ELKO, Nev. (AP) — Gov. Brian Sandoval and political leaders on both sides of the aisle are mourning the loss this week of one of Nevada's longest-serving state legislators.
Sandoval said in a tweet Tuesday that Dean Rhoads was a "consummate Nevada statesman and a true gentleman" who will be missed.
A host of state Republican and Democratic leaders across the state also praised the Tuscarora rancher as a principled public servant.
Rhoads was 82. Details of his death weren't immediately available.
Rhoads served 34 years in the Nevada Senate and Assembly before concluding his final term in 2012.
Born in Tonasket, Washington in 1935, he operated a cattle ranch in Elko County before he was elected to the Assembly in 1976 and went on to become a leader of the Sagebrush Rebellion challenging federal authority on state and federal lands.