This is the last regular monthly print edition of the Reno News & Review that you’ll be able hold in your hands before we go all-digital (with the exception of our Best of Northern Nevada issue, as well as possible occasional special editions). To mark the occasion, we’re presenting the local-news version of a time capsule!
We’re predicting what various aspects of Reno will be like 10 years from now. Some of our predictions are wishful thinking; some are probably-not-too-bad guesses based on past trends; and one is based on actual data from actual experts.
While we’re collectively optimistic about the future of some things—like the art and music scenes, especially given the motivated young people who will soon be running them—we have frustrations with the present, and more than a wisp of anxiety about the things we fear may go from bad to worse.
In any case, we hope you’ll remain an RN&R reader for another decade, because in 2035, we intend to revisit this issue—and look at how well our predictions held up.
The music scene will still rock
Even though I love being in the Reno music scene, as both a musician and a writer, I always feel a bit of apprehension.
Audiences and venues come and go like the wind—and it can be a formidable, Nevada-like zephyr that blows your musical plans and enthusiasm away. So be careful what you wish for, and don’t get your hopes up, fans and players.
However, there are two developments on which I’m willing to bet.
The East Fourth Street makeover will stick: Local music in 2025 has been dominated by East Fourth Street. And it’s a big surprise—because this was not the case as little as two years ago. The street includes bigger spaces like The Alpine and Club Underground, all-ages venue 4th Street Brewery/Coffee Bar, acoustic venue Black Rabbit Mead Company, mostly electronica shows at Dead Ringer Analog Bar, and two cozy but loud rock rooms: Cellar Stage at Alturas Bar, and Davidson’s Distillery. Coming soon is the indoor/outdoor music venue that Starsound Audio announced that it plans to open at the old Morris Burner Hotel in 2026.
While that’s great right now, there’s no way every one of those places will last until 2035. Reno has a fickle longevity rep for venues staying open past five years—at best. Will the increased competition cause closures? Will building owners jump ship and cut promoters and music directors loose when there’s less money flying around? Crucially, will the audience truly adopt that part of town despite its flaws?
I’m thinking that Wells Avenue or Midtown might get hotter with more venues, as in the past, but, just as it is on Fourth Street, it all depends on who has the money, genuine interest and/or smarts to stick it out.
Downtown will be its usual scattered self, with NIMBYs and panic-people continuing to spoil the fun for the rest of us.
The kids will absolutely be alright: The Holland Project is the benchmark of the under-21 scene, an established beacon for new bands that has become wonderfully less-cliquey about what it programs in recent years. We also have Midnight Coffee Roasting doing shows on the regular, and small-but-scrappy spaces such as The Empire near downtown, and Pizzava Showspace in Sparks.
This can be nothing but a rad development. It may sound like a cliché, but so be it: The future of the Reno music scene is young people. We’re in a genuine renaissance now of interesting and inventive bands with people under 25 at their cores (like Wormshot, Reeking Slug and Next Question), and that will only increase by the mid ’30s, with today’s middle-schoolers potentially blowing our minds.
—Mark Earnest, writer, music critic, songwriter and singer in former bands Vague Choir, The Vitriolics and Dirt Communion; and current bands Kanawha and Manchild
The art scene will still be scrappy
When I first landed in Reno in 2004, I noticed two things that made the art world here seem different.
One: Even though there were plenty of artists, there was something missing—a commercial gallery infrastructure, typically considered a critical component for advancing an art career. Two: Local artists were filling that gap with inventiveness and grit like nobody’s business. Without many options for gallery representation, they took the necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention maxim by the reins—organizing professional-looking shows anywhere they could find space, in places like cafes, libraries and motel rooms.
Over the next few years, a string of small, experimental galleries run by artists came and went—among them The Chapterhouse in Midtown (before anyone called it Midtown); Blue Lion on Evans Avenue behind Louis’ Basque Corner; Grayspace in the cute, old duplex on Cheney Street where Death and Taxes now serves cocktails; Fireplace Gallery on Second and Ralston streets, where a few others and I hosted photography shows; and Never Ender, which had the longest run, lasting until 2018. This bustling little indy-gallery scene was possible because of then-dirt-cheap rents.
Later, in the 2011-’13 era, a different wave of DIY energy characterized the scene. Alisha Funkhouser, director of education and youth programs at the Holland Project, put it this way: “Artists were doing weird popups in alleyways and things like that, which was really cool to see happen.”
Then, in the COVID and post-COVID-era, she noticed a trend of homegrown galleries run out of artists’ garages, basements and backyard sheds.
Today, the opportunities to learn how to make art in town are plentiful and varied. The Wedge ceramics studio launched in 2011. The Generator makerspace opened in 2013, and the region’s community-college offerings are strong. There are also more places than ever to see art. The Lilley Museum opened at UNR in 2019, and the Nevada Museum of Art expanded by 120,000 square feet this year.
But the commercial gallery infrastructure remains undeveloped. What does this mean for the future? Here’s what my crystal ball says:
• Will we see a commercial gallery system develop by 2035? I’m not holding my breath.
• Will rent ever be inexpensive enough again to entice artists to open their own experimental galleries? Barring an utter apocalypse, no.
• Will inventiveness and grit persist as the Reno art scene’s brand forever? You can count on it.
—Kris Vagner, RN&R managing editor and longtime arts writer
Will downtown Reno get it together?
Predicting the future of Reno’s downtown has always been tricky, but it’s grown even more so with the consolidation of so much property into the hands of a few private entities, namely Caesars Entertainment (The ROW); Jacobs Entertainment (J Resort); and the owners of Revival (the former Harrah’s Reno).
Experience has taught us that even plans announced with great confidence by large entities like these can change abruptly, as casino interests explore new ways to diversify and differentiate themselves; commercial developers navigate fluctuating demand for office and retail space; and everyone struggles with the high costs of construction. Expect a decade of surprises.
That said, we’re sure to see downtown’s remaining gaming properties and city-owned venues doubling down on indoor and outdoor special events, sports and concerts over the next decade in hopes of drawing more locals and visitors to the area. Redeveloped and new multi-family housing projects will continue to fill in some of the gaps, although—if current patterns hold—they’ll do so without adding many street-level commercial spaces, which developers often consider too risky.
A pivotal question will be whether the increasing size and frequency of special events, with their accompanying noise, crowds and traffic, will attract or deter potential residents of this central downtown core.
—Alicia Barber, historian and author of the local policy Substack The Barber Brief and the 2008 book Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City
Local news headlines in 2035
Billionaires banned from Burning Man
‘Entitled riffraff no longer welcome’
Global warming news: Hot August Nights event will be held in February this year
President Ocasio-Cortez to visit Reno after demolishing White House ballroom
Harrah’s Reno property sold … again
New owner to take over renovations
Lear Theater celebrates fifth anniversary after reopening as Reno Cultural Center
Last of Nevada’s convicted ‘fake electors’ to complete prison terms in December
Indigenous tribes win lawsuit to reclaim ancestral lands in central Nevada
Gov. Eddie Lorton campaigns for re-election, will face challenger Hillary Schieve in November
Cycling association tags Reno-Sparks as ‘most bicycle-friendly’ city in nation
UNR to build fifth new gymnasium, reducing campus parking to 27 spaces
Tesla battery plant to close after new quantum coils replace lithium
‘Guinness’ record book lists USA Parkway as ‘longest parking lot in the West’
Tenants demand lawmakers pass rent control
Studio apartment rents top $3.5K per month
Struggling J Resort will be shuttered
Property earmarked as homeless center
Reno City Council touts yet another plan to revive city’s downtown core
Legislature passes mining profits tax, ending industry’s sweetheart deal
—Frank X Mullen, investigative reporter, author, historian and RN&R editor at large
Your commute in 2035
Major roads will be widened to alleviate traffic congestion; more people will move here, worsening traffic congestion
By now, are you thinking, “What? An article about the future, and they haven’t even mentioned AI yet?”
Fret not, because when I asked Bill Thomas, the Regional Transportation Commission’s executive director, what the future of local transportation looks like, he said: “Probably the biggest, most visionary, impactful thing would be autonomous vehicles.” Yes, self-driving cars with AI for a brain.
Thomas said that traffic congestion is often more likely to be due to the behavior of drivers than the number of them on a given roadway. People turn when they’re not supposed to, or drive faster than they need to—“all the things that can really disrupt the flow of traffic,” he said.
While smoother-flowing, AI-directed traffic is possible in theory, will we see it in Reno by 2035? I’ll let you do your own math on that one. Here are three factors to consider:
One: A spokesperson for Waymo, the leading autonomous vehicle-maker with ride-hail fleets in Phoenix, San Franciso and Los Angeles (and soon Las Vegas), sent this statement: “While we are eager to bring Waymo to major cities, we currently have no specific plans or timelines to share regarding Waymo’s future in Reno.”
Two: Thomas noted that transportation technology, even if it’s effective, can sometimes be slow to catch on with the public. He used traffic-enforcement cameras as an example: “Even though we have technology to improve safety by having these autonomous cameras, they never can seem to get through the Legislature because of arguments that it’s basically too much of an invasive thing for government to do that.”
Three: Tech avoidance tends to decrease with time. Said Thomas: “As younger generations start moving in, I don’t think they have the same kind of fear, maybe, as some of the older generations.”
Autonomous vehicle projections aside, one burning question many Reno residents are asking now is, “Will my commute to the North Valleys ever improve?” I have good news, and I have bad news.
On one hand, the RTC has plans to begin widening North Virginia Street between Parr Boulevard and Panther Valley in a couple of years. And the Nevada Department of Transportation has a project under way to widen U.S. 395. Phase 1 from McCarran Boulevard to the Golden Valley interchange is just about finished. Construction on Phase 2, from Golden Valley up to Stead, is expected to begin in 2026.
On the other hand, Reno’s population is expected to keep growing, and in areas like Spanish Springs and south Reno, where there’s been a lot of development in recent decades, there’s not much room left to build. According to Thomas, the North Valleys area is the most likely candidate for further development.
While we’re discussing the future of transportation, there’s another major project that you may want to keep an eye on: On the 13-mile stretch of Interstate 80 from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway (to and from ever-growing Fernley), NDOT is preparing to add one lane in each direction.
Improving safety on this stretch is a high priority.
“There is so much traffic in such a narrow corridor,” said Nick Johnson, chief of the project management division at NDOT. “If there’s an accident there, we’d rather get the people off the road onto a shoulder where they’re safe (and where emergency responders can get through). … Right now, if there’s an accident anywhere between Vista and Mustang, it shuts down an entire lane. Sometimes it shuts down the whole direction depending on how severe it is.”
Therefore, NDOT’s plan also includes widening the shoulders.
Johnson said the goal is to begin construction in 2027, and his best estimate is that it may take three or more years to complete.
Meanwhile, USA Parkway will continue to fill in. (Current plans include a Vantage Data Center and a Starbucks, almost certainly mere drops in the bucket of a long era of development there.) And the city of Fernley Strategic Plan projects that the city of 20,000 will grow to a city of 40,000 by 2040.
How exactly will the supply and demand for road space pan out? Will the significant highway improvements in our busiest corridors outpace population growth to truly alleviate traffic? Can autonomous vehicles help?
I hereby cheese out and make no promises. Only time will tell.
—Kris Vagner
In politics: A new, non-partisan generation
In 10 years, our endless national nightmare will finally be over.
The Republican Congress will have awoken from its Trump fever dream after abandoning their constitutional duty to be a check on the executive branch, salvaging a smidgen of political self-respect. Nevada’s Republican Party will sustain its infighting between business interests and extremists politicking on the fringe, still managing to win some important statewide races whenever the powerful forces in Nevada politics agree on a candidate.
Nevada’s Democratic Party will be a faint echo of the Harry Reid era, having experienced a mass exodus of party stalwarts to non-partisanship status in 2025 after our two Democratic U.S. senators exhibited the inability to think ahead to an end game, caving instead to the Trumpian madness—while state legislative leadership pushed for a massive tax giveaway to corporate overlords at a time when people were digging in trash cans for food.
Successful candidates at all levels of government will be younger, more diverse and laser-focused on helping their constituents instead of their campaign contributors. Non-partisan candidates will win important races, forcing long overdue changes in campaign-finance rules, gerrymandering and Nevada’s infamously unfair tax structure. Multinational mining corporations and Elon Musk still won’t contribute their fair share to the state’s coffers, but since they pay next to nothing now, it’ll at least be something.
One can dream, right?
—Sheila Leslie, former Nevada legislator and former RN&R political columnist
Short takes
What matters now in Reno stays in Reno
What will happen with the Lear Theater?
Nothing.
Will locals ever start calling the area “Reno/Tahoe” like marketers want them to?
Not on our watch.
Will we ever stop arguing about whether to fill potholes or fund public art?
We will not.
Will all-you-can-eat sushi still be a thing?
Oh, hell yes.
—Kris Vagner
The future of local media: Dumpster fire or triumph?
In 10 years, Reno’s news environment will take one of two forms.
On our current trajectory, Gannett and other news corporations will continue to screw over legacy news outlets nationwide, including our “local paper of record,” the Reno Gazette-Journal.
The media behemoth, which owns the RGJ, has already cut its workforce in half since its 2019 merger with GateHouse. (Nationally, more than 3,000 local newspapers have disappeared since 2005.)
Next, it will convert the RGJ into a news vending machine—full of cheap, easily accessible garbage and devoid of anything that could sustain a community.
The result in Reno will be fewer reporters with kids in Washoe County schools, and more syndicated outrage-bait about your favorite culture war issue of choice—from Gannett’s AI writing bureau—meant to garner bloodthirsty comments on social media from our less-than-informed citizenry.
Into that vacuum will step “independent” journalists. Substack alone now hosts more than 5 million paid subscriptions and more than 50,000 money-making publications. Some of these “independent” journalists are excellent. Hopefully, some will come from our own local Reynolds School of Journalism and graciously elect to stick around in a town that is, increasingly, ambivalent to their efforts.
However, many of the “citizen journalist” content creators—cutting their teeth with iPhone ring-lights on YouTube—answer only to their subscribers’ most noxious, racist and unhinged ideas about what reporting is. In a country where just 28% of Americans say they trust the media to report fully and fairly, telling people their worst suspicions are correct is a terrific growth strategy—no ethical standards or editorial oversight required.
And I’d be remiss if I let traditional newsrooms off the hook. When journalists angle for fellowships, panels and the approval of business and political elites, rather than going to bat for concerned readers, they help dig the trust hole deeper.
So that’s one path. What’s the other path we might tread?
Reno collectively decides to give a shit. Locals decide to pay for local outlets with clear ethics codes, boringly detailed coverage of budgets and buses, and reporters who would rather rummage through the powerful’s trash than eat at their dinner tables.
I have hope. Even now, there are dedicated, caring and knowledgeable professionals doggedly running down stories about local government, art, music, food, business, health—all the aspects of our lives that need to be shared if we want to live in a “city” instead of just next to one another.
I am grateful to have known many of these journalists, and I am touched to have been counted among them in some instances. Many might still be doing the job 10 years from now. We should all be so lucky.
By empowering (and funding) them and their kindred, we’ll have the kind of news environment that holds the mighty to account, that informs our ability to govern ourselves, and, yes, keeps us entertained with the worthy and wacky exploits of our neighbors.
Without them, we’ll trade democracy for doomscrolling through someone else’s algorithm.
—Matt Bieker, music writer, news reporter and former RN&R special projects editor