Reno calls itself the biggest little city in the world, and welcomes nearly 5 million visitors a year.
But 2016 was a tough year for Nevada's northern tourism leader.
The city saw controversy with its city manager, along with natural disasters that hadn't been seen in many years.
But 2017 is a new frontier, and that’s what Mayor Hillary Schieve focused on in her State of the City address.
Hillary Schieve has been mayor since 2014, and joins KNPR for the State of City series.
"The City of Reno felt it was extremely important to be very diligent in this investigation," Schieve said of the five-month investigation into former city manager Andrew Clinger.
The investigation concluded that allegations of sexual harrassment could not be substantiated, nevertheless, Clinger resigned his position with the city.
"I certainly think we all learn from our mistakes," Schieve said. "I also think the last administration needed to go through and update those policies, we will absolutely do that, and best practices are going to be absolutely critical."
In recent years, Reno has pushed to diversify its economy away from gaming, and an opportunity to do just that came when the Tesla gigafactory setting up shop right down the road in Sparks.
There's even been talk of making Reno a gateway to Silicon Valley.
"Gaming is still very critical but at the same time, so much is happening here with technology," Schieve said.
With growth of the city and tech industry, however, there becomes a concern for affordable housing. One way the city is combatting this is by finding projects to infill rather than growing the city's borders.
"We're looking for the blighted areas, like the Kings Inn," Schieve said. "I'm very proud of that. It sat vacant in downtown Reno for 30 years and now it's very vibrant, mixed use, with lofts and shopping on the bottom."
Projects like that, as well as partnerships with the University of Nevada, Reno, is what is attracting younger generations to the city's downtown.
Schieve endorsed Hillary Clinton early in the presidential candidate's campaign, and now says she has concern over the federal funding the city receives with the Trump Administration.
"It's definitely a concern for cities, we're hearing that conversation all over," Schieve said. "We want to make sure our federal funding stays in place, because a lot of those programs are essential to our city."
Schieve said Reno currently receives around $12 million in federal funds which support programs that help homeless populations, mental health issues and infrastructure needs.
Hillary Schieve, mayor, Reno