Renoites

This week's guest on Renoites is Zach Cage, one of the owners of The Brewer's Cabinet, a local craft brewery with a whole family of bars and restaurants here in Reno. Their properties include the Brewer's Cabinet Brewpub and Taproom on California and Arlington, their production facility just off West 4th Street, and the local bars Sierra Tap House, Old Bridge Pub, and Shim's. Zach and Conor talk about the history and growth of the Brewer's Cabinet, the various influences on beer culture both generally as well as specifically in Reno, BC's nonprofit Reno Rebuild Project which provides loans to other small businesses in Reno, the culture of home brewing, ideas for walkable districts centered around breweries, the upcoming Strange Brew Festival, and so much more! Thank you so much for listening! If you have feedback or guest suggestions, please shoot me a message on social media (I'm on Instagram and Facebook) or email me at conor@renoites.com

One of the most essential elements of our infrastructure in the United States, for moving freight across the country, for getting travelers and commuters to their destinations, and for addressing the challenges of a changes climate is railroads. There are about 140,000 miles of railroad track in the United States, much of it being severely under-utilized for various reasons. On this episode of Renoites, we welcome Ron Kaminkow. Ron is an Amtrak Engineer based in Reno, Nevada who serves as co-chair of the Nevada Rail Coalition, a "citizen-based initiative that brings together organizations, groups and individuals, including unions, environmental organizations, passenger and freight rail advocacy associations, social justice organizations, and neighborhood and community associations for the purpose of building an expanded and more robust rail system" Ron and Conor discuss the history of the rail network in the United States, the reasons for declining freight and passenger rail (and solutions to reverse the trend), the project of building an industrial union in an industry dominated by smaller craft unions under the banner of the Railroad Workers United, the impact of the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill on passenger rail, plus local issues like passenger connectivity between Reno and the Bay Area and the legacy of the downtown trench project. Thank you so much for listening! Be sure to follow Renoites on Instagram and Facebook and if you'd like to support the show financially visit patreon.com/renoites to become an official patron. Send any comments, feedback or guest suggestions! My email is conor@renoites.com    

Kasey Crispin is an owner and operator of both Prema Farms, a local hand-scale farm located just outside of Reno, and the Riverside Farmer's Market, a year-round farmers market at the McKinley Arts Center on the Truckee River just outside of Downtown Reno. On this episode of Renoites, the first in Season 3, Conor and Kasey talk about what it was like starting a farm and learning about the challenges of growing in the high desert, starting a family and living in a tiny home on the farm, the health and environmental benefits of local farms compared to Big Agriculture, how to develop healthy soil to become less reliant on artificial fertilizers and pesticides, and much more. We also talk about the Riverside Farmers Market and its central role in creating a consistent "gathering place" for Reno residents and visitors to run into each other and meet their local farmers, artisans and craftspeople. The Riverside Farmers Market has experimented with larger events with more vendors and expanding their footprint to include Riverside Drive, including a local food faire last year and a supersized Mother's Day event this year on Saturday May 7. Visit the Riverside Farmers Market every Saturday Morning (October through May) or Thursday Evening (June through September) at the McKinley Arts Center. Thank you so much for listening to the show! Please take a moment to share this episode with some friends who may enjoy it! Word of mouth is essential for the show to continue growing and finding new listeners, and I can't do it without your help! Reach out any time with feedback or guest suggestions to conor@renoites.com

Connie Wray has been a fixture of the local media community in Reno for over 20 years. The long time cohost of Bill and Connie in the Morning on Alice 96.5, Connie was always along for our drive time commute in the Reno area, as well as a regular figure at community events of all types, and is now hosting her own projects The Next Stage with Connie Wray, and the new local TV show Love, Reno.  On this week's episode of Renoites, Connie joins Conor to talk about her long career in local media. This wide ranging conversation covers Connie's move to Reno in the 1990s to work in radio, the natural connection that grows out of regularly communicating with an audience, the advantages and disadvantages of working live as an event MC, her views on how Reno is growing and changing, her advocacy work with Brain Health Restoration and focus on mental health following a family tragedy, and so much more. You can watch the latest episodes of The Next Stage and Love, Reno on Connie's YouTube channel and follow her on Facebook. Thank you so much for listening!

What do many of the most iconic Burning Man sculptures have in common? There's a pretty decent chance that they were constructed right here in the Reno area at The Generator, an arts space in Sparks that has been a hub for local and international artists leading up to Burning Man, as well as arts events and education throughout the year. This week on Renoites, Conor speaks with Jessi Janusee, the communications director of The Generator about their new location in the new "Oddie District," and the various uses of the Generator's space, from youth education to zine making workshops to huge collaborative construction of enormous sculptures destined for the Black Rock Desert. Other topics include Reno's viability as a city for working artists, the value of arts education and hands on learning for young people, the magic of collaboration and skill-sharing, the Generator's own podcast Signal Boost, dressing up like a clown for fun, the upcoming Punk Rock Flea Market, and a whole lot more! The release party for the Generator's latest community-created zine is Thursday, April 17 at The Hub Coffee Roasters on Pine. The Punk Rock Flea Market is April 30 and May 1 at The Generator. Find information about the Generator and all their events at their website https://www.therenogenerator.com Find Jessi's clown troupe on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/royalroustaboutrodeo/ This episode is labeled explicit but there's really just like one or two minor profanities. Thank you so much for listening!

The sport of running has experienced several booms in popularity over the decades, from charity 5k fun runs to extremely challenging long distances races through incredibly inhospitable environments. For the most dedicated runners, one of the pinnacles of achievement is the ultra-marathon. Anything over 26.2 miles counts as an ultra, but many of the most popular events are 100 miles long. This week on Renoites, Conor talks with John Trent, race director for Silver State Endurance Runs and longtime member of the local running and walking group Silver State Striders. John has run over 17 of those 100-mile races and countless others in the course of his decades-long running career. In this episode, Conor and John talk all about the sport of running: What draws people to the sport, what it's like to run for 100 miles, whether running is safe, the mental health benefits of running, what happened with that barefoot running trend from a while back, the seeming contradiction of running being a solo sport with a strong community element, how beginners should approach running to avoid injury or burnout, why walking is also a great idea, and so much more! Check out the Silver State Striders website here. They run on Tuesday and Thursday nights and do a long run every Saturday. Thank you so much for listening! If you have suggestions for guests or topics, please let me know! Email me anytime at conor@renoites.com 

Alzheimer's disease affects more than 6 million Americans, with an estimated 44,000 diagnosed cases here in Nevada (and likely many more undiagnosed cases as well). This week on Renoites, Conor welcomes Niki Rubarth and Denise Hund from the Alzheimer's Association of Northern California and Nevada. We talk about the symptoms of Alzheimer's, the difference between Dementia and Alzheimers, risk factors and warning signs, early onset Alzheimer's that can affect younger people, resources and programs for family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients, the importance of support groups, a new breakthrough monoclonal antibody treatment in clinical trials, and so much more. Thank you so much for listening! Please be sure to tell everyone you know about this podcast so that I can continue to bring these conversations to the people of the Reno area. If you have suggestions for guests or topics, please email me at conor@renoites.com I appreciate your support! You can learn more about Alzheimer's symptoms and resources at the following links: http://www.alz.org/nevada http://www.alz.org/Nevada-espanol The Walk to End Alzheimer's takes place in October. You can learn more and register here: https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2022/CA-NorthernCaliforniaandNorthernNevada?pg=entry&fr_id=15428 You can also find the Alzheimer's Association on Facebook and Instagram  

If you have been paying attention to any of the big news stories in Reno for the last few years, you’ve probably heard a lot from the local activist community.  From the protests following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, to the Stop the Sweeps protests and rallies which picked up steam last year, all the way up to the recent community meetings about development and the Jacobs’ Neon Line project, the voices of our local activist community have been a common presence. This week on Renoites, Conor speaks with Lily Baran about the meaning of activism in a city like Reno. Last year, Lily and several other activists were cited for protesting at a park outside city hall (the charges were dropped- it was apparent the protesters were unfairly targeted by police). She also appeared at a recent Propublica forum to discuss affordable housing in Reno, has provided public comment at countless City Council meetings, and is generally a prominent figure in the local activist community. On this episode, Conor and Lily discuss what activism really means, the difference between performative and action-based activism, the role of social media in spreading ideas, accountability and difficult conversations, creating alternative systems of mutual aid and power, what defunding the police should actually look like, building relationships slowly and sustainably, her Hampton House mutual aid garden project, and so much more! Thank you so much for listening! Come to the Renoites Anniversary Party on March 10 at the Brewer's Cabinet Production Facility! Details and RSVP here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/renoites-1-year-anniversary-party-tickets-268336059377   Lily’s Recommendations for learning more about the topics we discussed: Instagrams: Dr. Ayesha Khan: https://www.instagram.com/wokescientist/ The Nap Ministry: https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/   Books: The Body is Not an Apology  by Sonya Renee Taylor https://thebodyisnotanapology.com   Abolition. Feminism. Now. by Angela Y. Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R. Meiners, and Beth E. Richie https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1546-abolition-feminism-now   Six by Ten- Stories from Solitary Edited by Mateo Hoke and Taylor Pendergrass https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1186-six-by-ten   Begin Again- James Baldwin’s America and its Urgent Lessons for Our Own by Eddie S. Glaude Jr. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/575725/begin-again-by-eddie-s-glaude-jr/   What about the Rapists? An Abolitionist FAQ https://www.interruptingcriminalization.com/what-about-the-rapists