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In the signature line of Harry Fagel?s emails is a reads: Be the light in dark spaces. This illumines the person that Harry is both as a police officer and a poet in Las Vegas. Harry is native Las Vegan, who has served the community with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for nearly 30 years. He currently is a police lieutenant serving in Laughlin, Nevada. In addition, Fagel is a respected poet, writing both for the public and on commission. He performs in the local poetry scene. He also has showcased his poetry in two published books, released an album, and is a recipient of the Hilliard Endowment Grant from the University Nevada, Reno. Fagel is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and currently lives in Henderson with his wife, Leilani and two sons, Sam and Jake. In this interview, Fagel discusses his family background, how his grandparents came to live in Las Vegas in the 1950s, as well as his relationships with both his mother and father. He recalls his early jobs which included working for his cousin Freddie Glusman?s restaurant Piero?s and for Circus Circus-long before becoming a policeman. His involvement with the Jewish community started young and he shares how it has evolved over the decades. In addition, Fagel reflects upon his career as a law enforcement officer, the progressiveness of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and changes in relations between the police and communities, both locally and nationally. Lastly, Fagel talks in detail about his poetry, its dominant themes, and the local poetry scene.

With the explosive growth of the Las Vegas Valley over the past 30 years, it is rare to find someone who has deep battle born roots that go back to the early mining days of Nevada. Nancy Cummings-Schmidt is an example of that rare kind of gem. As a fourth generation Nevadan, her family came to the state in the 1800s form Ireland and England. Looking to capitalize off of the mining boom in Virginia City, they transitioned to ranching. She spent her first years in Reno and when her father went off to fight in the Second World War, her mother moved to Herlong, California and sent her to live with her grandparents. Upon moving to Vegas for fourth grade, her mother remarried and worked for the Las Vegas Sun while Nancy attended the Fifth Street Grammar School and later became a member Las Vegas High School’s first graduating class in 1956. After graduating from high school, Nancy invested in the spirit of wanderlust as it carried her to study theatre at Texas Christian University (which sh