system nearly 50 years old and failing. Park staff and volunteers are removing 5 miles of old wiring, some of it going back to 1941. Contractors will install the new lights and add emergency phones, with the project estimated to cost $5.8 million. The caves should reopen next spring.
Read more about the Lehman Caves tour in Desert Companion.
The Nevada Homeland Security Commission has approved Gov. Joe Lombardo's request to create a fuel resiliency committee. The governor proposed the committee earlier this year as part of an effort to reduce fuel costs in the state. The new committee is tasked with assessing refinery and pipeline dependence, emergency planning and response, and diversifying the state's fuel-related infrastructure. Nevada relies heavily on fuel supplies from California. Lombardo's office says it has left the state vulnerable to regional and national disruptions. The committee is expected to hold its first meeting early next year.
Rural schools in Nevada are getting a financial boost, thanks to an overwhelming vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday. The House voted to reinstate the Secure Rural Schools Act, whose funding lapsed in 2023. The program, which the bill extends through 2027, would provide financial aid to rural public schools in more than 41 states, including Nevada, and Puerto Rico. It awaits President Donald Trump's signature.
Amid active negotiations, Health Services Coalition members rallied outside of Valley Hospital Tuesday night, demanding a fair health care contract. They're protesting what they claim are rising costs and price gouging by Valley Health System, which owns over half the total hospital beds in Las Vegas. Valley Health is a health care provider for the Health Services Coalition, which helps insure more than 300,000 union members and their families across Nevada.
KNPR's Anne Davis has the full story, available right here, on KNPR.org.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
