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Welcome to Happening in Henderson, the weekly show where hosts Mark and Joleen serve up Henderson’s news with equal parts insight, cynicism, and sharp-edged humor. From local headlines and community events to crime updates, school district drama, weather forecasts, sports highlights, and brutally honest restaurant reviews, nothing is off limits.
Whether you’re a lifelong local or new to the 890xx life, this is the place to stay informed… without falling asleep.
MARK: Welcome to 'Happening in Henderson' for Monday, September 7, 2026. I'm Mark.
JOLEEN: And I'm Joleen. Today we're covering the safe return of a missing neighbor, a massive manufacturing expansion in West Henderson, and why your kid's phone is about to be locked in a literal bag.
MARK: Let's start with some actually good news for once. The Henderson Police Department confirmed this morning that 68-year-old Ingrid Forde has been found safe. She'd been missing since Saturday evening near the M Resort. If you've been on social media lately, you saw the frantic posts. She's petite, has cognitive impairments, and was last seen wearing a striped grayish polo. It's a huge relief she was located because that area by St. Rose Parkway isn't exactly where you want to be wandering around alone at night.
JOLEEN: It's such a weight off everyone's shoulders. The community really stepped up, sharing her photo everywhere within minutes. I saw people out there looking on the St. Rose Parkway Trail, which is over five miles long. When someone with medical needs goes missing in this heat, every second counts. The police haven't given a lot of details on where she was, but the fact that she's back with her family is the only thing that matters. It's a reminder that even though we're growing like crazy, people still look out for one another here.
MARK: Yeah, it's nice to see the internet used for something other than complaining about the HOA for fifteen minutes. Speaking of growing, Haas Automation is making it official. They just held a massive job fair on Friday as they get ready to open that two-point-four million square foot monster of a plant in West Henderson early next year. They're moving about 73 jobs over from California, which I'm sure will make the locals who hate the 'C-word' absolutely thrilled. But hey, it's a thousand new jobs eventually, so maybe we can afford the property taxes.
JOLEEN: Oh, stop. A thousand jobs is massive for the local economy. And these aren't just 'flip a burger' jobs, Mark. They're advanced manufacturing. Mayor Michelle Romero's been pushing this 'Center of Excellence' training pipeline for a while now to get residents ready for these specific roles. Haas has already dumped over a hundred million into the site and they're looking at another three hundred million in construction. It's basically becoming the industrial heart of the valley. It's not just a factory; it's a signal that Henderson's more than just a place to sleep and buy groceries.
MARK: It's also a signal that West Henderson is going to be one giant traffic jam of semi-trucks and commuters. We're building Larson Lane and Via Nobila just to handle the influx. I'm all for the 'economic diversification' speech, but let's be real, I'm just hoping they don't block my path to the airport. It's funny how we're becoming the machine tool capital of the desert. I guess it's better than another tire shop.
JOLEEN: Well, some kids in the neighborhood aren't using their tools for good. Police are looking for three juveniles who decided The Legacy Golf Club was their personal motocross track. They took electric dirt bikes onto the greens and caused thousands of dollars in damages. I don't know what it is with these kids lately, but 'electric' doesn't mean it's a toy you can ride on a manicured fairway.
MARK: It's the silent-but-deadly factor. These electric bikes are so quiet that they're halfway through a bunker before the groundskeeper even hears 'em. It's not like the old days when a dirt bike sounded like a lawnmower on steroids. Now, it's just a soft 'whir' and suddenly your eighteen-hole paradise looks like a plowed cornfield. I hope they catch 'em. Golf is expensive enough without having to pay for 'juvenile delinquency' surcharges on my greens fees.
JOLEEN: The golf course damage is one thing, but the school district is dealing with a different kind of tech distraction. As of this month, the Clark County School District's new cellphone policy is in full swing. We're talking signal-blocking pouches and software like 'LockedIn' that geofences the campus. Basically, if you're a student, your phone is a paperweight from the first bell to the last. Some parents are furious, saying they need to reach their kids in emergencies, but the district is digging in.
MARK: Good. I'm sick of seeing kids walking into poles because they're watching a three-second clip of someone eating a tide pod. The 'LockedIn' software is actually pretty clever. It locks the phone at the operating system level when they enter the school zone. No more TikTok in trigonometry. I'm sure the kids will find a way around it in forty-eight hours, though. They're smarter than the IT department at the district office.
JOLEEN: They're already trying. I've heard rumors of kids carrying 'decoy phones' to put in the pouches while they keep their real one in their sock. It's like a high-stakes spy movie but with more acne. But honestly, the research shows that these kids are more anxious and less focused when they have the phones. If we have to treat the high school like a high-security prison just to get them to learn a little history, maybe that's where we're at as a society.
MARK: If they're looking for excitement without the screen, they should've been at the Henderson Bowl on Friday. Basic Academy pulled off a twenty-one to twelve win over Green Valley. It's one of the biggest rivalries in the state, and Basic's defense really stepped up. They held Green Valley to zero points in the first half. It was beautiful, gritty high school football. None of that fancy air-raid stuff, just old-fashioned 'hit the guy in front of you' ball.
JOLEEN: The atmosphere at Basic was electric. People forget how deep that rivalry goes. It's the 'old' Henderson versus the 'new' Henderson. Basic has been around since the town was just a magnesium plant, and Green Valley is the suburban powerhouse. Seeing the Wolves take home the trophy is a big deal for that part of town. And we've got more coming up. Liberty's playing Desert Oasis this Thursday. Liberty's ranked number two in the state right now, so they're the team to beat.
MARK: I'm just glad the players didn't have their phones in their pads. Imagine a linebacker stopping mid-play to check his notifications. Speaking of stops, let's talk about the 215 between Pecos and Stephanie. They're doing 'ramp realignment' and 'trail realignment.' It's basically a giant puzzle where all the pieces are orange cones. And apparently, the new LED lights they installed are so bright that the city's actually doing a 'lighting study' to see if they need to install shields. People are complaining they can't see the road because the lights are blinding them.
JOLEEN: I've driven that stretch at night, and it's like a stadium concert out there. You don't need headlights; you need a welder's mask. The city says the shields won't be in until late 2026 because of 'manufacturing lead times.' So, for the next few months, if you're driving the 215, just pray your retinas don't melt. It's the classic Henderson move: fix one problem and create three more involving long-term construction.
MARK: At least the 215 widening is supposed to be done eventually. They're adding two lanes in each direction. Of course, by the time it's finished, we'll probably need four more. It's the circle of life in the desert. Speaking of things that keep going up, the median home price in Henderson is sitting at five hundred and forty thousand dollars. That's up over five percent from last year. But here's the kicker: inventory is actually rising. More 'For Sale' signs are sitting in yards for weeks instead of days.
JOLEEN: It's a weird rebalancing act. Sellers are still asking for top dollar because, well, it's Henderson, but buyers are finally starting to push back. They have more choices now. We're at over four months of supply, which is the most we've seen in a long time. People are realizing they don't have to get into a bidding war over a house with a nineteen-seventies kitchen and a dirt backyard. It's becoming a bit more 'buyer-friendly,' even if the price tag still makes you want to cry.
MARK: It's 'buyer-friendly' in the same way that a root canal is 'patient-friendly' because they give you the good drugs. Five hundred forty grand is still a lot of money for a stucco box. But hey, people keep moving here from California, so the demand isn't going anywhere. If you're looking for a deal, look at the 89052 zip code. Listings there are sitting for about nine days, but the pending-to-active ratio is showing it's still a seller's market. You can't win.
JOLEEN: You can win if you go out to eat, though. Have you been to 'Meril' at the M Resort yet? Emeril Lagasse finally opened it. It's contemporary American, named after his daughter. I've heard the wood-fired flatbreads and the Gulf shrimp tacos are incredible. It's one of those rare celebrity-chef spots that's actually open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's basically the new anchor for the West Henderson food scene.
MARK: I'm always skeptical of celebrity restaurants in hotels. It's usually just a way to charge twenty dollars for a side of fries. But Emeril's been around forever, so maybe he knows what he's doing. And we've got that new 'Smash and Slice 2' that just opened late August. It's a burger and pizza spot. If you can't decide if you want to die of a heart attack from grease or carbs, you can just do both at once.
JOLEEN: Mark, you're such a buzzkill. People love those options! And if you want something a bit more upscale, 'Hayworth' on Horizon Ridge is still the talk of the town with that live-fire cooking. It's nice to see Henderson finally getting its own culinary identity instead of just being the place you go when the Strip is too crowded. We're becoming a destination, whether you like the traffic or not.
MARK: I'll be a destination in my living room with the AC cranked up. Speaking of which, the weather this week is going to be 'fun.' Today, Labor Day, we're looking at a high of ninety-five with some sun. But don't get too comfortable. Tuesday jumps to ninety-nine, and by Wednesday, we're back in the triple digits at a hundred and four. It's like summer heard it was September and decided to take it personally.
JOLEEN: It gets even better. Thursday we're hitting a hundred and six, and Friday is a hundred and five. The lows are going to stay in the high eighties too, so your electric bill is going to look like a phone number. We don't really get a break until Sunday when it drops back to ninety-nine. But honestly, it's dry heat, right? That's what we tell ourselves while our car upholstery burns our legs.
MARK: I'm done with the 'dry heat' excuse. A hundred and six is hot whether it's dry, wet, or purple. If you're planning on being outside this weekend, you better have a gallon of water and a very large hat. There's a 'Miami takes Las Vegas' fan weekend happening from September eleventh to the thirteenth. Expect a lot of people in neon colors acting like they've never seen the sun before. It's going to be a mess on the Strip and likely trickling into our neck of the woods.
JOLEEN: If you want something a bit more local, check out the 'Midday Roundup Lunch Matinee' at Firelight Barn on Boulder Highway. They've got barbecue and live entertainment that's actually won awards. It's a great way to support a local business and stay out of the sun. And for the shoppers, there's the 'Shoptember Boutique' at Santa Fe Station on Sunday. It's all small businesses and artisans. It's about time we started thinking about holiday shopping, even if it feels like July.
MARK: Holiday shopping? It's September seventh, Joleen. Calm down. Let's at least get through the first week of football before we start talking about reindeer. But seriously, the Firelight Barn is a gem. It's nice to have something that isn't a giant corporate casino once in a while.
JOLEEN: Exactly. There's plenty to do if you know where to look. Just remember to check on your neighbors, especially with the heat spike coming up later this week. And if you have a student in CCSD, maybe double-check they didn't 'accidentally' leave their phone in their backpack before school starts.
MARK: Or just tell them to read a book. I know, it's a radical concept. That's our show for today. We'll be back next week with more of whatever this town decides to throw at us.
JOLEEN: If you enjoyed the show, make sure to follow or subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. We'd love to hear from you, so send your tips, complaints, or restaurant recommendations to henderson at the happening network dot com. See you next week!