The view from the proving grounds for next-generation nuclear reactors, Atomic City, Idaho

Arco, Idaho is among the small towns near Idaho National Laboratory with a decades-long nuclear energy legacy. Hanna Merzbach hide caption

People still smoke indoors at the bar in Atomic City, Idaho, population 52. The walls are plastered with one dollar bills and a Don't Tread On Me flag.

"Where were you Monday?" bar and nearby race track owner Vickie O'Haro asks one of her regulars.

O'Haro knows her customers orders without asking: cold beers or shots called atomic bombs — fitting since most of her customers work down the road at Idaho National Laboratory, or INL, America's nuclear energy testgrounds since 1949.

A March Gallup poll shows a majority of Americans still oppose a nuclear energy plant in their area, but that's not the case here

" I live 10 miles away, and I'm fine," O'Haro said. "I'm not glowing in the dark, you know? There's nothing to be scared of."

Vickie O'Haro stands behind the bar at Atomic City Bar & Store, which she owns, along with Atomic Motor Raceway, on June 8, 2026. The businesses are located near Idaho National Laboratory. hide caption

After stalling out for decades, nuclear power is having a moment. President Donald Trump fast-tracked new projects, and now a new generation of small nuclear reactors is poised to come online in the next few years.