The Daily Rundown - January 12th, 2026
💤 People in Washoe County who are living in their cars now have a safe place to park overnight. KRNV News 4 in Reno reports the county has launched a pilot program with the Our Place homeless shelter. The program runs through May 15 and offers six overnight parking spaces on a first-come, first-served basis at the Our Place campus in Sparks. Vehicles must be registered, insured and operable.
Participants must be at least 18 years old and provide proof of employment or school enrollment. Travis Sandefur, regional vice president of Northern Nevada for Volunteers of America, which operates the shelter, said the parking area is a safer alternative to street parking. While he said shelter placement is the preferred option, he added the program can serve as a first step toward connecting people with services.
💧 Hoover Dam is a step closer to receiving long-needed maintenance funding. The U.S. House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation Thursday that would allow the Bureau of Reclamation to access $50 million from an unused federal account, according to KSNV-TV. The bill, known as Help Hoover Dam, would fund operations, capital improvements and cleanup efforts at the dam. The measure now moves to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
🎞️ Despite lawmakers failing to pass a movie tax credit bill in Carson City last year, Nevada’s film industry still found ways to shine. Local director and writer JT Mollner saw the biggest success in 2025. He wrote the screen adaptation of Stephen King’s 1979 novella The Long Walk, which opened in nearly 3,000 theaters across North America last September. The film earned widespread critical acclaim and landed on the year-end top 10 list of local critic Josh Bell, a contributor to Desert Companion.
Las Vegas also had a major moment on the big screen through F1, the Brad Pitt Formula 1 film, which used real footage from the 2023 and 2024 races on the Strip. The movie grossed nearly $625 million worldwide. KNPR’s Mike Prevatt has the full story at KNPR.org.
✈️ Allegiant Airlines plans to expand its network of nonstop leisure flights through a proposed merger with Sun Country. The deal would combine the two airlines into a single company valued at about $2.6 billion, with Las Vegas serving as headquarters. Under the agreement, Allegiant would acquire Sun Country at an implied value of $18.89 per share — a nearly 20 percent premium over its recent closing price.
The merger would create a network of more than 650 routes, expanding Allegiant’s reach beyond its traditional domestic markets. Customers in small and mid-sized cities would gain access to 18 international destinations, including Central America, the Caribbean and Canada. The deal is expected to close later this year, pending federal approval.
⛰️ Just west of Nevada, the towering Sierra Nevada mountains tell stories of deep geologic time — and of survival. In recent decades, the region has faced increasing threats from wildfire, drought and invasive species, pressures intensified by climate change. To better understand those impacts, researchers from the University of California, Davis trekked to some of the highest peaks in the range.
Their focus was on high-altitude Jeffrey pine trees. Scientists say where those trees grow — and where they don’t — can reveal important clues about how a warming climate is reshaping mountain ecosystems. Hear the full story here.
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.
