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Weekly Newsletter

School is back in session in Southern Nevada! This week, I got to meet students across Clark County as kids went back to school. On Monday, I greeted young students on the first day of class at Matt Elementary School and then helped serve lunches at Tom Williams Elementary School. This year, Nevada has invested $75 million to ensure all students have access to free meals in school this year. I also got a tour of the Southeast Career Technical Academy, the #1 Magnet School in the Nation. I’m proud to celebrate the schools’ dedication to workforce innovation and development – SECTA focuses on some of our most in-demand sectors, including the medical and teaching fields, to ensure our students are trained and prepared to kickstart their careers. I am looking forward to celebrating the first week of school in Northern Nevada next week.

I’m proud to announce the launch of the statewide Youth Suicide Prevention campaign lead by Hope Means Nevada and SilverSummit HealthPlan. Just one family losing a child is unthinkable – this campaign aims to connect young Nevadans to free mental health resources. There are resources available across the state – and we need to ensure families and young adults know where to find them and know: they are not alone in this fight. Last month, we launched 988, an easy-to-remember behavioral health and crisis phone number. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, calls and messages are answered by trained, compassionate staff ready to help. Click here for more information.

Thank you,

Governor Sisolak

Answering Nevada's Questions

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles is going to appointment-only on Monday, August 15th and will end most walk-in services.

Q: Why is the DMV making this change?

A: The DMV is eliminating walk-in services due to sustained staff shortages and high customer demand at the DMV’s six largest offices in Carson City, Henderson, Las Vegas and Reno.

To accommodate for the change, the four DMV locations in Henderson and Las Vegas are adding a total of 4,000 new appointments per week. Many DMV services are available online.

The DMV’s commercial and rural offices are not affected by this change.

Q: What does that mean for me?

A: The DMV offices in Carson City, Henderson, Las Vegas and Reno offer appointments for services you can’t do online. Beginning Aug. 15, only customers with an appointment will be served at the six metro locations Monday through Friday. Walk-ins will be accepted only for vehicle movement permits, license plate drop-offs, driver’s license reinstatements, past-due debts, kiosk transactions and vehicle inspections.

Walk-in services on Saturdays will remain the same. Offices open on Saturdays will continue to issue return tickets for all transactions until they reach capacity.

Visit the DMV online first! See if you can do your transaction online and, if not, make an appointment.

See dmv.nv.gov.

This Week’s Nevada Small Business Spotlight: Taproot

Travelers venturing along the Loneliest Road in America know that Highway 50 is one of the most scenic routes through the Silver State, and the road less traveled now leads to an oasis in Downtown Ely, Nevada, at Taproot Café. Owner and founder of Taproot, Mindi Jensen, has deep roots in White Pine County, with a family history dating back four generations. Now, she is building her own legacy by developing community through concerted efforts around coffee, art, and music, to create inviting spaces that cater to everyone.

Taproot’s signature coffees and teas, ice creams, shakes, and smoothies are delightful in their own right, but it is Mindi’s support of local musicians and artists that sets her gathering places apart from the rest. Jensen says, “Our focus is to provide people something, in addition to a wide variety of drinks, to bring an inclusive environment that showcases the incredible talent of the folks that live here.” Incorporating art workshops, giving local artists and photographers wall space, and selling local handmade items, creates the warm environment that Mindi always wanted, one which allows people to come together to support and enjoy live music and other shared creative endeavors.

Launching the business in January of 2020, Mindi has expanded her small downtown café into three locations across Ely in the past two and a half years, despite the pandemic and its problems for small businesses. Mindi’s two Taproot Café locations, and her soon to open event venue, The Space, is providing essential employment opportunities, as well as satiating a need for progressive business development in one of the most rural cities in the lower forty-eight states.

Ely residents and visitors to the high-desert city have responded overwhelmingly to Mindi’s concepts, enabling the business’s rapid growth. The Space will open this October, next door to the Downtown Ely Taproot location, and provide a much needed rentable venue that will be available for the wide gamut of interests ranging from dance classes, yoga, live performances, receptions, and art showings. Mindi’s Taproot Café and The Space are small businesses with a big impact, offering more than just coffee but a cornerstone to the community.

Resources for Nevadans

Employment Assistance Available for Veterans, Veterans’ Spouse

DETR’s Veterans Employment Service provides services to assist Veterans or Eligible Spouse's with employment services.

Services include job search workshops, resume preparation, interviewing skills, aptitude testing, vocational guidance, counseling services, and access to Nevada's Career Information System (NCIS) and Labor Market Information. You can visit a Nevada JobConnect office near you, to be paired with services.

Free Training to Recognize Signs of Suicide and Depression

As school heads back into session, there is no better time to know about the Signs of Suicide for your child or their friends. Just as we do physical health check-ins, we can do mental health check-ins too! The Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention provides free, virtual, or in-person trainings to recognize the Signs of Suicide and to learn how to connect a loved one to support and resources.

If you are interested in participating in an upcoming training, please register here.

Affordable Connectivity Program Offers Lower Internet Costs

The Affordable Connectivity Program is a Federal Communications Commission program that helps connect families and households struggling to afford internet service. This new benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers.

Eligible households can enroll through a participating broadband provider or directly with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) using an online or mail in application.

You can learn more about the benefit, including eligibility and enrollment information, by visiting www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575

Learn to Fish with the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW)!

NDOW offers a variety of FREE classes to introduce Nevadans to various techniques and equipment to ensure a successful fishing outing. Classes are currently scheduled for northern Nevada from now through October, and include numerous two-day Introduction to Fly Fishing classes, a Youth Introduction to Fishing Clinic, fly tying classes and more! This is a great time of year to experience fishing for the first time or to hone your angling skills!

Find fishing clinics and register by scrolling down to the “Fishing Education” section at this link. If you live in southern Nevada, be sure to keep an eye on the schedule at the link. Classes will be posted as the weather cools down in the fall!

Easy Way for Medicaid Members to Update their Address

There is a new easy way for Nevada Medicaid members to update their address, which is critical as Nevada prepares for the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Click here to update.

Nevada Medicaid staff used an innovative method through Microsoft Forms to quickly create the form and then embedded the form in a Nevada Medicaid website. Updated flyers, social media messages and even email signatures are available here.

Clark County Asking for Creative Submissions for the Permanent 1 October Memorial

With your help, the permanent #1OctoberMemorial will reflect our community, our strength and resilience after 1 October – and honor the lives lost and the lives forever impacted. There are several ways you can give your input, with drawings, songs, short videos and more.

Clark County launched the 1 October Memorial Gallery to showcase the creative expressions that have been submitted so far that design team finalists will review. You can view the gallery on the app.

The call for creative submissions goes through September 30.

Learn more HERE.

Be COVID-prepared for Back to School

As Nevada students head back to the classroom, information on COVID-19 resources for testing, treatment and vaccination will be made available to schools and families. Information in English and Spanish is available for schools to have in their front office to help families, and also as a convenient document families can use for reference.

Resources available to help Nevadans mitigate the risk of COVID-19:

Get vaccinated against COVID-19. Learn about the vaccines available, and where and how to get your vaccination appointment at NVCOVIDFighter.com or call the vaccine hotline at 800-401-0946.

Get tested if you are exposed or have symptoms. If you have symptoms or know that you have been exposed to COVID-19, get tested to prevent disease spread. Learn more about testing clinics, or free at-home tests available for pickup at https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/find-covid-19-testing-in-nevada/

Learn about therapeutics. COVID-19 treatment appointments can be made through Nevada’s hotline at 800-401-0946. The hotline can help determine if you are eligible for oral antivirals or monoclonal antibody treatments after infection or for pre-exposure medication to increase immune response if you were to be infected in the future. The pre-screening can also be done online at NevadaCOVIDTreatment.com

Getting to Know Your State Government

The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange

The Silver State Health Insurance Exchange (Exchange) is the state agency that operates the online health insurance marketplace known as Nevada Health Link. Nevada Health Link is where eligible Nevada residents can shop for, compare, and purchase quality and affordable health, dental, and vision plans with ease. Open Enrollment runs from November 1, 2022 to January 15, 2023. Outside the Open Enrollment Period, you can enroll in a health insurance plan if you have a qualifying life event during a Special Enrollment Period.

The Exchange facilitates and connects eligible Nevadans who are not insured by their employer, Medicaid, or Medicare to health insurance options. Individuals can purchase Affordable Care Act (ACA) certified Qualified Health Plans through Nevada Health Link, and if eligible, can receive financial assistance, often referred to as subsidies or tax credits, to help offset their monthly premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

Nevada Health Link has a statewide network of licensed enrollment professionals – agents/brokers or navigators - who have been trained to assist you with the application and enrollment process, and their assistance is available to you at no cost. After enrolling, your assister can continue helping you throughout the year by reporting changes to your account, helping you understand important notices, walking you through the annual renewal process, and more.

Stay up to date with Nevada Health Link:

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