Edwards, McCain plan visits

Republican presidential candidate John McCain will be in Elko on Saturday, while Democrat John Edwards is scheduled to visit Las Vegas this coming Monday, according to their campaigns.

Sen. McCain of Arizona is to hold a campaign rally on the steps of the Elko County Courthouse at 10 a.m. Saturday, his campaign announced.

It is the penultimate stop on McCain's presidential candidacy announcement tour, which takes him to New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa this week before landing in the 18,000-population northeastern Nevada city. He finishes the tour Saturday afternoon in Tempe, Ariz.

McCain has made no secret of his presidential candidacy, but his campaign technically remains an "exploratory committee."

Edwards, the former North Carolina senator and vice presidential nominee, will hold a town hall event at the Richard Tam Alumni Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, at noon on April 30, his campaign Web site. says

Edwards campaign staff did not return numerous phone calls seeking more information on the event.

This weekend is to be a busy one of presidential candidate visits in Nevada. Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson will be in Northern Nevada on Sunday, with Richardson traveling to Las Vegas for events Monday and Tuesday.

McCain is scheduled to return to Nevada May 5 for a "fight night reception" at the MGM Grand's Tabu club.

The invitation for the event, hosted by MGM Mirage CEO Terry Lanni and consultant Sig Rogich, invites guests to stay and watch the boxing title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather on closed-circuit television.