Free Republic

Assemblyman Ira Hansen has concerns about the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service overreaching their policing powers. Spurred in part by the BLM’s April roundup of Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle that brought an armed confrontation between federal agents and Bundy supporters, the Sparks Republican is pushing for a bill that would prohibit BLM and Forest Service law officers from enforcing state laws. He is trying to get Nevada’s 17 counties, including Clark County, to take an interest in the issue that would be considered by the 2015 Legislature. Hansen’s concerns are tied in part to a variety...

Embattled Nevada Assemblyman Ira Hansen was found innocent after facing a misdemeanor charge of illegally setting animal traps. A New River Township Justice Court judge ruled that Hansen was not guilty of a misdemeanor when he set four animal traps known as snares within 200 feet of public roadways in Churchill County. The decision caps what’s been a yearlong battle and difficult month for Hansen, a Sparks lawmaker who recently stepped down as the Assembly speaker-elect. In November 2013, the Nevada Department of Wildlife spotted Hansen removing traps that were within the 200-foot limit. The department assembled a case and...

CARSON CITY — The Reno-Sparks NAACP is asking the Nevada State Assembly Republican Caucus to reconsider its recent unanimous election of Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, as speaker after questionable comments attributed to him were reported by a Reno newspaper. “We understand that the caucus has many newly elected members who may not be as familiar with Mr. Hansen’s past as we are,” said branch President Jeffrey Blanck. “They need to know he has beaten the drum of intolerance for decades. “We do not ask anyone to take our word for it,” he said. “Take his words. A detailed compendium of...