Nate Hegyi
Reporter, Mountain West News BureauNate Hegyi is the Utah reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau, based at KUER. He covers federal land management agencies, indigenous issues, and the environment. Before arriving in Salt Lake City, Nate worked at Yellowstone Public Radio, Montana Public Radio, and was an intern with NPR's Morning Edition. He received a master's in journalism from the University of Montana.
When he's not doing radio, he likes to run, fish and listen to Bruce Springsteen tapes in his '99 Toyota Tacoma.
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The Biden administration has moved to crack down on violent domestic extremists over the past year. But it's given the Bundy family – whose militant actions presaged the Capitol insurrection, and who continue to illegally graze cattle on public lands – a pass. -
“We have to think swiftly,” said Crystal Tulley-Cordova, principal hydrologist for the Navajo Nation. “Otherwise, we will continue to be in the situation that we are in, or even in worse circumstances.”
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“Anything that has to do with water, we’ve been totally blocked out,” said Christopher Tabbee of the Ute Indian Tribe. “We’ve never been consulted on any decisions.”
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Wildland firefighters will soon see big increases in pay and other benefits from the infrastructure bill. But firefighters are split on whether the changes are enough to keep them on the job.
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On the first day of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to create a comprehensive strategy for federal law enforcement’s efforts to prevent and respond to violence against Native Americans.
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Educators are exhausted these days. Schools in the Mountain West are dealing with extreme staff shortages that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
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Last year, Congress passed two laws addressing the crisis of violence against Indigenous women. But a new report by the Government Accountability Office finds that federal agencies have failed to meet the laws' requirements.
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Even in non-pandemic years, Las Vegas has struggled to fill school jobs. COVID-19 has exacerbated the problem. Now, principals are filling in as substitute teachers and even cafeteria workers.
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The idea of selling public lands is sacrilegious in much of the West. In Southern Nevada, the affordable housing crisis may be an extenuating circumstance.
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In Las Vegas, county commissioners passed a resolution calling misinformation a "public health crisis," while Idaho's public health department is cracking down on misinformation on Facebook.
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Last week, Idaho health officials activated crisis standards of care for North Idaho, and on Thursday expanded the declaration statewide. Other states and healthcare systems in the region, including the Billings Clinic, are considering similar emergency measures.
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At least 10 hospitals in the state started rationing care for everyone because they're filled with COVID-19 patients. But there's deep distrust of authority.
