SIlvER staTE SPARKS History of Nevada’s Bowers Mansion YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1910 Page 4 TribuneSERVING SPARKS SINCE 1910 Volume 110, Number 16 Wednesday, April 18, 2018 $1.00 SPORTS cOvER story Grand opening held for large cannabis factory in Sparks By Kayla Anderson Sparks Tribune Spanish Springs, A gigantic red ribbon wraps around a 45,000-ft. facility in Sparks, show- Reed pick up pair casing a new cannabis cultivation fac- of wins tory claiming to be the most advanced of its kind. At around 10 a.m. last Page 6 Wednesday, MedMen President and Co-Founder Andrew Modlin cut the ribbon and open the doors to give at- tendees a glimpse into exactly what will go on in the expansive building. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MedMen owns and operates state-li- censed cannabis businesses in Cali- fornia, Nevada, and New York. In late 2016, it began construction on its new Northern Nevada center comprised of a 26,000-square-foot greenhouse, flow- ering room, laboratory, edibles kitchen, gas extraction room, LED-lighted hor- ticulture room, and more. Cougar girls blank Kayla Anderson photos/Tribune “This is undoubtedly the most high The state-of-the-art grow room at the MedMen factory can hold up to 25,000 fifth straight tech marijuana factory in the world,” marijuana plants. says Co-Founder/CEO Adam Bierman. opponent “There are a lot of amazing compa- Page 7 nies growing in Sparks and Nevada is natural fit considering Washoe County the premier marijuana program in the is very business-friendly and easy to US,” he adds. work with. MedMen Vice President of Corporate “Everything produced in Nevada INSIDE Communications Daniel Yi told a story is consumed in Nevada. The Nevada about how his Korean parents didn’t market alone will reach $620 million in Weather...............................2 know he worked in the cannabis indus- (cannabis) sales”, he says. Yi noted that State Briefs..........................2 try and that his mother didn’t see the since July of last year there has been Opinion..............................8 difference between cocaine and cann- $195 million in cannabis products sold Classified Ads..................11 abis. and the state has collected $30 million Legals................................12 He had previously worked for what in taxes. his parents would call respectable or- Walking into the MedMen facility, ganizations- places like Edison Interna- stark white hallways lead the way to- tional and “buttoned-up, conservative wards different parts of the operation. companies”. But when his 70-year-old When an employee clocks in, they go father lost his appetite, he gave him a into their respective locker room to Follow us on CBD tincture. “My dad got his weight shed their belongings and put on a lab Twitter: back, he’s more talkative, and more coat, scrubs, shoe slip-ons, and a hair @SparksTribune mellow,” Yi says. net to prevent cross-contamination in “It’s one thing to light up a joint when the environment they will be working you’re 25, another when you’re 45 and in. have three kids and can use pens and Vice President of Agronomy Dan Adam Bierman, MedMen co-founder edibles that are more discreet,” Yi says. McClure then walks the group through and CEO cuts the ribbon to the fa- Regarding opening up a new cultiva- cility during the grand opening last tion facility in Sparks, Yi says that it is a > See MEDMEN, Page 4 Wednesday. SPARKS Get the digital edition. SEE MORE sparkstrib.com Tribune News | Sports | Trending Now Your Community Newspaper Since 1910 ONLINE! 2 April 18, 2018 yOuR SEvEN-Day fOREcast WEDNESDAY THuRSDAY fRIDAY SaTuRDAY SuNDAY MONDAY Tuesday 52/33 56/35 67/41 75/47 77/48 77/44 69/44 Mainly cloudy and Mostly cloudy and Plenty of Sunny and Sun and clouds Partly sunny and Brilliant sunshine cold cool sunshine pleasantly warm warm NEvaDa news bRIEfS Associated Press left the airwaves in 2002. He broad- cover federal agent. fired just west of Yori Park shortly cast the show from his radio station, Paul Scott Nelson of Pahrump before 7 p.m. Thursday. KNYE, in Pahrump. was sentenced in U.S. District Lt. Scott Shaw says two of the vic- 9 new inches of snow in The program focused on Bell’s Court in Las Vegas on Friday after tims were transported to a local hos- sierra around Lake Tahoe conspiracy theories and his fascina- pleading guilty in September to two pital. One of them is considered to RENO — Chains or snow tires were tion with the paranormal and unex- counts of possession of a stolen fire- be serious condition. The third was required on a stretch of U.S. Interstate plained phenomenon such as UFOs arm. grazed by a bullet and refused treat- 80 and all the major Sierra highway and crop circles. He served as his Federal prosecutors say he sold a ment. passes Monday morning after an un- own producer, engineer and host, stolen revolver and a stolen semi-au- Police say they believe there is more seasonably cold storm with powerful according to the Las Vegas Review- tomatic rifle with a high-capacity than one suspect but have released winds dumped up to 9 inches (23 cen- Journal. magazine to an undercover ATF no other details. timeters) of snow on the tops of the Fans, including celebrities like Wil- agent about three years ago. The Regional Gang Unit is assist- mountains around Lake Tahoe. liam Shatner and singer Josh Groban, U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson says ing in the investigation at the scene The National Weather Service re- took to Twitter to praise Bell. Groban Nelson has six prior felony convic- several blocks east of the Peppermill ported 9 inches (23 cm) of new snow recalled staying up late to listen to the tions, including the assault charge hotel-casino. at Tahoma, California on Tahoe’s host’s “one of a kind” voice and how and aggravated stalking. west shore. Eight inches (20 cm) was “his shows were so weird & spooky nevada reporTs show rosen reported at Alpine Meadows and but somehow managed to hold off poLice: car crashes inTo ouTraised heller in recenT monThs Squaw Valley near Tahoe City, Cali- your skepticism.” sparks gun sTore To sTeaL firearms fornia. Former business partner Alan LAS VEGAS — Democrat Jacky A half-foot (15 centimeters) of new Corbeth said during Bell’s 2008 in- SPARKS — Police say people broke Rosen raised more than twice as snow fell overnight at Mount Rose on duction into the National Radio Hall into a gun store in Sparks by crashing much campaign cash as Nevada Re- the southwest edge of Reno. of Fame that nobody was better than a stolen car into the building. publican Sen. Dean Heller in recent The California Highway Patrol Bell at understanding “how to create Sparks police say the car rammed months, closing in on the GOP in- says chains or snow tires were re- theater of the mind...” into the front of Sparks Black Rifle cumbent considered one of the most quired on about a 30-mile stretch (48 At his peak, Bell was heard on early Friday morning. vulnerable to seek re-election in the kilometers) of I-80 from the Donner some 500 radio stations nationwide. Police say officers were alerted to Senate this year. Lake interchange just west of Truc- He retired more than once and had a the crash shortly before 4 a.m. after a A partial copy of Heller’s fundrais- kee, California to the Kingvale exit in brief run on SiriusXM satellite radio bystander came across the scene. ing report provided to The Associ- Placer County. in 2013. Police found the car abandoned ated Press on Monday shows Heller Bell, who grew up in a military inside the store. The car had passed raised about $1.1 million from Janu- nevada sheriff: radio show family, became an FCC-licensed ra- through the glass front doors and the ary 1 through March 31. hosT arT Bell dead aT 72 dio technician by the age of 13, ac- interior security bars. Rosen, a congresswoman from PAHRUMP — Art Bell, a radio cording to the “Coast to Coast AM” Police say they believe the suspects Nevada’s 3rd District who is chal- host best known for a paranormal website. He later enlisted in the U.S. stole guns, but the number and types lenging Heller this year, reported -themed nightly show syndicated on Air Force while also starting his own were not yet known. Police were late last week having raised almost hundreds of stations in the 1990s, pirate radio station. checking the store’s inventory Friday $2.6 million during the same time died at his home in southern Nevada, morning. frame. authorities said Saturday. 17 years prison for nv man Democrats aiming in this year’s Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly who soLd sToLen guns To aTf reno poLice seek suspecTs in midterm elections to win control of agenT announced in a Facebook video that souTh-side shooTing of 3 the U.S. Senate see Heller’s seat as Bell died Friday in Pahrump. He was LAS VEGAS — A 45-year-old Ne- RENO — Reno police are looking one of their best chances to win one 72. An autopsy will be conducted to vada felon who served time for as- for suspects in the shooting of three of two seats needed to claim the Sen- determine cause of death, she said. sault with a deadly weapon has been people near a park on the city’s south ate majority, though they face tough Bell hosted the popular radio talk sentenced to 17 years in prison for side.