The Daily Rundown: November 5, 2026
🗳️ Democrats will control all four of Nevada’s congressional districts. That’s after Democrat Teresa Benitez-Thompson defeated Republican David Flippo for Northern Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District.
The win makes history in the district, where a Democrat has never been elected and President Trump won by 14 points in 2024.
Speaking to supporters in Washoe County on Nov. 3, Benitez-Thompson told KUNR Public Radio that the now Democrat-controlled Congress should focus on improving the lives of Nevadans.
“What the public wants is they want to see immediate impact in affordability, right? So most important, stop the trade wars. Absolutely, make sure that we are bringing prices down by stopping these silly trade wars with our allies around the world. Number two, addressing the war in Iran.”
Benitez-Thompson says that among her first tasks would be to stop tariffs and secure funding for rural maternal health care.
🏠 The Clark County Commission unanimously approved new rules to streamline short-term rental applications. That’s according to the Nevada Current. The update requires new applications be made by appointment rather than online.
Officials say the changes are in response to recent federal court decisions regarding local rental regulations. An initial ordinance passed in 2022 aimed at curbing corporate ownership of affordable housing.
However, that original licensing system is said to have caused an application backlog and triggered a federal court injunction. The appeals court later ordered a narrower injunction, prompting the county to establish in-person application requirements.
🪶 In 1996, Jeanette Allen, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, surveyed her tribe to see how many reservation members spoke the tribe’s ancestral language. She found 76 fluent speakers, with just one under the age of 50. Today, she estimates that there are fewer than 10 elders who can speak it.
“We’re at a critical point right now with the language,” she says.
It’s a problem that extends beyond the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reservation and goes all the way back to the residential school system. This year marks almost 30 years since the last federally run Indian boarding school closed in Canada; in the U.S., many such schools remain open but have changed hands into Native ownership. Closer to home, Nevada’s Stewart Indian School closed in 1980.
These schools had a pattern: The U.S. government took Native children from their homes to send them to militaristic, government-funded institutions. Advocates say it was an effort to punish Native children for not properly assimilating to an Anglo-American lifestyle.
The schools’ stated purpose was to “Kill the Indian, save the man.” This was what Richard Henry Pratt, a U.S. Army officer and the founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, said of one of the most infamous boarding schools in the U.S.
Abuse ran rampant; death was common. Survivors didn’t want their children to experience the unspeakable harm they faced, so many didn’t pass down their traditional ways of life — including their Native languages.
Read the full story by Jimmy Romo in the newest edition of Desert Companion, available now.
🏫 The Nevada Department of Education has named two winners of the Nevada Recognizing Inspiring School Employees, or RISE, Award. The awards program honors classified school employees who provide outstanding service to students.
The state selected Theresa Ortega, a transportation instructor in the Clark County School District, and Melanie Subia, a paraprofessional in the Washoe County School District, for the award.
These employees are nonteaching staff members and were among five finalists.
🎨 The Las Vegas Arts District will not be holding a First Friday event on November 6. The monthly event is temporarily paused following a tragic shooting last month. But the Fremont Street Experience will continue its 21-and-over event.
For the event, the city will close roads between Fremont Street and Casino Center Boulevard starting at 6 p.m. and will reopen them at 4 a.m.
The Vintage and Vinyl Outdoor Market is on Saturday and will impact traffic along Third Street from Ogden to Stewart Avenues. Road closures will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.
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.
