Northern Nevada Development Authority: Mineral County Joins Nevada’s Sierra Region
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 07/12/2019 - 12:12pm
Northern Nevada Development Authority on Friday announced its economic development service area has been expanded to include Mineral County. The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development \has designated NNDA as the regional development authority (RDA) for the county, effective July 1, 2019. Mineral County joins Nevada’s Sierra Region that also includes Carson City, Douglas County, Lyon County and Storey County.
Nevada’s Sierra Region has a total land mass of 7,009 square miles and a population over 165,450, including Mineral County. It includes 3 incorporated cities, approximately 30 unincorporated towns, 7 of Nevada’s 27 Tribal communities, and 4 of the state’s 61 federally-designated Opportunity Zones (one urban and three rural).
“Nevada is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, and Mineral County needs to leverage that activity to grow and diversify its own economy,” said Chris Hegg, Chairman, Mineral County Board of Commissioners. “After considering the economic impact NNDA has been able to achieve since 2010, both for the Sierra Region as a whole and for each of its member counties individually, it became apparent that the organization’s approach could help our county achieve its economic development goals.”
Mineral County has a total land mass of 3,813 square miles and a population just over 4,400. Economic drivers include Manufacturing, Tourism, and Agriculture, with Aviation, Logistics and Mining recognized as emerging industry sectors. Part of the Walker River Paiute Reservation is located within Mineral County and includes Schurz, NV, the only town on the Reservation. For visitors and locals alike, Walker Lake offers many recreational options, along with over 1,000 miles of unfenced dirt roads and trails for the adventurous.
Hawthorne is the county seat and known as “America’s Patriotic Home.” The Hawthorne Army Depot Base plays an important role in keeping the U.S. safe, storing conventional munitions and demilitarizing and disposing of unserviceable, obsolete and surplus munitions. History enthusiasts enjoy the Hawthorne Ordnance Museum that houses a variety of military uniforms, photos and memorabilia.
“NNDA is excited to be working with Mineral County and believes it complements the rest of the Sierra Region counties,” said, Robert “Rob” Hooper, NNDA President and CEO. “Though the region is very large geographically, its communities are all interconnected and interdependent. What affects one area, town, city or county, affects the entire region. This is quite different from traditional urban areas where economic impacts tend to be concentrated within a more compact geographic area.”
Because assets are spread throughout the region versus within one metropolitan area, NNDA takes a regional approach to economic development. As the region’s RDA, pooling resources allows the organization to better assist and promote all of its designated counties while balancing the unique characteristics and individual goals of each one. The result is a resilient economic ecosystem for the region which supports the economic diversification and growth of each county’s economy.
According to Hooper, a good example of NNDA’s approach is the Walker River Corridor that spans Lyon County and Mineral County. Running from Yerington to Smith Valley to Hawthorne and having a shared workforce, it offers many possibilities for diversifying the economic base for both counties. Agriculture and Mining are two growing industry sectors in this area. The success of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center (TRI) located in Storey County at Interstate 80 (I-80) has resulted in more truck traffic on U.S. Route 95 Alternate (US 95A) which connects Schurz to I-80 via the cities of Yerington and Fernley. This creates opportunities for the Manufacturing and Logistics industry sectors, which would benefit each county and the entire Sierra Region.
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