The Daily Rundown - January 27, 2026
🚧 Construction of the new Windsor Park community in North Las Vegas has stalled. The project has received more than $60 million in state government funding to address the needs of the original Windsor Park residents. The North Las Vegas neighborhood was built on geologic faults that shifted, causing significant damage and necessitating relocation.
In a statement to Fox 5, city of North Las Vegas officials said the developer for the new community has yet to submit its final signed map for the project. As a result, the city has not granted some of the necessary permits. The developer maintains that construction of the development can still be completed by the end of this year.
💧 The Department of the Interior has once again lowered its prediction for the amount of water coming down the Colorado River in the coming year. The snowpack in the Colorado Rockies, which feeds the river, is less than two-thirds of average for this time of year. As such, the Bureau of Reclamation has revised its estimated 2026 water-year inflow from 68% to 63%. The revision comes as negotiations concerning Colorado River water use among the seven basin states are still ongoing — despite a looming February agreement deadline.
💵 College will get more expensive in Nevada. The Nevada Board of Regents voted 8-5 on Friday to approve a 12% tuition increase for universities and upper-division courses at community colleges over the next three years. Lower-division courses will increase by 9%. Regents approved the increase to cover a roughly $47 million budget shortfall within the Nevada System of Higher Education. Higher education officials argued that staff raises mandated by state lawmakers were responsible for the budget hole. They say more than 300 jobs were at risk.
🚗 Drivers shouldn't expect much relief on their auto insurance rates this year. But while they're set to increase, rates won't rise as significantly as in previous years. In Mountain West states, it's a mixed bag. While Wyoming has some of the lowest rates in the country, Nevada is the most expensive state for full auto coverage.
According to data from LendingTree, the average monthly rate for full auto insurance coverage is $335, 61% above the national average of $208. The Mountain West News Bureau's Yvette Fernandez has the full story available at KNPR.org.
📝 Clark County School District middle schoolers might have to start taking more exams. As the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports, a document sent to some district principals outlines a plan to administer semester-end exams next school year. The tests will take place in mid-December and May. They'd cover math, English language arts, science and social studies, and could be worth up to 20% of a student's final semester grade. According to the document, the district says the exams will give students a chance to demonstrate their cumulative learning, reinforce key concepts and help them develop consistent study habits.
🎓 Nevada is opting into a federal program that aims to expand school choice. Gov. Joe Lombardo's office announced last week that the state is joining the Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Program. It allows taxpayers to receive up to $1,700 in tax credits for donations to scholarship-granting organizations that help students and families pay for private school tuition, tutoring, special education services or other qualified expenses. The state will use 2026 to create an annual application process to determine a list of qualified organizations to submit to the U.S. Treasury Department. Only organizations on that list will be eligible for tax credit contributions. The tax credits will go into effect in 2027.
🏭 Truckee Meadows Community College will get almost $1.8 million in federal money to implement an advanced manufacturing training program. According to Democratic U.S. Sen. Cortez Masto's office, the new Operational Skills Certificate is designed to prepare students for roles in advanced manufacturing, automation and battery production.
Her office says having more people with those skills is crucial for American economic competitiveness, supply chains and clean energy. The grant is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
