Nevada Commission on Tourism awards $500,000 in rural grants

The Nevada Commission on Tourism has awarded more than $500,000 in grants to promote tourism in rural Nevada.Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said that includes a project to develop a mobile application for Virginia City as well as funding for production costs to develop an episode of “The Birdmen” TV series for the Fallon Convention and Tourism Authority.The Virginia City project will enable visitors to access information on their smart phones and tablets about lodging, events, attractions and shopping on the Comstock. The grant is $12,000.The Fallon project would produce an episode of the series focusing on stories of hunting and wildlife biology in the Fallon area’s Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge. The grant is for $8,000.A $7,200 grant will go to Indian Territory, the organization promoting Nevada Indian cultural and special events statewide. The money will be used to train tribal members on national tribal tourism initiatives and projects.In addition, the commission awarded $20,000 to promote the new California Trail Interpretive Center outside of Elko.The money comes from tourism’s share of room tax revenues.Grants are provided to nonprofit entities but require the recipients to match the awards 50-50. The commission reimburses applicants after the projects are completed and funding details are documented.