A blast goes off near the bottom of an open pit at Nevada Gold Mines’ Carlin Complex west of Elko on Sept. 26, 2013.
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 | 2 a.m.
•Second in a series
Nevada is a sprawling state with most of its people in two population centers. But beyond the reaches of Las Vegas and Reno is a land filled with attractions and history. Some of them, of course, might not be familiar to most Nevadans. The Sun has reached out to mayors and representatives of the Silver State’s 19 cities, giving them a platform in our pages to talk about their area’s history and attractions and to describe what makes them special and what challenges they face. Today, we present a Q+A with Elko Mayor Reece Keener.
Give us a history lesson. What makes your jurisdiction unique?
We’re big for a small city, as we are host to the county seat and many state and federal offices. We serve as the economic hub for the region with an ample supply of national retailers, and we have the only regional airport with commercial flight service in rural Nevada. Elko was born when the Central Pacific Railroad pushed through here in the 1860s. We’re also proud of Elko-based Great Basin College, which offers many technical programs as well as baccalaureate degrees. Our primary industry is gold mining, and Elko counts scores of mining contractors based here. The mining industry offers high wages, and our household incomes are among the highest in the state.
What kind of attractions and events do you have that people may be interested in visiting?
Cowboy poet: Waddie Mitchell and his mustache recite a poem during the 30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko.
We have many events in Elko that bring folks in from all over. We’re most famous for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, which is staged each January. In July we have the Silver State Stampede rodeo, which is Nevada’s oldest and now an official PRCA event, and the National Basque Festival. Besides many other events throughout the year, Elko also has many museums including the California Trails Interpretive Center. There’s also abundant outdoor recreational opportunities including world-class hiking, fishing and heli-skiing.
What new development opening in 2024 has you excited? Why?
Two of our mining contractors: Sandvik and Komatsu Equipment, have significant expansion projects under construction totaling in excess of $60 million and scheduled for openings in 2024. Nevada Gold Mines has two new mines in final approval stages that will add more than 1,000 jobs. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will open their Elko temple in late 2024, only the third temple in Nevada. Our Boys & Girls Club of Elko is breaking ground in early 2024 on a community recreation center that will feature a competition-sized swimming pool, games and cardio equipment.
What is the biggest challenge facing your jurisdiction?
As far as economics go, it tends to be regulatory policy. We have always maintained a concern over state and national politics because of the effect it has on our predominant industry, mining. There is a fear that with any change of administration or influence by major nongovernmental organizations could result in major changes within our regulatory agencies (for example, the Environmental Protection Agency) that essentially shuts down mining and exploration — as what was proposed in 2015 with the sage grouse withdrawal initiatives. Further, as we recently witnessed, Nevada’s mining industry was hit hard with modification in the net-proceeds tax here in the Silver State, doubling their tax burden. There’s only so much of this you can handle before the feasibility of a project goes away. Our other headwind is a housing shortage to accommodate the coming growth in mining-sector employment. We are well situated with mid- and high-priced product, but we really need more entry-level options.
What industry is most important to your town’s economy? What about diversifying?
Hands down, mining is the local juggernaut and we are glad that they are here. Because of mining, we can often weather national recessions or pandemics with little or no impact to our community. With that said, we certainly want to diversify in order to leverage other industry should mining be targeted, as mentioned earlier.
Our local economic development organization, the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority (of which I am a board member) endeavors to appeal to alternative industries in order to create a diversified economic ecosystem. NNRDA successfully recruited a small manufacturer to the area (Solmax) along with an emulsion facility between Carlin and Elko that enhances blasting agents for the mining industry (Southwest Energy). NNRDA is working with a handful of companies at any given moment but, unfortunately, those companies are also looking at other areas as well. The NNRDA board has agreed to target those industries with high capital expenses and low employment requirements. This will yield high property and equipment taxes to the local municipalities but not overburden our communities with rapid growth. Some of these industries include warehousing/distribution, value-added (mining and agricultural) manufacturing, aerospace and defense.
What opportunity does your community provide for public education? What challenges does it face?
The National Basque Festival is set for July 4-6 in Elko.
The Elko County School District and Great Basin College deliver great services to our students. Funding is the primary challenge, for both entities. The Legislature made some punishing cuts to the college’s funding nearly 10 years ago that it is still trying to recover from. The bright spots at GBC are the technical programs, which are funded by the mines that recruit the graduates. Our charter school, the Elko Institute for Academic Achievement, is moving into a new facility in 2024. The school’s performance is among the highest in the state for elementary and middle schools.
What challenges do your residents face with health care availability and cost?
Health care is always a challenge in rural America. Fortunately, we do have a regional hospital (Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital) and specialized health services (Elko Community Health Center and Nevada Health Centers.) However, the costs are not always competitive compared with Southern Idaho or Northern Utah — further, the services offered in our area are limited. As a result, those who are able often leave the area for their health care needs.
Nevadans have lived with historic drought for the past two decades. What initiatives are in place to save the valuable commodity of water?
We know how important our water resources are and I can tell you that when our economic development folks are entertaining inquiries from prospective businesses, they take water into huge consideration. We know what it’s like to have abundant resources and we know what it’s like to have to deal with extreme drought. With the passage of Assembly Bill 261 during the last legislative session, NNRDA will be including water conservation comments within their EDA-approved Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy. Due to the variation of resources throughout the region, this plan will likely differ from one community/county to the next. Fortunately, the city of Elko has ample unused water rights to support a doubling of our population.
What issues are facing your community regarding roads and transportation?
Elko experiences definite rush hours in the mornings and afternoons as miners are returning back to town and making their way through Elko’s downtown to link with Lamoille Highway to access the community of Spring Creek, situated 10 miles southeast of Elko. The city and county are collaborating on a bypass that would shift the traffic out of downtown and around the city. This is an expensive project that will take years to fund and complete, but the design is under development.
How can public safety be enhanced in your community?
Every community deals with funding challenges associated with their law enforcement agencies. And like other communities, we too continually struggle to provide the resources, training and support needed to address the growing trends of criminal activity and increasing drug use.
What is one thing you wish the rest of the state knew about your jurisdiction?
Nevadans don’t realize Elko supports the costs of the mining workforce and the associated infrastructure without the benefit of the mining tax revenues. Very little of the gold produced in this region happens in Elko County, instead it’s produced in nearby Eureka and Lander counties, which benefit disproportionately from the net proceeds of mineral taxes, as these two counties have tiny populations and enjoy burgeoning tax revenue windfalls. We’re very fortunate that our largest miner, Nevada Gold Mines, recognizes these challenges and has located its warehouse in Elko so that we can receive the sales tax on its products that are received in Elko. NGM also champions local causes that improve our quality of life such as financial support for local nonprofits, and a communitywide fiber-based broadband build to provide residents with the best service available anywhere.
