NNRDA director outlines growth pipeline, cites rail, power and housing as key constraints

Sheldon Mudd, executive director of the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority, told the Elko County Commission that the regional authority focuses on industry recruitment, marketing and networking to attract manufacturing and value-added resource projects to northeastern Nevada.

Mudd said NNRDA typically fields about 24 inquiries annually, narrows those to 12–14 qualified leads and sees roughly 6–8 enter negotiations; of those, one or two usually become major investments that bring millions of dollars in capital expenditure. “On average we look at about 24, you know, leads a year,” Mudd said. “Out of that we get about 3 or 4 leads that actually come to town and…out of those we usually get about 1 to 2 solid wins.”

The director gave the commission several headline metrics for projects NNRDA helped facilitate between 2018 and 2025: 376 new jobs facilitated regionwide (about 47 per year), an average wage around $34.79 per hour—above the Nevada average—and roughly $296 million in capital expenditures. Mudd told commissioners mining accounts for roughly half of the region’s gross regional product and that diversification targets include value-added mining and agriculture, warehousing/distribution and aerospace and defense.

Mudd warned that infrastructure gaps often stop projects that might otherwise locate in the region. “About a quarter of the people we talk to are looking for rail access and they’re usually looking for about 100 acres to go with it and that’s a big challenge,” he said, noting that developing a rail spur requires preliminary engineering, Union Pacific approvals and can entail significant design and construction costs and multiple years to complete.

He described recent wins facilitated or supported by the authority: an Ultra Tank & Equipment facility in Wells (projected about 25 on-site jobs and estimated $2 million in state and local tax revenue over 10 years) and an Amazon parcel with broader economic impact and an estimated $6 million in state/local tax receipts over a decade. Mudd cautioned that larger job estimates often include direct, indirect and induced positions and said on-site direct employment for some projects is smaller than headline totals.

Mudd also highlighted NNRDA’s Ready Aim Academy, a free online small-business training platform for Northeastern Nevada residents (readyaim.academy), and encouraged continued county cooperation on land, rail and power availability. The presentation was informational; no formal county action was taken.