In the RN&R’s interview column—named “15 Minutes” for Andy Warhol’s famous quote, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”—we speak with people in a wide range of fields about what they’re thinking and doing. Here’s what we’ve heard recently from an artist, a biologist, a teen-writing advocate and other locals.
An artist on making drawings that mix joy and melancholy
Each year, we contract a local artist to illustrate our Best of Northern Nevada issue. In 2026, University of Nevada, Reno, graduate Kaija MacKinnon drew up some beautiful pictures of circus performers, with a mood that’s celebratory and plaintive at the same time.
A lot of my work outside of commercial illustration is very mental-health-related. I also love children’s books very much. That combination of having a softer character going through things that are a little heavier has always been interesting to me
A scientist on the concept of ‘lost species’
There’s a somewhat new concept in the field of biology—a separate category for species that scientists can’t find, as opposed to ones that are formally deemed extinct. There’s a new scientific journal to keep track of all of these critters and plants, and its editor is UNR biology professor Matthew Forister.
Recently, this concept of (species) being “lost” has come about. We can talk about species as being lost if we can’t find them. It doesn’t mean they’re extinct. It means we don’t know where they are. … It takes the scientific community decades to agree that something is extinct— because that means there isn’t a single individual alive anywhere in the world. … If you can’t give me a record for something within the last 10 years, then we can agree it’s lost. And then, it’ll take a long time beyond that to understand what’s going on.
The founder of a publishing platform for kids in grades 4 to 8 on why writing is important
Students at the Davidson Academy, a free public school for gifted middle and high school students, write in on occasion to let us know about ambitious projects they’ve launched. One of them is 17-year-old Ishan Panda, who, at age 15, founded the Young Author’s Anthology of Northern Nevada, a program to motivate young writers to write and publish. Panda shared an insight that resonated loud and clear with us news folks.
People who are able to write really well have a lot more opportunities available to them solely because they can write. It’s something that you can control. The opportunities that open as a result of it are incredible, much better than any sort of privilege or locker status can give you.
The director of a film about Nevada’s state cocktail, on how viewers near and far reacted
Surely, Northern Nevada’s most beloved “when in Rome” practice is drinking a picon punch. Some call the bitter taste an acquired one, but we like them nonetheless, and we love to talk about them. Mark Maynard is the director of Piconland: The Quest for the Perfect Picon Punch.
We get a lot of people who want to talk after screenings, which is always a great feeling. In Nevada, people want to tell you their best picon story, and usually, the picon is centered around a big night that they remember—or don’t remember. And in places where people aren’t familiar with it, they have all kinds of questions: What does it taste like? What’s in it? How do you make it? How can I get that liquor? Can I buy that here in New York or Montana?
A Sparks mom on her group’s efforts to help curb smartphone overuse among kids
A group that has been asking families to pledge to hold off kids’ smartphone use until the end of middle school has been gaining traction for about a year. Brandi Vesco is a co-leader of Wait Until 8th Reno-Sparks
The first thing I say (to parents) is that we’re a group of parents who are banding together to say “not yet” to the smartphone together, until at least the end of eighth-grade, to crush that social pressure on kids to have one. And usually they’re like, “Oh God, yeah.” They feel kind of helpless. Some of them are like, “That ship sailed,” and I’m like, “Well, here are some things you can do if you want to dial it back, if it doesn’t feel good. No. 1, keep it out of their bedroom at night.”
A nonprofit director on Nevada’s literacy problem
Courtney Vogt, the Northern Nevada director for the statewide literacy group Spread the Word Nevada, works hard to get books to children.
Right now, only about 28% of students in fourth-grade are reading at grade level statewide. Washoe County—we’re a little bit higher. We’re at about 42%. What happens is, when the students can’t read at grade level, they’re unable to complete their homework. They’re unable to do the things that they need to do in order to grow and be successful in the future. It’s really impactful, even on their adult life, when they are behind.