Credit unions are becoming an increasingly important source of loans for small businesses, a development that’s particularly welcome to credit union executives vexed by the need to put massive flows of new deposits to profitable use. At the middle of this year, small business loans at the 15 credit unions headquartered in Nevada stood at $640 million, a 63 percent increase from … [Read more...] about Credit Unions
Shovel ReadyBuoyed by Strong Prices, Mining Companies Battle Labor Shortage
All the jobless people in Eureka County last summer — all 30 of them, to be precise — scarcely would have filled more than a couple of rows of seats in the historic Eureka Opera House near the heart of Nevada’s great mining district. Tiny pools of available workers are commonplace across rural Nevada these days, and the tight labor markets create headaches for the mining … [Read more...] about Shovel Ready
Higher EducationA Cornerstone of Nevada’s Recovery
Nearly 20 years ago, economic development officials in Nevada wondered what the state could do to attract employers in the fast-growing biotechnology sector. Industry officials told them flat-out that Nevada simply didn’t have the skilled professional workforce to support biotechnology companies. Flash forward to this spring, when StemExpress announced plans to launch a … [Read more...] about Higher Education
Restarting TechnologyThe Future Flickers Into View
Faced with a bulky office computer, any technician worth their salt begins by telling the frustrated user to try turning the computer off, then back on again. But how will that strategy work when it’s the entire tech economy that’s turned off, then back on again, as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to wane? The screen is flickering to life, and while the picture of the … [Read more...] about Restarting Technology
Help Needed!Employment in Nevada
Something big is going to happen to employment in Nevada in September. No one is entirely certain what’s going to happen, and experts aren’t certain how it’s going to unfold. One thing everyone agrees on is that it’s going to be big. Why? September marks the end of supplemental unemployment benefits funded by the federal government as part of its pandemic-recovery packages, … [Read more...] about Help Needed!
Under ConstructionTransportation Projects are in the Pipeline
So much transportation-related construction will be underway in Nevada this year that one of the most closely watched initiatives is one that puts technology to use to reduce the frustrations faced by motorists stuck in construction delays. Several of the state’s most-traveled intersections — the Centennial Bowl and the Interstate 15 Tropicana Avenue interchange in Las Vegas, … [Read more...] about Under Construction
Long Road to RecoveryHealthcare Check-Up
Nevada’s doctors and hospitals battled gallantly to beat down one of their biggest threats ever throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as the pandemic begins to wane, the healthcare industry faces a major new headache: Digging itself out of the financial woes left in the wake of the battle against COVID-19. Administrators of big acute-care hospitals — the ones on the … [Read more...] about Long Road to Recovery
Education OutlookBig Issues and Hard Work for K-12
A whiteboard on the wall in the office of Dr. Kristen McNeill reminds visitors — and McNeill — to exercise patience and grace each day. The message is likely to be needed in coming months as schools around Nevada work through a multitude of issues to get on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, said McNeill, superintendent of the Washoe County School District (WCSD). “We’re … [Read more...] about Education Outlook
Post Pandemic DownsizeOffice Projects in Nevada
Tom van Betten, vice president of strategic partnerships for Matter Real Estate Group, worries about the problems he sees just over the horizon for the office-development market — problems that are directly linked to the uncertainties that have troubled the sector for the past year. Matter is the developer of the $400 million UnCommons mixed-use project in southwest Las … [Read more...] about Post Pandemic Downsize
Time & SpaceArchitectural Design Trends
Architecture may be all about space — the creation of spaces, the blending of the built environment with the natural environment — but it’s often about time, too. As Nevada’s architectural professionals look forward to the evolution of design trends in 2021, they see lots of indications that the dramatically changing times in which we find ourselves will shape the … [Read more...] about Time & Space
Daunting ChallengesMedical Education in Nevada
Learning that their state continues to provide far too few doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to serve its fast-growing population, Nevadans sometimes ask Debera Thomas why she doesn’t simply add more classes at the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno. If only it were so easy. Thomas, dean of the Orvis School, and her peers in medical … [Read more...] about Daunting Challenges
The Possibilities of Rural NevadaEconomics Before, During and After the Pandemic
According to the U.S. Census, places with populations greater than 2,500 and less than 50,000 are deemed rural. Based on information from the last Census, in 2010 Nevada ranked third in states that had the largest rural populations. Nevada’s rural population made up 5.8 percent of the whole. Rural Nevada often doesn’t get as much media attention as metro counties Clark and … [Read more...] about The Possibilities of Rural Nevada
Qualified Borrowers WantedCredit Unions Focus on Lending
Even the owner of the tiniest shop knows this feeling: The shelves are full of brand-new inventory, but buyers are slow to take advantage, even after some aggressive price-cutting. Credit unions across Nevada find themselves in a similar boat these days. Inventory, which for them is money available to loan, has been pouring into credit unions for the past six months as … [Read more...] about Qualified Borrowers Wanted
Architects & EngineersRebounds and Changes
Like roadsters cruising across the desert at 80-something mph, Nevada’s architectural and engineering firms slammed hard on the brakes when the COVID-19 pandemic threw up a roadblock last spring. Now that traffic is moving again, some lanes are moving faster than others. Business is recovering at most firms, but executives don’t expect a full recovery until … [Read more...] about Architects & Engineers
Commercial Builders in NevadaWeathering the Storm
Nevada’s commercial builders — the companies that build about everything except single-family houses — weathered the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in passably good shape. But, questions linger about how well the industry will fare if the state’s economy remains weak into the early days of next year. After some bumps during the worst of the pandemic’s early days, most … [Read more...] about Commercial Builders in Nevada