Locals voice Mesquite tourism vision

The final 3-D Travel Nevada Grant Community listening session drew a crowd of 220-plus people to the Virgin River Event Tent on Wednesday, Feb. 25. The listening session is part of the ongoing progression for actually awarding of the grant money sometime in June of 2026.

The Travel Nevada 3-D Grant was applied for by MORF (Mesquite Public Arts Commission) with the help of the city and interested citizens advisory committee. The million-dollar grant was awarded to two cities, Mesquite and Goldfield. The number of monies each city will get has not yet been determined.

The meeting itself was organized by Amy Bradshaw and volunteers. The food from Fajita Ritas was provided by Travel Nevada. Mesquite Gaming provided the Event Tent and sound equipment. Team Travel Nevada was there with Mesquite Opportunities Regional Fund (MORF) board members, the Mesquite Tourism Steering committee members, Mayor Jesse Whipple and other city dignitaries, along with a surprise visit by Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony.

Travel Nevada has been working with the Mesquite steering committee and holding listening sessions to help formulate a 10-year tourism plan. The local listening sessions helped inform the committee and Travel Nevada of what the locals want and do not want to see happen to their town, while understanding that tourism is Nevada’s number one driver of the economy, as stated by Anthony.

According to Courtney Bloomer, destination development coordinator, Travel Nevada will present its plan to the steering committee and MORF in April or May. After they approve or make changes, it will go to the Nevada Commission of Tourism, which will then grant the funding to each city. The funds must be used to kick-start the tourism plan in the first two years. That is when Mesquite residents can expect to see results of all the planning put into place.