The Decline of Empire, Nevada

The Takeaway

After Wednesday’s talk about of GOP debate, this morning we get  another view from Nevada. From a part of the state that’s about as far as you can get from Las Vegas: Empire, Nevada.  Last December, Empire’s mine closed –  a direct consequence of the housing market grinding to halt.  Six months later, the town, one of the last company towns in the U.S., closed too. Three hundred people had to leave. This once thriving community of children, churches, a swimming pool and even a golf course, now lies shuttered and silent. Is a town like Empire, Nevada symptomatic of the times, or is it a unique case?   Richard White, history professor at Stanford University, talks more about this issue.

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