Reno, Nevada

"Reno" redirects here. For other uses, see Reno (disambiguation).

Reno
City
Reno Arch
Flag of Reno Flag
Nickname:  The Biggest Little City in the World
Motto(s):  39° 31′ 37.6″ N, 119° 49′ 18.52″ W
Location of Reno, Nevada in Washoe County
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Washoe
Government
• Mayor	Bob Cashell (R)
Area
• City	69.3 sq mi (179.6 km2)
• Land	69.1 sq mi (179.0 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	4,505 ft (1,373 m)
Population  (2009)
• City	220,598
• Density	2,611.4/sq mi (1,008.3/km2)
• Metro	420,000
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes	89500-89599
Area code	775
FIPS code	32-60600
GNIS feature ID	0861100
Website	http://cityofreno.com/

Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the fourth most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas. It sits in a high desert valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada.

Reno, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World", is famous for its casinos, and is the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah's Entertainment. City residents are called "Reno-ites". Reno borders Sparks, a city of approximately 100,000 population. Most call the metropolitan area "Truckee Meadows"; the metropolitan area including Sparks and Reno has a combined population of about 420,000.

History

See also: List of Registered Historic Places in Washoe County, Nevada

Archaeological finds place the eastern border for the prehistoric Martis people in the Reno area.

As early as the 1850s a few pioneers settled in the Truckee Meadows, a relatively fertile valley through which the Truckee River made its way from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. In addition to subsistence farming, these early residents could pick up a bit of business from travelers along the California Trail, which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off towards Donner Lake, where the formidable obstacle of the Sierras began.

Gold had been discovered in the vicinity of Virginia City in 1850 and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of silver in 1859 led to one of the greatest mining bonanzas of all time as the Comstock Lode spewed forth treasure. The Comstock's closest connection to the outside world lay in the Truckee Meadows.

To provide the necessary connection between Virginia City and the California Trail, Charles W. Fuller built a log toll bridge across the Truckee River in 1859. A small community to service travelers soon grew up near the bridge. After two years, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron C. Lake, who continued to develop the community with the addition of a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house. He renamed it Lake's Crossing. In 1864, Washoe County was consolidated with Roop County; Lake's Crossing became the largest town in the county. Lake had earned himself the title "founder of Reno."

By January 1863, the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) had begun laying tracks east from Sacramento, California, eventually connecting with the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah to form the first transcontinental railroad. Lake, realizing what a rail connection would mean for business, deeded land to the CPRR in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lake's Crossing. Once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 9, 1868. CPRR construction superintendent Charles Crocker named the community after Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the American Civil War at the Battle of South Mountain.

In 1871 Reno became the county seat of the newly expanded Washoe County, replacing the previous county seat, located in Washoe City. However, political power in Nevada remained with the mining communities, first Virginia City and later Tonopah and Goldfield.

The extension of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to Reno in 1872 provided another big boost to the new city's economy. At first citizens viewed the changes as an omen, however in the following decades, Reno continued to grow and prosper as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and Salt Lake City.

Downtown Reno.

As the mining boom waned early in the twentieth century, Nevada's centers of political and business activity shifted to the non-mining communities, especially Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, and today the former mining metropolises stand as little more than ghost towns. Despite this, Nevada is still the third-largest gold producer in the world, after South Africa and Australia; the state yielded 6.9 percent of the world's supply in 2005 world gold production.

The famous "Reno Arch" was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927, the arch included the words "Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition" and the dates of the exposition. After the exposition, the Reno City Council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, and Mayor E.E. Roberts asked the citizens of Reno to suggest a slogan for the arch. No acceptable slogan was received until a $100 prize was offered, and G.A. Burns of Sacramento was declared the winner on March 14, 1929 with "Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World".

Nevada's legalization of casino gambling in 1931 and the passage of liberal divorce laws created another boom for Reno. Ernie Pyle once wrote in one of his columns "All the people you saw on the streets in Reno were obviously there to get divorces." In Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, published in 1943, the New-York-based female protagonist tells a friend "I am going to Reno," which is taken as a different way of saying "I am going to divorce my husband." Among others, the Belgian-French writer Georges Simenon, at the time living in the US, came to Reno in 1949 in order to divorce his first wife.

The divorce business eventually died as the other states fell in line by passing their own laws easing the requirements for divorce, but gambling continued as a major Reno industry. Beginning in the 1950s, the need for economic diversification beyond gaming fueled a movement for more lenient business taxation.

The presence of a main east-west rail line, the emerging interstate highway system, favorable tax climate and relatively inexpensive land created the ideal conditions for warehousing and distribution of goods to the growing population in the surrounding eleven western states.

Reno has experienced a growing economy which has resulted in new home construction around the metro area. A direct result of this growth and the "housing bubble" has been a dramatic increase in housing prices in the area, Reno-Sparks being named the 44th most overvalued housing market in the nation in 2006. As of January 2007 Reno’s housing market has fallen by 7% bringing the median home price down to $315,000.

In more recent years, the city has gained some fame as it is the subject of the popular comedy series Reno 911! (which is not, however, filmed in the city).

Geography

Geology

Further information: Reno earthquakes of 2008

Reno is situated just east of the Sierra Nevada on the western edge of the Great Basin at an elevation of about 4,400 feet (1,300 m) above sea level. Numerous faults exist throughout the region. Most of these are normal (vertical motion) faults associated with the uplift of the various mountain ranges, including the Sierras.

In February 2008, an unusual earthquake swarm began to occur with some quakes registering between 4 and 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale. The earthquakes were centered in an unnamed fault zone in the western suburbs of Reno in the area of Mogul and Verdi. Many homes in these areas were damaged.

Climate

Reno sits in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. Annual rainfall averages 7.48 inches (190 mm). Despite this low amount of rainfall per year, Reno features a steppe climate due to its low evapotranspiration. Annual precipitation has ranged from 1.55 inches (39.4 mm) in 1947 to 13.23 inches (336.0 mm) in 1983. The most precipitation in one month was 5.25 inches (133.4 mm) in December 1955 and the most precipitation in 24 hours was 2.29 inches (58.2 mm) on January 21, 1943. Winter has snowfall but typically it is light, averaging 23.8 inches (60 cm) annually. The most snowfall in one year was 63.8 inches (162 cm) in 1971 and the most snowfall in one month was 29.0 inches (74 cm) in March 1952. Most rainfall occurs in winter and spring. The city has 300 days of sunshine per year.

Summer highs are generally in the low to mid 90s °F (32-36 °C), but temperatures above 100 °F (38 °C) occur occasionally. The July high daytime temperature peaks at an averages 93 °F (33.9 °C); the night low 52 °F (11.1 °C); while January high daytime temperatures average 45 °F (7.2 °C) and low night temperatures average 21 °F (−6.1 °C). The record high temperature was 108 °F (42 °C) on July 10 and 11, 2002. The record low temperature was −19 °F (−28 °C) on January 8, 1890. In addition, the region is frequently windy throughout the year; observers such as Mark Twain have commented about the "Washoe Zephyr", northwestern Nevada's distinctive wind.

Climate data for Reno, Nevada
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: NOAA (normals, 1971-2000), HKO

Government

Reno has a basic democratic municipal government. The city council is the core of the government, with seven members. Five of these council people represent districts of Reno, and are vetted in the primary by the citizens of each district.

In general, the top two vote earners in each ward make the ballot for the city-wide election. This is an unusual but highly effective system.

The other two members are the at-large, who represent the entire city, and the mayor, who is elected by the people of the city. The council has several duties, including setting priorities for the city, promoting communication with the public, planning development, and redevelopment.

There is also an elected city attorney who is responsible for civil and criminal cases. The City Attorney represents the city government in court, and prosecutes misdemeanors as well.

The City's charter calls for a council-manager form of government, meaning that the Council appoints only two positions, the city manager, who implements and enforces the policies and programs the council approves, and the city clerk.

The city manager in charge of the budget and workforce for all City programs. The city clerk, who records the proceedings of the council, makes appointments for the council, and makes sure efficient copying and printing services are available.

Education

Universities and colleges

An older picture showing part of the University of Nevada, Reno campus in the foreground

• The University of Nevada, Reno is the oldest university in the state of Nevada and Nevada System of Higher Education. In 1886, the state university, previously only a college preparatory school, moved from Elko in remote northeastern Nevada to a site north of downtown Reno, where it became a full-fledged state college. The university's first building, Morrill Hall, still stands on the historic quad at the campus' southern end. The university grew slowly over the decades, but has begun to expand rapidly along with the rest of the state and currently has an enrollment of approximately 16,000, with most students hailing from within Nevada. Among its specialties are mining engineering, agriculture, journalism, business, and one of only two Basque Studies programs in the nation. It also houses the National Judicial College, the only judicial college in the United States.
• Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) is a regionally accredited, two year institution which is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The college has an enrollment of approximately 13,000 students attending classes at a primary campus and four satellite centers. The college offers a wide range of academic and university transfer programs, occupational training, career enhancement workshops, and classes just for fun. Courses are conducted daytime and evening in the classroom, by cablecast, and on the Internet. TMCC offers associate of arts, associate of science, associate of applied science or associate of general studies degrees, one-year certificates, or certificates of completion in more than 50 career fields, including architecture, auto/diesel mechanics, criminal justice, dental hygiene, graphic design, nursing, and welding.
• The Nevada School of Law at Old College located in Reno was the first law school established in the state of Nevada. Its doors were open from 1981-1988.
• Career College of Northern Nevada (CCNN) is a nationally accredited trade school that trains students in technical fields that support fast growing industries. The college is locally owned and operated. Employer advisory boards direct the college in order to provide skill training that is relevant to the industry needs.
• University of Phoenix - Northern Nevada Campus is located in south Reno. The university faculty is a collection business and academic professionals from the local Reno area.
• Morrison University is located in the south side of Reno, Nevada.

Public schools

Public education is provided by the Washoe County School District.

• Reno has ten public high schools: Damonte Ranch, Galena, Hug, McQueen, North Valleys, Regional Technical Institute (RTI), Reno, Truckee Meadows Community College High School, Washoe, and Wooster.
• There are also three public high schools in neighboring Sparks, attended by many students who live in Reno: Reed, Spanish Springs, and Sparks High School.
• Reno-Sparks has 13 middle schools: Billinghurst, Clayton, Cold Springs, DePoali, Dilworth, Mendive, O'Brien, Pine, Shaw (Spanish Springs),Sparks, Swope, Trainer, Vaughn.
• Reno-Sparks has 64 elementary schools: Allen, Anderson, Beasley, Jesse Beck, Bennett, Booth, Brown, Cannan, Caughlin Ranch, Corbett, Desert Heights, Diedrichsen, Dodson, Donner Springs, Double Diamond, Drake, Duncan, Dunn, Elmcrest, Gomes, Grace Warner, Greenbrae, Hidden Valley, Huffaker, Hunsberger, Hunter Lake, Jessie Hall, Johnson, Juniper, Lemmon Valley, Elizabeth Lenz, Lincoln Park, Echo Loder, Mathews, Maxwell, Melton, Mitchell, Moss, Mount Rose, Natchez, Palmer, Peavine, Picollo Special Education School, Pleasant Valley, Risley, Roy Gomm, Sepulveda, Sierra Vista, Silver Lake, Alice Smith, Kate Smith, Smithridge, Spanish Springs, Stead, Sun Valley, Taylor, Towles, Van Gorder, Verdi [pronounced VUR-die], Veterans Memorial, Warner, Westergard, Whitehead and Sarah Winnemucca. (some schools included on this list are in Sparks)

Public charter schools

Reno has many charter schools, which include: Academy for Career Education, serving grades 10-12, opened 2002. Bailey Charter Elementary School, serving grades K-6, opened 2001. Coral Academy of Science, serving grades K-12, opened 2000. Davidson Academy, serving grades 9-12, opened 2006. High Desert Montessori School, serving grades PreK-7, opened 2002. I Can Do Anything Charter School, serving grades 9-12, opened 2000. Rainshadow Community Charter High School, serving grades 9-12, opened 2003. Sierra Nevada Academy Charter School, serving grades PreK-8, opened 1999. TEAM A (Together Everyone Achieves More Academy), serving grades 9-12, opened 2004.

Private schools

Reno has a few private elementary schools such as Legacy Christian School, Excel Christian School, and Lamplight Christian School as well as private high schools, the largest of which are Bishop Manogue High School and Sage Ridge School (SRS).

Libraries

Washoe County Library System has locations throughout Reno and its surrounding communities.

Economy

Downtown Reno, including the city's famous arch over Virginia Street at night.

Before the late 1950s, Reno was the gambling capital of the United States, but in the last twenty years Las Vegas rapid rise, American Airlines' 2000 buyout of Reno Air and the growth of Indian gambling gaming in California have somewhat reduced its business. Older casinos were either torn down (Mapes Hotel, Fitzgerald's Nevada Club, Primadonna, Horseshoe Club, Harold's Club, Palace Club) and smaller casinos like the Comstock, Sundowner, Golden Phoenix, Kings Inn, Money Tree, Virginian, and Riverboat closed, and some converted to condos.

Because of geographical proximity, Reno has traditionally drawn the majority of its California tourists and gamblers from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento, while Las Vegas has historically served more tourists from Los Angeles, San Diego, and other parts of Southern California, and the Phoenix area.

Reno casinos experience some slow days during the week, especially during winter, when mountain passes can be closed to some traffic from Northern California. The train service from California and the airline service is almost never interrupted. During weekends, holidays and special events Reno does see an increase in business. Large special events such as Hot August Nights and The Great Reno Balloon Race pack the area hotels to 100% occupancy.

Several local large hotel casinos have shown significant growth and have moved gaming further away from the Virginia Street core. These larger hotel casinos are the Atlantis, the Peppermill and the Grand Sierra Resort. The Peppermill was chosen as the most outstanding Reno gaming/hotel property by Casino Player and Nevada magazines. In 2005, the Peppermill Hotel Casino began a $300 million dollar Tuscan-themed expansion.

In an effort to bring more tourism to the area, Reno holds several events throughout the year, most of which have been extremely successful. They include Hot August Nights (a classic car convention), Street Vibrations (a motorcycle fan gathering and rally), The Great Reno Balloon Race, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off (held in Sparks), a Cinco de Mayo celebration, bowling tournaments (held in the National Bowling Stadium), and the Reno Air Races.

Several large commercial developments were constructed during the mid-2000s boom, such as The Summit in 2007 and Legends at Sparks Marina in 2008.

Reno is the location of the corporate headquarters for numerous companies, including Braeburn Capital, Hamilton, Port of Subs, PC-Doctor, and International Game Technology, which manufactures slot machines. Bally Technologies and GameTech also have development and manufacturing presence in Reno.

Downtown revitalization

The closure of many downtown casinos has sparked a movement to turn them into condominiums. Out-of-state developers have purchased the Comstock and the Sundowner, amongst others, in hopes of turning them into upscale condos. In addition to converting old properties, these developers are building new structures on formerly-vacant lots. The Comstock was redeveloped and is now home to The Residences at Riverwalk Towers.

The Reno Transportation Rail Access Corridor (ReTRAC) was undertaken to solve noise pollution and traffic congestion on Virginia Street by lowering the train tracks below street level. This has also added to the city's efforts to make the downtown area friendlier to tourists. The trench was listed as completed on November 22, 2005. In 2008, the city council approved spending on creating a trench cover between Virginia Street and West Street essentially creating a two-block tunnel. This cover is slated to become a plaza with proposed retail and art fixtures.

Nightlife

Reno has recently seen the opening of many businesses that cater to socializing and after-work activities, as new and old Reno locals have slowly reclaimed parts of downtown from the waning glut of casino-bound tourists of yore. Many bars and nightclubs have moved into the area on West 1st and 2nd Streets between Arlington and Sierra in downtown Reno. In addition, various downtown casinos host lounges and nightclubs.

Downtown Reno is Reno's most popular area for bars and clubs. However, there are a few other hotspots including East Fourth Street, Wells Avenue, the UNR area, Kietzke Lane, and all along South Virginia St. Most neighborhoods also have their local bars, sports bars, or breweries, primarily in strip malls.

The casinos, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, Brüka Theatre, La Bussola, Sierra Arts, and the Reno Events Center also provide numerous concerts, art events, plays, and shows as well.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	1,035		—
1880	1,362		31.6%
1890	3,563		161.6%
1900	4,500		26.3%
1910	10,867		141.5%
1920	12,016		10.6%
1930	18,529		54.2%
1940	21,317		15.0%
1950	32,497		52.4%
1960	51,470		58.4%
1970	72,863		41.6%
1980	100,756		38.3%
1990	133,850		32.8%
2000	180,480		34.8%
2008 (est.)	217,016
source:

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 180,480 people, 73,904 households, and 41,681 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,008.3/sq mi (2,611.4/km²). There were 79,453 housing units at an average density of 1,149.6/sq mi (443.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.46% White, 2.58% African American, 1.26% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.56% Pacific Islander, 9.26% from other races, and 3.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.18% of the population.

There were 73,904 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,530, and the median income for a family was $49,582. Males had a median income of $33,204 versus $26,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,520. About 8.3% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Template:GR The population was 180,480 at the 2000 census; in 2008, its population was estimated at 217,016, making it the fourth-largest city in the state after Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, and the largest outside of Clark County. Reno lies 26 mi (42 km) north of the Nevada state capital, Carson City, and 22 mi (35 km) northeast of Lake Tahoe in a shrub-steppe. Reno shares its eastern border with the city of Sparks and is the larger of the principal cities of the Reno-Sparks, Nevada Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), a metropolitan area that covers Storey and Washoe counties. The MSA had a combined population of 342,885 at the 2000 census.Template:GR The MSA is combined with the Fernley Micropolitan Statistical Area to form the Reno-Sparks-Fernley Combined Statistical Area, which had a total population of 377,386 at the 2000 census.Template:GR

Transportation

See also: Reno (AMTRAK station)

See also: Reno/Tahoe International Airport

Reno Skyline

I-80 in Downtown Reno

The course of the Truckee River runs through Reno, as does the Union Pacific Railroad, Interstate 80 (east-west) and U.S. Highway 395 (north-south).

Reno has an extensive bus system called RTC RIDE (formerly known as Citifare), which is provided by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County. The bus system has its main terminal in downtown Reno and secondary terminals in Sparks and at Meadowood Mall in south Reno. The RTC also has a service called RTC ACCESS (formerly known as CitiLift) that provides transport for disabled people. RTC INTERCITY (formerly known as PRIDE) buses link Reno and Carson City.

The RTC also provides a free bus service up and down Virginia Street in Reno called RTC SIERRA SPIRIT, which many locals refer to as "the Pinwheel bus" due to the pinwheel design on the bright yellow buses and at bus stops. This regular service is free of charge.

AMTRAK, the American national passenger railroad system, provides service east and west through Reno, stopping twice daily. The city's passenger rail station is located at 280 North Center Street, East Commercial Row in downtown Reno. AMTRAK's westbound California Zephyr is scheduled to depart Reno at about noon daily, and it provides westbound service to the towns and cities of Truckee, California, Colfax, Roseville, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, and Emeryville, next-door to Oakland, California on San Francisco Bay. AMTRAK's eastbound California Zephyr, is scheduled to depart Reno at about 2:15 pm daily, and it provides service to Sparks, Winnemucca, and Elko, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah, Provo, Helper, Utah, Green River, Utah; Grand Junction, Glenwwod springs, and Denver, Colorado; Omaha, Nebraska, Galesburg, Illinois, and Chicago. AMTRAK's California Thruway motorcoaches also arrive and depart Reno four times daily in each direction connecting to and from the Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, and San Joaquin trains at Sacramento.

The city is served by Reno/Tahoe International Airport, with general aviation traffic also handled by Reno Stead Airport. Reno/Tahoe International Airport is the second busiest commercial airport in the state of Nevada after McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

Utilities

Potable water for the City of Reno is provided by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. The Truckee River is the primary source of the source, with its purification being done at two water plants, "Chalk Bluff" and "Glendale". The Chalk Bluff plant has main intakes west of Reno in Verdi, with the water flowing through a series of flumes and ditches to the plant itself. Alternative intakes are located below the plant along the banks of the Truckee River itself. The Glendale plant is sited alongside the river, and is fed by a rock and concrete rubble diversion dam a short distance upstream.

Sewage treatment for the majority of Truckee Meadows takes place at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility located at the eastern edge of the valley. Treated effluent returns to the Truckee River by way of Steamboat Creek.

The city's electric power and natural gas are provided by the NV Energy Company, formerly the Sierra Pacific Company. The electric power comes from multiple sources (as it usually does anywhere in the United States and Canada), including the Tracy-Clark Power Station to the east, the Steamboat Springs, Nevada binary cycle power plants at the southern end of town, hydroelectric power stations on the few important rivers in this part of the country, nuclear power such as from the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant in Arizona, from geothermal power plants in California, from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California, and from large coal-fired power plants

Sports

Reno Events Center

Reno is home to the Reno Aces, a minor league baseball AAA team affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and it plays in Aces Ballpark, a downtown ballpark opened in 2009. Reno has hosted multiple professional baseball teams in the past, most under the name of the "Reno Silver Sox". The "Reno Astros", a semi-pro unaffiliated baseball team plays at Moana Stadium.

In professional basketball, the Reno Bighorns, a 2008 expansion of the NBA Development League, plays at the Reno Events Center.

Reno is expected to be the future home of an ECHL ice hockey team, currently named the Reno Raiders, but the construction on a suitable arena for it has yet to begin as of the 2009 - 10 hockey season. This franchise has been dormant since 1998, when it was named the Reno Rage, and earlier the Reno Renegades, and it played games in the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).

The Reno-Tahoe Open is northern Nevada’s only PGA TOUR event, held at Montrêux Golf & Country Club in Reno. As part of the FedEx Cup, the tournament follows 132 PGA TOUR professionals competing for a share of the event’s $3 million purse. The Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation has donated more than $1.8 Million to local charities.

Reno also enjoys a thriving college sports scene, with the Nevada Wolf Pack achieving appearances in football bowl games and an Associated Press Top Ten ranking in basketball in 2007.

In 2004, the city completed a $1.5 million whitewater park on the Truckee River in downtown Reno which attracts paddlers from all over the region and hosts whitewater events throughout the year. The course runs Class 2 and 3 rapids with safe and free, year-round public access. The 1,400-foot (430 m) north channel features more aggressive rapids, drop pools and "holes" for rodeo kayak-type maneuvers. The milder 1,200 ft (370 m) south channel is set up as a kayak slalom course and a beginner area.

The Reno area has about 14 Alpine skiing areas within a two-hour drive of the city, including Squaw Valley, California, the home of the 1960 Winter Olympic games.

Reno is also home to two roller derby teams, the Battle Born Derby Demons and the Reno Roller Girls. The Battle Born Derby Demons compete on flat tracks locally and nationally. They are the only Derby team locally to compete in a national Derby league.

Reno is the home of the National Bowling Stadium, which hosts the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Open Championships every three years.

Recreation

Winter Ski slopes overlooking Lake Tahoe

Reno is home to a variety of recreation activities including both seasonal and year-round. In the summer, Reno locals can be found near three major bodies of water: Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, and Pyramid Lake. Lake Tahoe, which splits the border between California and Nevada, provides visitors and locals with opportunities to fish, water-ski and wakeboard, parasail, jet-ski, and of course swim. The Truckee River runs from Lake Tahoe through the center of downtown Reno and up to Pyramid Lake. After receiving city funding, the Truckee River now draws kayakers from all over the United States. The river is also a major part of Artown, held in the summer at Wingfield Park, where locals and visitors come to swim, inner-tube, raft and enjoy local Reno culture. Washoe Lake is also a popular kite and windsurf location because of its high wind speeds during the summer.

Skiing and snowboarding are among the most popular winter sports and draw in many tourists. There are 18 ski resorts (8 major resorts), including Northstar-at-Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Alpine Meadows, Squaw Valley Ski Resort, Sugar Bowl, Diamond Peak, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and Mount Rose Ski Resort located as close as eleven miles (18 km) and as far as ninety-eight miles from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Other popular winter activities include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, and snowmobiling.

2022 Winter Olympic Games

Main article: 2022 Winter Olympics

The resort region around Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada borders have formed the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition to make a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics. They cited the airport, close mountains, and compact geographic area in which the games could be held. Squaw Valley Ski Resort, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, is considered a major advantage to the bid.

Environmental factors

View of Lake Tahoe from a Diamond Peak ski lift

The Reno-Sparks wastewater treatment plant discharges tertiary treated effluent to the Truckee River. In the 1990s this capacity was increased from 20 to 30 million gallons (70 to 110 million liters) per day. While treated, the effluent nevertheless contains suspended solids, nitrogen, and phosphorus, aggravating water quality concerns of the river and its receiving waters of Pyramid Lake. Local agencies working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have developed a number of watershed management strategies to accommodate this expanded effluent discharge; to accomplish this successful outcome, the DSSAM Model was developed and calibrated for the Truckee River in order to analyze the most cost effective available management strategy set. The resulting management strategies included a package of measures such as land use controls in the Lake Tahoe basin, urban runoff controls in Reno and Sparks and best management practices for wastewater discharge.

Wetlands are an important part of the Reno/Tahoe area. They act as a natural filter for the solids that come out of the water treatment plant. Plant roots absorb nutrients from the water and naturally filter it. Wetlands are also a home for over 75% of the species in the Great Basin. However, the area's wetlands are at risk of being destroyed due to development around the city. While developers build on top of the wetlands they fill them with dirt destroying the habitat they create for the plants and animals. Washoe county has devised a plan that will help protect these important ecosystems: Mitigation. In the future, when developers try to build over a wetland, they will be responsible for creating another wetland near Washoe Lake.This area is much smaller than the wetlands destroyed.

The Truckee River serves as Reno's primary source of drinking water. It supplies Reno with 80,000,000 gallons of water a day during the summer, and 40,000,000 gallons of water per day in the winter. Before the water goes to the homes around the Reno area, it must go to one of two water treatment plants, Chalk Bluff or Glendale Water Treatment Plant. As an attempt to save water, golf courses in Reno, like Arrow Creek Golf Course, have been using treated effluent water instead of treated water from one of Reno's water plants.

Culture

• Artown
• La Bussola & Center Gallery
• National Automobile Museum
• Nevada Museum of Art
• Nevada Shakespeare Company
• Pioneer Center For Performing Arts
• Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
• Reno Pops Orchestra
• Sierra Arts
• University of Nevada, Reno Arboretum
• Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden
• Reno Big Band
• Reno Beer Crawl

Notable residents

• Mädchen Amick - Actress.
• Chris Ault - Hall of Fame NCAA Football coach. Attended St Albert's Catholic School in Reno, and currently coaches the Wolf Pack football team.
• Shannon Bahrke - silver medalist in moguls at the 2002 Winter Olympics, bronze medalist at the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2003 was the World Cup Champion.
• Brent Boyd - Offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings.
• Chris Carr - McQueen H.S. alumnus, he is a kick returner and nickleback for the Baltimore Ravens.
• Chino XL - Rapper. Owns a residence in Reno
• Walter Van Tilburg Clark - Author of The Ox-Bow Incident.
• Doug Clifford - Creedence Clearwater Revival drummer. Lives in the Reno suburb of Montreux.
• Thomas K. Dye - Creator of the webcomic, Newshounds.
• Joe Flanigan - Actor.
• Rudy Galindo - Figure skater lives in Reno.
• Bud Gaugh - Drummer of the Band Sublime
• Jim Gibbons - Governor and member of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada.
• Curtis Hanson - Producer / Director of 8 Mile, L.A. Confidential, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and others.
• Jennifer Harman - American professional poker player.
• Terri Ivens - Soap opera actress on All My Children.
• Mark Kotsay - Professional Baseball Player. Resides in Reno.
• Mills Lane - Former boxing referee and District Judge. Also starred as a television personality on Judge Mills Lane.
• Paul Laxalt - Governor and U.S. Senator from Nevada.
• Dana MacDuff - film producer, Oakdale Pictures
• April Meservy - Singer/songwriter.
• Rich Marotta - Boxing Commentator, Los Angeles Radio Personality.
• Randy Messenger - Professional Baseball Player.
• Chuck Ruff - Edgar Winter Group drummer lives in Reno and works at Bizarre Guitar.
• Jason-Shane Scott - Soap actor who created the role of One Life to Live's Will Rappaport (July 1998) is a Reno, Nevada native.
• Shannyn Sossamon - Actress of A Knight's Tale and 40 Days and 40 Nights.
• Sharon Stone - Actress owns a residence in Reno.
• J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner - Forensic Psychologist/Television Personality
• Dawn Wells - Miss Nevada 1959 - Actress of TV series Gilligan's Island.
• Kristi Yamaguchi - Figure skater and Olympic Gold Medalist Albertville 1992. Owns a residence in Reno.
• Chad Aichs -Powerlifter holds AWPC world records in squat, bench and deadlift and WPO bench press world record.
• Greg London - Multiple award winning entertainer. Greg London Day July 30, 2009 Proclamation by Reno Mayor, Bob Cashell.

In pop culture

Reno is a setting in various books, movies, songs and other works. In the first chapters of Anthony Horowitz's 2007 book Nightrise, two of the main characters, Jamie Tyler and Scott Tyler, perform at a theatre in Reno. Walter Van Tilburg Clark's autobiographical novel The City of Trembling Leaves has detailed descriptions of Reno, as well as nearby Lake Tahoe and the Mount Rose Wilderness in the 1920s. Author and musician Willy Vlautin, who was born and raised in Reno, has recorded numerous songs with his band Richmond Fontaine and written two books (2006's The Motel Life and 2008's Northline) that take place in Reno.

On television, Reno is the setting of the Comedy Central show Reno 911!, although the show is not filmed there. (This is proven by numerous palm trees on the set, which are not present in real-life Reno.) In the game Fallout 2, the city of New Reno is built upon the remains of Reno.

Movies

Reno appears as the setting of a number of movies. The movie Kingpin takes place in Reno at the National Bowling Stadium. In the film Balls of Fury, Randy Daytona works at the Peppermill Casino in Reno as a dinner show entertainer and wears a Peppermill jacket throughout the movie. Several scenes from the movie Mafia! take place at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino, one of which is filmed in their penthouse suite.

In addition to movies that feature Reno as a setting, many movies have been filmed in Reno. For example, The Cooler with William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin was filmed in Reno at the now defunct Golden Phoenix Casino on Sierra Street, but within the movie the story takes place in Las Vegas. Movies filmed in Reno include:

The Cooler Magnolia Hard Eight El Cortez Charley Varrick Desert Hearts The Wizard Jinxed! The Misfits Kingpin

...All the Marbles Blind Fury Pink Cadillac Diamonds Sister Act Father's Day Waking Up in Reno Austin Powers in Goldmember Jane Austen's Mafia! 40 Pounds of Trouble

California Split Up Close & Personal The Pledge Kill Me Again The Last Don Matilda the Dancing Kangaroo Double Down Ocean's Eleven (Original) Edie & Pen 5 Against the House

Andy Hardy's Blonde Trouble Blind Fury Melvin and Howard Mr. Belvedere Goes to College Scarecrow Wild Is the Wind

In music

• Woody Guthrie wrote a song in 1937 originally titled "Reno Blues" but later known as "Philadelphia Lawyer" about a lawyer who has an affair in Reno with the "maiden" of a "gun-totin cowboy" only to later be killed by said cowboy.
• Johnny Cash recorded a song in 1956 called "Folsom Prison Blues" in which he sings, "When I was just a baby, my mother told me, 'Son, always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.' But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die." Reno was also the first city listed in his 1996 remake of Hank Snow's 1962 North American version of "I've Been Everywhere".
• Alternative rock band R.E.M. had a single in 2001 called "All the Way to Reno (You're Gonna Be a Star)".
• The song "Loser" (1994), by alternative artist Beck, contains the line, "Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D, got a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat..."
• Rapper Kanye West's video for the song "Drive Slow" (2006) was filmed in Reno and Las Vegas.
• Rocky Votolato's 2007 album The Brag and Cuss has a song, "The Wrong Side of Reno" in which Voltolato sings, "I hear a train whistle blowing and it's in key with my song, all the way on the wrong side of Reno where all my toughest friends are from."
• Tom Waits refers to Reno in several songs: "Virginia Avenue" from the Closing Time album is set in Reno refers both to Virginia Street, Reno's main street, and Harold's Club, once the largest casino in Reno; "Hang on St Christopher" from Franks Wild Years; "Wrong Side of the Road" ends with the line 'We'll drive all the way to Reno on the wrong side of the road'; and "Better Off Without a Wife" from Nighthawks at the Diner.
• The Grateful Dead's "Friend of the Devil" starts out with the line: I set out from Reno; I was trailed by twenty hounds.
• Folk singers Richard Fariña and Mimi Fariña wrote a song called "Reno, Nevada." It was recorded by Iain Matthews on his "If You Saw Thro’ My Eyes” album in 1971.
• Country rock band Southern Pacific had a hit song entitled Reno Bound.
• Doug Supernaw's "Reno" appeared on the album Red and Rio Grande in 1993.
• Bruce Springsteen's "Reno" appeared on the 2005 release Devils & Dust.
• Reno is a major center for Straight Edge [Hardcore]
• Goran Bregović's "Man from Reno" appeared in album P.S. in 1996. P.S. is a choice of Goran's favourite compositions that appeared in several films (Goran Bregović is widely popular for making music for films).
• Chevelle In the song, "Send the Pain Below", the music video was filmed at Northstar Ski Resort and parts of the Reno Arch were showed in the music video.
• Mac Dre Reno is mentioned in the song "She Neva Seen".

Sister cities

Reno has six sister cities:

• Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
• Hatzor, Israel
• Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
• Udonthani, Thailand
• Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China
• Shenzhen, People's Republic of China

Wanganui, New Zealand was a sister city from 1974 to 2009.