U.S. News & World Report: Small Nevada Town Community Center Is More Than Cultural Hub

The Searchlight Community Center is a main attraction for the hardscrabble old mining town of Searchlight, itself maybe best-known as the childhood home of former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — About an hour drive south of Las Vegas, under a seemingly endless sky over a landscape void of much but Joshua trees and cactus, Searchlight rises out of the Mojave Desert.

The old mining town and childhood residence of former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid is home to about 530 residents, many of whom live with scant amenities. Among the notables: an elementary school, Denny's, McDonald's and a senior center.

Then, there's the Searchlight Community Center, a low slung, beige building that appears to be the epicenter of the town.

It houses a library, food bank, museum, meeting space, a Clark County Parks and Recreation satellite office and more.

Retiree Jodi Collingham visits the center multiple times a week, checking out books from the library, doing the cha cha to exercise videos or playing Mexican Train dominoes in the multipurpose room.

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