A siren has been sounding in Minden Nevada for more than 100 years, reminding the Native American community of a traumatic past. Now, lawmakers are pushing to silence the siren one more time. Lawmakers are discussing a bill that would prohibit Nevada counties, cities and unincorporated towns from sounding sirens, bells or alarms for certain purposes. Senate Bill 391 targets a controversial siren in Minden that has been going off every day for a century, which is connected to the town’s history as a “sundown town.” Until 1974, anyone who wasn’t white had to leave Minden and neighboring Gardnerville at the end of every day or face dire consequences. A 1917 county ordinance mandated that Native Americans needed to be out of the town’s limits by 6:30 p.m. Local authorities sound the siren every day at noon and 5 p.m. Some Minden residents insist it’s meant to pay tribute to the volunteer fire department and first responders.
3 Southwest Alaska Native tribes sue feds, seeking to block a Donlin Mine. The tribes, with the help of the environmental law firm Earthjustice, sued the federal government on Tuesday, seeking to block the development of a large gold mine in Southwest Alaska. In a 29-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court, they claim various federal agencies improperly permitted the Donlin Gold Mine. Specifically, they allege that officials failed to properly analyze the environmental impact if there were to be a failure of a planned dam that would hold back the mine waste, known as tailings. In addition, they allege that officials failed to correctly determine the mine’s impact on the Kuskokwim River, and failed to take into account the effects of the mine on the health of area residents.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
