Our Town Reno

Ever wonder what funk band Honey Plant gets up to behind the scenes? Lauren Juillerat and her media team with Biggest Little Bands caught up with the local group, Robin Low (vocals and bass), Noah Jeffery (saxophone), Matthew Nist (drums) and Sam Putney (guitar, synths, vocals) to chat about fun traditions, their practice spot, and how they define their sound.

Reporter and local concertgoer Kade Collins highlights some great local bands, including Charity Kiss, Worm Shot, In the Works? and Pissmixer, shares a few personal anecdotes about the local scene, and gives an assessment of Reno's place in the greater west coast music scene.

Luke Hill is a born-and-raised Renoite, a waiter at a local sushi restaurant, and a musician with the band Kings Row.  In his bedroom, under a make-shift tent made from his comforter, he chats with Kade Collins about what it's been like growing up in Reno and nearby suburbia through many economic shifts, including the current population and gentrifying development boom, how he barely avoids committing arson, his favorite areas of Reno, and Kings Row house concerts. 

Our special episode reporters Lexi and and Jadee interview local Bollywood dance intructor Chhavi Bhalla about her experiences teaching Bollywood dancing in south Reno, her passion for this evolving dance scene and future projects to keep it growing.

Lexi Waisanen and Alysha Cancino interview Richie Bednarski about his experiences cycling in Reno as a green commuter and what he thinks could be better. Bednarski also explains the multitude of cycling communities in Reno that he is a part of and why he loves cycling in Reno. The photographer and filmmaker is also working on a project documenting the rich history of cycling and bicycle culture in the 775.

Hosts Derek Raridon and Dominic Gutierrez talk with local northern Nevada artists Hosway Valadaze, Chris Kepley and Doomed Movement about their current projects giving back to the community, their ongoing collaboration with the O'Brien Middle School art program and other trends in the Reno art scene.

In this Our Town Reno episode, reporter Lauren Juillerat interviews a local Reno band, Faded Shawties, on their experience and perspectives on the local music scene. Nico, Eduardo and Daniel share their opinions on lighthearted topics such as their favorite foods to eat before a show, to more serious topics concerning the recent cancel culture in the Reno scene, as well as their mission as a band to be welcoming and more inclusive to communities around the Biggest Little City.

In this Our Town Reno episode, our music reporter Lauren Juillerat hosts Reno photographer and videographer Jake Erwin on his experience in the local music scene. Jake only started pursuing photography and videography in 2021 and rapidly learned new skills that helped him gain new opportunities in northern Nevada. Success this early on in a photographer's career is rare. Jake shares his advice on how to be successful in this creative field as well as his back story. Listen in for an inspiring tale, essential tips and tricks, and guidance when it comes to thriving in photography and making music videos.

A resident of Curti Ranch, now in Ward 6, since 2005, a mom who battled to get one of her son's to overcome childhood leukemia, and a professional in marketing for decades, Brandi Anderson wants south Reno to no longer be overlooked in terms of parks and recreation, public safety, and solutions-based infrastructure. Listen to her interview as she begins her campaign for a seat on Reno's City Council.

Before his mother passed away at the end of 2022, Michaelangelo Aranda remembers she used to call him “Mayor Michael.” His father, who is currently struggling with health challenges, set the bar even higher. “When I had shared with him that I'm running for city council,” Aranda says, he told him he hopes to stay alive to see him as president. “I don't know if I will career that far,” Aranda told Our Town Reno during a recent podcast interview. For now he's one of many candidates for our city's new Ward 6, with a campaign website extolling “Reno Born Reno Ready.” Listen to Aranda make his case for his campaign by listening to this episode which is part of our political series on 2024 northern Nevada candidates.

Heather Goulding, running for District 27 of the Nevada State Assembly, rides bikes whenever and wherever she can, including on her commutes, and with big tires, she handles all weather and steep inclines. Goulding, currently a senior project manager in utility energy efficiency programs, is bringing that can do spirit to her campaign to become a representative for a district encompassing portions of the North Valleys including Panther Valley and Sun Valley. Listen to her reasons for running in our latest in a series of political episodes ahead of 2024 voting.

With two fourth place finishes in previous citywide mayoral elections, William Mantle, a raw data person who likes to ask questions, is now running for Ward 6, the new ward in South Reno with about 40,000 residents, high home prices, wild horses and plenty of new multi-unit apartment complexes. Listen to his interview as part of an Our Town Reno podcast 2024 local election series.

Erica Roth, a civil rights attorney now running for Nevada Assembly seat District 24, traces back her willingness to serve in elected office to help she gave as a public defender to a now incarcerated man. Listen to her make her case as part of our series of episodes looking ahead to 2024 elections.

Sparks-based Nevada Forward Party chair Cesar Marquez explains how he went from Tesla employee to operative for the Andrew Yang led Forward Party in the Silver State, as well as strategies for the 2024 election, including a final push for ranked choice voting and open primaries to pass.

It's the end of an era here, the end of our weeklies, we've consistently produced over the past two years for podcast platforms and for KWNK. We've interviewed people struggling on the streets and volunteers who do good to help them out, as well as movers and shakers, artists and illuminaries of our community, radical thinkers, doers and promoters. As we've gone independent, we no longer have the reporter bandwidth to be able to produce one episode every week. Going forward we will have occasional episodes. We are thinking of new types of interviews such as reporter's notebooks with prominent journalists in the community, looking into cold cases or having audio mini documentaries as we once did at our beginnings. Thank you for being faithful listeners and keep us in your subscription as pretty soon a new episode here and there will pop up, not as a regular feature anymore but as an occasional bonus, to inform, to enlighten, to give sounds of our Reno, Our Town Reno, the biggest little streets, still rad, still getting better, growing, but in need of tlc, of vintage, of keeping public spaces public and of helping each other out. We will continue our regular postings on the BiggestLittleStreets Instagram which we are proud to say for a hyperlocal initiative has over 17k followers, on the Our Town Reno Facebook which has over 11k followers, on our Twitter/X, TikTok where one video got over 600 thousand views, on the Our Town Reno threads and Reddit where we need more followers to continue. We also have a weekly Our Town Reno Substack which you can get by email every week. If you'd like to contribute to this hyperlocal reporting endeavor you can subscribe via our Facebook for three dollars a month, via our Substack for whatever amount you choose with your credit card, and if you have Venmo via the ourtownreno account.

This is an archive episode of people of living on the streets in Reno, Nevada, with serious health challenges and how they cope as best they can. Marcus is nearly blind and has other complications due to albinism.Tex has been given a timeline to die from cancer. Ian suffers from mental health challenges.

While the yearly point in time count in late January establishes data for the locally unhoused, many avoid the process, preferring to live in the shadows, along the river or in their car and just try to survive, rather than going to a shelter or being counted as an unhoused person. That's why at Our Town Reno we find official numbers released by officials and repeated by media as unreliable. We will first hear from Paul from an archive interview with Michelle Baker and then from Kyle, who tries to protect himself and others living on the streets.

Clayton Posey interviews members of four promising up and coming Reno bands, Worm Shot, Aftrprty, Wyatt Ziegler and Frank Futility.

“Opening a door for someone and smiling could literally save their life,” local chaplain and single dad Chaz Blackburn, 34, says.   Blackburn knows what he's talking about, as in addition to being the Spiritual Care and Director of Volunteer Services at the Circle of Life Hospice, he helps with many other worthy organizations in town including in the teen suicide realm, with organizations such as Forever 14 and The Solace Tree among many.  He's also lost too many close people to suicide.  Blackburn describes his current work as being that of an “emotional spiritual paramedic,”  to support those in crisis and provide grief support. “A chaplain is a bridge to resources like a social worker and those different resources that a social worker would provide,” he explained during a recent podcast interview, in between taking calls and preparing community events. “We're a bridge to other people's faith. So no matter your faith or walk, we're not there to judge you or evangelize or push our beliefs. We're there to serve you wherever you're at… I'm here to support and love everybody and be that presence through those difficult times.”  

Reno is home to some extremely creative individuals and among those is the precocious Jack Barrington. A 20-year-old audio engineer and music producer who has been learning about sound for the last seven years. Host Lauren Juillerat interviews him more on how he acquired the skills he has today and how he utilizes them to elevate music in the Biggest Little City.

Reporter Heather Saxe interviews the founder of the Love and Mine Foundation Sarah Peterson. The Love and Mine Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide easier access to resources for victim-survivors of power based violence in the college aged demographic in the Reno community. 

After another night of sleeping on the street, Susan strolls into the downtown public library in Reno. She has only a few bags, and one of them is full of colorful crochets she's been working on. Susan has pretty hair— she dyed it red recently. Despite missing her teeth, she has a bright smile. Andrew Zuker and Ray Grosser find out more about her life in this Share Your Story episode from the Downtown Reno library.

Reporter Mia Wood sits down with Melissa Ung, the dedicated event coordinator for the Great Reno Balloon Race, to delve into the inner workings of this nonprofit organization and gain insights into the year-round planning efforts that make this spectacular event take flight every year in early September.

Reno is home to some of the most creative and inspiring musical individuals. From singers to musicians to audio engineers, all three components come together to form unique bands. Local venues showcase many talented acts ranging from all girl bands, to all boy bands, to a mix of both. Reporter Lauren Juillerat goes behind the scenes as she interviews a few up and coming Reno bands on their experiences in the scene: Worm Shot, Evangeline and Doolittle Ladybug.

Gaia Osborne looks back on her tenure with Our Town Reno, which included lots of reporting on non profits, and other documentary projects, such as delving into northern Nevada's ghost towns, as she finishes up a master's degree at the Reynolds School of Journalism, at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Our ace bilingual multicultural reporter Nancy Vazquez looks back on favorite stories for Our Town Reno while analyzing change in the Biggest Little City through a journalistic and social media lens.

Drugs, alcoholism and gambling are all addictions which run rampant across society. For the unhoused populations, these addictions can be especially crippling and difficult to surmount. In this archive episode we will hear from an unhoused neighbor who goes by the Greek who says he wants more out of life than being a drunk. We will also hear from Malik Muhammad who recently got caught with drugs and in the process also lost his car.

This is an archive episode listening to people surviving on our streets. We'll hear from Angela who came by foot from California and then was repeatedly robbed in Reno. Daniel says he was arrested for sitting. Bryan was evicted and he's becoming blind.

"Unfortunately, I had a fallout with a significant other who chose to go elsewhere, and she gave her heart to someone else. I wasn't doing well with the breakup. And, I started looking at the bottom of a bottle and turned around and she abandoned an apartment that we were both sharing for 13 years..." Listen to Alex share his story with Aimee Arellano of how he ended up on the streets of Reno.

“Miss” Mary, 69, says she was kicked out of the Cares Campus shelter in Reno, and that she currently has no ID or birth certificate. She sleeps by railroad tracks and she struggles with alcohol but says she's quit other drugs. She is trying to find a roommate, as she gets Social Security money, but not enough to cover housing expenses herself. The reporter for this episode is Aimee Arellano.

When COVID hit, many of us did a reset of our goals and priorities. Tyler Aguilar, 22, a Reed High School graduate, set his sights on becoming a traveling drone photographer and videographer. Several years later, he's put the building blocks in place, getting his FAA certification, starting to get paid for his photos and videos, getting to become an expert at drone photography and setting his sights on more aerial videography.

The Reno Housing Authority is about to celebrate 80 years of existence, trying as best it can to provide affordable, safe and accessible housing to members of our community. Our Town Reno recently went to RHA offices to interview new executive director Hilary Lopez about this new historical anniversary amid contemporary challenges.

“We basically fix their credit and if you have any collections, late payments or inquiries on your credit, we can help. There's a lot of identity theft going on right now in Reno,” says Angie Salcido, who offers services in both English and Spanish to customers who can get a free introductory visit at her offices on Kietzke Lane in south Reno. “The more you look at credit, the more you get different scenarios that you can help out with. And I love helping people and educating people.” The credit repair services industry is growing rapidly in the US and here in Reno, and for good reason. “If you have bad credit, you can't get an apartment, you can't get credit cards, you can't get auto loans, or anything like that,” Salcido, who has been at this for over ten years now, explained. Listen in as Angie Salcido gives many more tips on this episode about fixing your credit.

This episode was recorded inside Darcy Patterson's home where she keeps photos, souvenirs and mementoes related to her daughter Kirsten, who died of a drug overdose alone in her car in Idlewild Park in 2017 while she was in high school in Reno. This death spurred Patterson to be an advocate for opioid awareness. She now leads Wake up Nevada which has been distributing Narcan and Fentanyl test strips to the community.

Ben Iness, a local community coordinator with the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance which works for tenants recaps Nevada's recent frustrating legislative session and speaks to fights ahead, including why housing should be a universal right.

Conor McQuivey discusses the reasons and methodology behind his interview podcast focusing on Reno's movers and shakers, as well as his other activities in the Biggest Little City as a DJ Trivia host and toastmaster.

The Eddy House recently indicated it provided 1,390 bed nights in June 2023, which was 50% higher than bed nights provided in June last year. As the need grows in the community, with more local youth experiencing homelessness, the Eddy House has been expanding its services to help them. Jillian Keller, the Chief Operating Officer, recently gave us a tour of the front section of their location on Willow Street and detailed current expansion projects as well as challenges.

Since quitting his nine to five job, Nick Josten has been thriving in the local Reno film and theater scene in addition to his voicing work. He even found time to write a novel. In this episode, he discusses being a working artist living in a pricier Reno, and how the local film and theater scenes are evolving.

Neil Cavanagh is the co owner with his wife of Reno Roots Kava and Tea Bar ,a cozy place across from UNR with surf on the big screen and games on the tables. Only problem is the Washoe County Health district so far is not letting them sell what they were set up for, and that's kava as a tea. As a compromise they have kava supplements and lots more to offer but not kava as a tea. Health district officials say they can't make the call yet on whether kava tea is safe enough for local residents. In terms of food safety regulations, a line is crossed when a supplement is directly added to food and beverages and so far kava isn't on the Food and Drug Administration's Generally Recommended as Safe list.  Since it's in this grey area, local and state governments can make the call, but so far in Washoe County it's been a red light on kava tea. So where does the Reno Roots Kava and Tea bar go from here? Find out in this episode of the Our Town Reno podcast.

Celeste Talbott-Rivera, the owner of the new Ethaerial Studio on Virginia Street at the top of Midtown, a new local spot for pole fitness and exercise, discusses what it's like to be a young business owner, Reno and Midtown change and the value of pole dancing. 


Tyler Colton, the owner of the Emerson, a craft and cocktail destination in Midtown, discusses being an entrepreneur and bar owner, surviving the pandemic, the community of local business owners, medians in Midtown, drag brunch and bingo, expansion plans and more.  

Our guests this week are Evelyn Klatt and Matt Clark from the Reno Philharmonic. Evelyn will sell you on the value of classical music and they will both explain how the Reno Philharmonic is also much more than just that with two big shows right around the corner, to close their season 54 and open their season 55. They'll also give us some of the fascinating history which started the Reno Philharmonic and how it helps with music education in our school district.  


People we encounter on the streets often have complicated family histories. One family relationship can send them into a downward spiral. In this episode we'll look into fathers or more precisely their absence. From our archive interviews we will hear from Jody who says she is a millionaire's daughter now fending for herself on the streets. We'll also hear from JD who says he is from a broken family and that he's never recovered from his father's death.

As the Food Bank of Northern Nevada commemorates 40 years, its tag line this year is "Imagine Ending Hunger." Jocelyn Lantrip, its Director of Marketing and Communications, outlines ways to help and volunteers as well as current challenges for our community.

Comedian Sara Rooker steps into our studio to discuss the Reno comedy scene, tips for audiences, organizing big shows such as an upcoming June 10th Don't Tell Comedy secret show doubleheader, and why she has such a big heart for our community.

Jeff Bogue recently moved back with his parents, but is trying to fix up his van to live in it again, for more independence. He believes it should be allowed to sleep in your vehicle amid this affordable housing crisis. “The cops shouldn't always go after the homeless that are not causing problems and just because they're sleeping,” Bogue said. “[Sleeping] should not be a crime, in my opinion. For somebody who's extremely tired and doesn't have a place to go, they should have a little compassion.” Should there be safe parking spots in Reno and across the United States? Our archive episode also gives a platform to Erik, a recent widow who was acting as a watchdog for his houseless friends at Barbara Bennett Park. He told us he had been traveling for most of his life and that he moved half a year ago from California to Reno, where he's lived before. He was sleeping in his car, a 2001 Honda Accord.

Stephen George, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, David Lynch afficionado and filmmaker, talks to reporter Ariel Smith about the eccentricities of the local film scene, difficulties of promotion, and how he finds inspiration. Learn about the inner workings of a film set, the director's creative process and more on this week's episode.

Our reporter Vanessa Ribeiro speaks to coordinators and participants of a recent event at the Holland Project, bringing together the best in Reno's non profit and mutual aid communities.

Love and maintaining relationships always has challenges. What about if you are living on the streets? We'll hear from a couple Renee and Steven staying in love despite being unhoused. We'll also hear from Melissa whose husband had recently gotten out of jail, putting a strain on their life, and how to take care of their kids, sending them into separate shelters. Still they were staying together trying to figure it out.

Elaine Sargent – also known by her penname, E.M. Starr – is the author of Rhinestone Confidential, a memoir she wrote of her memories and experiences working behind the scenes in the showroom at Harrah's, Reno. Within the pages, Elaine recounts the golden days when Reno was a casino town full of late-night shows. She shares the juiciest moments and mishaps from backstage at Sammy's Showroom, Harrah's then-hot venue for cabarets and headliners where Elaine worked a wardrobe job. Our Town Reno reporter Gaia Osborne sat down with Elaine to talk about her time at Harrah's and experience authoring a book.

Reporter Ariel Smith interviews Lisa Martin the manager of The Melting Pot World Emporium in Reno, which brings burner culture year round to the Biggest Little City and much more. They discuss the importance of fair trade, sustainable fashion, and navigating selling smoking accessories after the legalization of marijuana in the state.