The Daily Rundown: August 26, 2026
🚧 Since the Trump administration scaled down the size of two national monuments in Utah — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — more than half a dozen mining claims have been filed for those areas. Environmental groups say this could set a dangerous precedent.
The two national monuments together comprised over 3 million acres of land. The Trump administration scaled back the size of Bears Ears National Monument to less than 9% of its previous size, from 1.3 million acres to 121,000 acres. Grand Staircase-Escalante was reduced to less than 10% of its previous size, from 1.9 million acres to 181,000. Those reductions took place by executive order in July.
“These are two of the crown jewels of America’s system of federal public lands,” said Steve Bloch with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, which has been monitoring the status of these monuments.
SUWA has documented at least seven applications to mine the millions of acres that were previously part of the monuments. While the mining claims can’t technically be accepted until Sept. 11, Bloch believes the trajectory is clear. Hear the full story by the Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez here.
🏘️ A recent report says the Las Vegas metro area needs to build many more apartment units to become an affordable city for renters, even though rent rates appear to be falling.
According to reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 5,000 apartment units a year need to be built for decades for renters not to be considered rent-burdened. Rent-burdened means renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing.
A recent report by the National Multifamily Housing Council looked at the housing gap in major metro areas. The report estimates it would take more than a century for Las Vegas to address the housing and rental shortage. That’s if building continues at its current pace.
But another report from an apartment rental platform says rents are dropping across the valley. One-bedroom apartment rents dropped 18.8% in July year over year in areas at the north end of the Strip just to the east. This is the biggest drop in the valley.
The second-biggest decline was in North Las Vegas, at 14.5%. The Review-Journal also reports that the best place to get the most square footage for renters is in Spring Valley, where rental rates dropped 9.7%.
⛔ With so much construction happening on Charleston Boulevard because of the Charleston Storm Drain Project, the Las Vegas Arts District is making it easier for people to get into the area by posting driving instructions on its social media.
The post says, “Loop in via Oakey Blvd or Sahara Ave, then head north on Main Street, Casino Center Blvd or 4th Street straight into the District. Charleston Blvd itself stays open, too.”
Overnight paving will occur on Charleston Boulevard between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Main Street remains closed at Charleston until Sept. 4. Commerce Street is expected to close south of Charleston Boulevard in mid-September, but the exact date has not been confirmed yet.
🦩 The man alleged to have abused Peachy the flamingo of the Flamingo resort will not be able to return home to Canada before trial. The judge presiding over the case said yesterday that Mitchell Fairbarn, the accused, is a flight risk with no ties to the Las Vegas community.
As such, he is not allowed to leave the United States until tried. That’s according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He faces four counts of cruelty to animals. The Metropolitan Police Department says it has cell phone video of the abuse.
🗳️ Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says the state’s elections will continue to move forward as planned despite a Supreme Court ruling allowing President Trump to enforce restrictions on mail-in voting. KNPR’s Paul Boger reports.
An executive order President Trump signed in March aims to create a nationwide list of verified eligible voters and limit mail-in voting. The Supreme Court did not determine whether the order is legal. Instead, it cleared a lower court’s injunction blocking the administration from making plans to enforce it.
In a statement issued hours after the court’s decision, Secretary of State Aguilar called the ruling an “attempt to attack states’ constitutional right to run elections.” He then reiterated that with less than 70 days until the election, it’s unlikely the executive order will affect voting this November.
The election is Nov. 3. In-person early voting begins Oct. 17. The first mail-in ballots should arrive in mailboxes by late September.
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.
