Northern Light: Recent Episodes
NCPR - North Country Public Radio
(Feb 14, 2025) The Adirondack Park Agency presented the results of herbicide treatments on eight ADK lakes; Essex County recorded a record number of drug overdoses last month; a state prison in western New York went on lockdown after inmates briefly took control of three dormitory units Wednesday; Great Camp Santanoni is hosting its winter weekend on Saturday and Sunday, where you can ski into the great camp in Newcomb; and, a preview of Ontario Jazz in the Valley.
(Feb 13, 2025) New York's Secretary of State was in the North Country this week to talk about the governor's budget proposals; a new ambulance service recently proposed in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties was rejected by a local EMS council this week; and as grassland bird species disappear from the Northeast, a project out of the Massachusetts Audubon wants to pay New York farmers to support the birds living on their farmland.
(Feb 12, 2025) We speak with New York Public News Network Capitol Bureau reporter Jimmy Vielkind about how the expected special election to replace Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has become a political football in Albany and Washington; President Donald Trump's executive orders concerning the federal workforce are causing uncertainty in many agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs; and NCPR Station Manager Mitch Teich breaks down developments in Washington around the future of funding for public media.
(Feb 11, 2025) Albany Democrats are pumping the brakes on a bill that could have kept Republican Elise Stefanik's congressional seat vacant until November; a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative looks at disciplinary systems in prisons around the country; and a dog musher in the Thousand Islands is hosting a meet-and-greet this weekend.
(Feb 7, 2025) We’ll hear from residents on both sides of the US-Canadian border what they think of a potential trade war; Border Patrol agents were at a school in Carthage earlier this week; Warren County officials want the federal government to pay for anticipated special election; a busy weekend expected in the Adirondacks; and, a Montreal folk group, Le Vent du Nord, is doing a concert in Plattsburgh on Sunday.
(Feb 6, 2025) Lake Placid is hosting World Cup ski jumping this weekend and a local raised money for the women's prize money; we head back in time, before there was an Adirondack Park, to explore the life of an early guide and perhaps the Adirondacks’ first "forest ranger"; and students in Adirondack Regional Theatre's Youth Winter Camp will premiere their original play, "The Magic Before Us," tonight at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh.
(Feb 5, 2025) Officials in Clinton County welcomed the news that the Trump administration is delaying tariffs on Canadian goods by 30 days, but they say there's a lot of uncertainty and some damage has already been done; we look at how North Country schools are thinking about a potential statewide ban on cellphones in schools; and Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe for a truffle and onion dip garnished with rosemary and pine nuts.
(Jan 31, 2025) A Senate committee voted to advance Congresswoman Stefanik's nomination to be the next ambassador to the United Nations yesterday; President's Trump deadline to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada is less than 24 hours away; we head to a now frozen Black Pond in Paul Smiths; and, a new snowmobile race called the Battle of Old Forge is expected to draw more than 200 sleds and their drivers to the southern Adirondacks tomorrow.
(Jan 30, 2025) Ahead of a Senate committee's vote today on Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's nomination to become the next ambassador to the United Nations, we hear from Cara Chapman about what we know and don't know about an anticipated special election to replace her; a prison in Malone is locked down after two recent incidents left 25 staff members hospitalized; and we preview the Ottawa Winter Jazz Festival, which kicks off tonight.
(Jan 29, 2025) A St. Lawrence River community in the Thousand Islands may have an ally in the Trump Administration as a fight over a proposed border facility continues into 2025; in today's North Country at Work story, a Glens Falls bookstore owner tells us why it's important to see yourself in the books you read; and the steady cold is setting up the best ice fishing season in a few winters, so the folks at Beaver Camp are hosting a non-competitive derby, where every fisherman gets a prize.
(Jan 28, 2025) We look at what a 25% tariff on Canadian goods would mean for the North Country if President Donald Trump follows through on the proposal; the Adirondack Land Trust is hosting an event tonight to discuss where people with various disabilities can enjoy birdwatching in the Adirondacks; and we chat with Saranac Lake artist Michael Burpoe who paints scenes from around the village, including from the annual winter carnival.
(Jan 24, 2025) The death of a prison inmate has triggered a call for suite of prison reforms in the state legislature; Malone prison staff were hospitalized on Wednesday after encountering an unknown substance; Adirondack ice climbing conditions this winter; The Adirondack Diversity Initiative is launching a micro credential program for North Country businesses; and, five North Country projects will share almost $5 million dollars from the Northern Border Regional Commission.
(Jan 23, 2025) In Wanakena, a SUNY-ESF Ranger School professor says she wants to mentor a new generation of conservationists; dairy farms could be affected by President Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants; and Adirondack harper, Martha Gallagher is writing new music about daily life in the Adirondacks.
(Jan 22, 2025) Stefanik's confirmation hearing to become the next UN Ambassador focused on foreign aid, Chinese influence, and antisemitism; Gov. Hochul said New York is in good financial shape when she submitted her $252 billion budget proposal, but the state's chief financial officer is already warning of out-year budget gaps; and, we listen back to a conversation with Canton's Americana band, Uprooted, ahead of their show at Pickens Hall in Heuvelton.
(Jan 21, 2025) As Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's confirmation hearing to become the next UN ambassador begins on Tuesday, a big question is whether the candidates who run to replace her will have strong North Country roots; rangers rescued a moose from a frozen lake in the Adirondacks last week; and a new performing arts space in Watertown is kicking off with a winter concert series.
(Jan 20, 2025) Community health centers have struggled financially in recent years due to stagnant Medicaid rates. That's putting care for many North Country families on lower incomes at risk; the mayor of Glens Falls is getting challenged for his seat by a fellow Democrat on the city council amidst disagreement over the city's budget process; and, NCPR book reviewer Betsy Kepes considers "Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania."
(Jan 17, 2025) Favorites are reportedly emerging for the special election to replace Elise Stefanik; Clinton County health care providers are holding a vaccine information this weekend with a goal of combatting misinformation; the expansion of the Corning plant in Canton that could bring more than 300 jobs to St. Lawrence County is locked in; and, a preview of Long Lake Winter Carnival activities!
(Jan 16, 2025) The family of an inmate who was fatally beaten last month is suing the officers involved, but union protections make it incredibly difficult for officers to be fired, even in cases of abuse; St. Lawrence County will soon have a new crisis intervention service provider; we hear about what it's like to be live on air — at a different North Country radio station; and, Brockville photographer Paris Escandón is legally blind. His latest works feature portraits of community members in crisis.
(Jan 15, 2025) We have an overview of Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State speech yesterday, where she put affordability and public safety front and center in her agenda for 2025; we take a look at what Hochul's proposals could mean for North Country families; and Chef Curtiss Hemm joins Northern Light to share a recipe for a cozy potato leek soup.
(Jan 14, 2025) Gov. Kathy Hochul's State of the State address on Tuesday is expected to be all about affordability; a new report finds far more veterans are reporting physical and mental disability, but that may be because they're overcoming the stigma of seeking help; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue joins the show to guide us through this month's morning and evening sky.
(Jan 10, 2025) The new North Creek Ski Bowl lodge has no sewer to connect to; why the Adirondacks make the perfect "raw material" for artists; SUNY is trying to make it easier for students to transfer between campuses; we head to Glens Falls for a trail run; and, a preview of The Strand's winter concert series in Watertown.
(Jan 9, 2025) A long-awaited 5% pay increase for early intervention providers in New York state has been clouded by a decrease in what they get paid for services delivered by telehealth; as state lawmakers return to Albany this week, Democrats say they're focused on affordability, but Republicans question whether their policies will line up with those goals; and a conversation with a Lake Placid native who traveled to former President Jimmy Carter's hometown before his inauguration to bear witness to history.
(Jan 8, 2025) We remember Betsy Folwell, longtime editor of Adirondack Life Magazine, who died on Sunday at her home in Blue Mountain Lake; a conversation about what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's resignation means for Canada and its relationship with the United States; and a new state law that promises to make oil and gas companies pay for part of the harm caused by climate change is expected to face legal challenges.
(Jan 7, 2025) We look back at a conversation between former NCPR reporter Brian Mann and longtime Adirondack Life magazine editor Betsy Folwell from 2009 after Folwell died over the weekend; an online course through Cornell wants to make having conversations about rural mental health easier; and a caregiver support group in St. Lawrence County meets once a month to discuss the challenges of caring for a loved one.
(Jan 3, 2025) The City of Plattsburgh's new mayor was sworn in yesterday; stacking the last hay of the season in the Adirondacks; New York's cannabis sales reached a milestone of $1 billion dollars recently; a provision in the Pentagon budget bill cuts off gender-affirming health care for military dependents under 18; and, we revisit a story about illegal crossings from Canada.
(Jan 2, 2025) A tugboat that's served the St. Lawrence Seaway since its inception is finding a second life as a training vessel; in today's North Country at Work story, we hear from a Boonville dairy farmer who says morning milking is like therapy and a free workout at the same time; and we re-visit the DEC sign shop in Northville where all of the state campground and Adirondack Park welcome signs are made.
(Dec 30, 2024) We dive into how the Glens Falls City School District has bucked the "chronic absenteeism" trend and gotten kids back into school; the state attorney general's office released body camera footage last week of prison guards fatally beating an inmate at a prison in Utica; and we listen back to how a group of students at Hermon-DeKalb Central School experienced last April's total solar eclipse.
(Dec 27, 2024) A new tool to help folks deal with loss in northern Clinton County; a local newspaper press keeps printing; Reachout, the crisis and intervention hotline based in Potsdam, is shutting down at the end of the year; St. Lawrence Seaway administrator is stepping down in January as the Trump administration takes office; and, ice skating in the Adirondacks!
(Dec 20, 2024) The messy rollout of a new software system for the New York's Early Intervention program; Swedish electric aerospace company wants to test aircraft at Plattsburgh Airport next year; Former Governor Andrew Cuomo plans to sue a former staffer over her sexual harassment claims against him; winter outdoor conditions from John Warren; and, a young bulldozer driver describes the job he loves in today's North Country at Work story.
(Dec 18, 2024) Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center's plans to split into two facilities came to fruition this fall; catch up with a trail crew that was part of the effort to complete sixteen projects along the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail this summer; and a new art center is bringing more music to small-town Westport.
(Dec 17, 2024) An Adirondack climate scientist has been tracking the first freeze of Lower St. Regis Lake for decades; Wednesday is the last day to check out an exhibition of local artists in Plattsburgh; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue tells us what to expect in the morning and evening sky this month.
(Dec 13, 2024) New York's new Early Intervention program software has triggered a crisis in services; Essex County longtime flour mill has closed; US House passed a giant defense bill Wednesday that includes almost 40 million dollars in investments for Fort Drum near Watertown; and, the owner of a cookie shop in Saratoga Springs started hosting an annual holiday market after the pandemic to help bring her community together.
(Dec 12, 2024) If federal lawmakers don't take action before the end of the year, Medicare's telehealth coverage will soon expire, which would have big impacts for rural providers and North Country seniors; David Sommerstein sends an audio postcard from Rainbow Falls and Inman Gulf on the Tug Hill Plateau, where more than five feet of snow made for a winter wonderland; and as the news comes down that Lake Placid is officially the back-up site for sliding sports in the 2026 Winter Olympics, we meet a woman whose job it is to transport bobsleds and luge sleds from the finish line back to the track at Mt. Van Hoevenburg's bobsled run.
(Dec 11, 2024) Folks in Whitehall are looking out for their neighbors and the state is sending tankers of water as the village deals with a drinking water emergency; the South Glens Falls Pop Warner Cheer Team will compete in a national competition in Orlando, Fla. tomorrow; and we hear about Chapel Unplugged, a monthly event in St. Lawrence University's chapel that encourages people to put away their devices and focus on themselves and each other.
(Dec 10, 2024) Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to give millions of New Yorkers checks between $300 and $500; once a month, Hochul answers questions directly from her constituents in videos that she posts to her official YouTube page, hear about the questions she's not answering; and a father-son duo is authoring a series of books for young readers set in the Adirondacks.
(Dec 6, 2024) How climate change is changing the way this North Country veterinarian cares for animals; Officials along the northern border are criticizing President-elect Donald Trump's plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on all goods from Canada; New York's clean energy boom; winter conditions for this weekend; and, how these two skiers completed all 46 Adirondack 'high peaks.'
(Dec 5, 2024) A St. Lawrence University professor who studies Indigenous communities in Alaska says they have lessons to teach us about confronting climate change; Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh recently had its accreditation renewed after more than two years on warning status; and we have book recommendations from the Lowville Free Library's staff and patrons.
(Dec 4, 2024) As the risk of wildfires increases due to climate change, the number of firefighters in New York has gone down; a collaboration based in the Adirondacks is hosting a climate change listening session in Potsdam this week that'll focus on stormwater resiliency; and Chef Curtiss shares his recipe for a decadent chocolate lava cake.
(Dec 3, 2024) A class at Cornell University is helping students examine their anxieties about climate change by studying where their food comes from; last weekend's lake effect storm drew many storm chasers to the North Country, including one from North Carolina; and a preview of the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir, which will hold its annual Christmas concert this Sunday.
(Nov 26, 2024) A "daytime warming center" recently opened in the city of Watertown, which doesn't have a homeless shelter. The warming center joins a patchwork network that's trying to address homelessness in Jefferson County, which has been on the rise for the last few years; the Boreal Life trail at the Paul Smith's VIC offers beautiful views and plenty of solitude; and, book reviewer Betsy Kepes shares a "delightful" new memoir from Indian Lake author, Nanci Vineyard.
(Nov 22, 2024) North Country officials and small business owners are concerned about the potential impacts of reduced hours at northern border crossings; Scientists are analyzing cow digestion to see how they could help reduce their contribution to climate change; a new Republican candidate is throwing his hat in the ring for the NY-21 district; and, a preview of the SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music's annual Traditional Candlelight Concert.
(Nov 21, 2024) Officials say the golden clam has the potential to become an invasive species in Lake Champlain, but that remains to be seen; dairy farms and their workers are starting to reckon with President-elect Donald Trump's plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the U.S.; and an annual quilt exhibition in Old Forge is showing off the finer details of quilts.
(Nov 20, 2024) U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand stopped by SUNY Canton Monday to promote a cybersecurity scholarship program and answered questions about a likely special election to replace NY-21 Congresswoman Elise Stefanik; after years of delays, plans to bring a river park with a whitewater wave to Saranac Lake are moving forward; and North Words host Mitch Teich speaks with Ottawa filmmaker Lloyd Frost, whose film "The Berlin Waltz" about authoritarianism in Cold War East Germany seeks to be a cautionary tale for the modern world.
(Nov 19, 2024) A forest ranger from the Adirondacks is serving as a crew chief on the Jennings Creek wildfire in Orange County; Cape Vincent's only grocery store is closing for the winter, leaving a gap for the local food pantry and people who don't drive; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue talks about this month's night sky.
(Nov 15, 2024) The APA approved the expansion of a mine in the southern Adirondacks at its meeting on Thursday; a remote and much-loved Boy Scout camp is closing after over 50 years; State Police troopers have new three-year contracts with the state; Climatologists predict dry conditions in the Northeast could continue through the fall; and, a roundup of fishing conditions around the North Country!
(Nov 13, 2024) We hear from Tiffany Rea-Fisher, the executive director of the Adirondack Diversity Initiative, who's working to reshape the park into a place where everyone feels welcome; the Plattsburgh city council voted against launching an investigation into the police department and mayor’s office last week; and New York state is under a burn ban through the end of the month as crews battle multiple wildfires in the southern half of the state.
(Nov 12, 2024) Democrats and Republicans are preparing for a possible special election after Trump tapped Congresswoman Stefanik to serve as UN Ambassador; a man in Schroon Lake is trying to woo the next generation of stonemasons in the Adirondacks; and an ongoing exhibit at SUNY Plattsburgh explores the story and health of Lake Champlain and the shipwrecks that lie beneath its surface.
(Nov 8, 2024) SUNY Potsdam graduated 17 men recently who are in state prison in Ogdensburg; a SUNY Canton student recently went viral for his involvement in a NYC Timothee Chalamet lookalike contest; an invasive golden clam was found in Lake Champlain; and, a photo documentary about a Lake Placid photographer .
(Nov 7, 2024) Local business owners and union leaders are worried about how the closure of Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County will impact the economy and the prison's former employees; the City of Plattsburgh Common Council is set to vote tonight on whether to launch an investigation into claims of wrongdoing by city police and the mayor's office; we preview a screening of the film "Miracle," a Disney movie about the 1980 Olympic hockey team who defeated the Soviet Union and went on to win gold, at the Lake Placid Film Festival; and we listen back to a story on Gretchen Koehler, a Potsdam-based traditional fiddler who composed a series of fiddle tunes inspired by folk artists in the region. The album release party for her and pianist Daniel Kelly's "Fiddling with Traditions" will take place tonight at the Remington Museum in Ogdensburg.
(Nov 6, 2024) North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik won her sixth term in Congress in a landslide victory over Democrat Paula Collins; voters in Plattsburgh elected Democrat Wendell Hughes, a Clinton County legislator and retired corrections captain, as their next mayor; we hear from voters around the North Country who cast their votes Tuesday; and Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe for venison Salisbury steak.
(Nov 5, 2024) Local election officials and poll workers are critical to our nation’s democracy, yet those workers have been the targets of increasing harassment and abuse nationwide; a program in Syracuse is training veterans and their spouses to run for public office and hopefully bring their service-to-country mission to a divisive political system; and a movement artist talks about feeling and fixing pre-performance nerves.
(Nov 1, 2024) North Country voters are divided over the candidates and over the state's lone ballot measure - Prop One; Albany has been tapped as the first location for the National Semiconductor Technology Center; Lake Placid students parade down main street in their Halloween costumes.
(Oct 31, 2024) Ahead of Election Day next week, we take a look at very local races — like town justice, county judge, and town boards — and the more immediate impact they have on North Country residents' daily lives; Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and her Democratic challenger Paula Collins kicked off the final week of their campaigns in very different venues; and we preview finger-picking guitarist Andy Cohen's concert in Elizabethtown this weekend.
(Oct 30, 2024) An informational event in Watertown looks to get voters prepared for Election Day; New Yorkers will vote on a ballot measure that proponents say will “enshrine abortion” in the state’s constitution, but not all legal experts agree; and we speak with Kitty O'Neil from the Cornell Cooperative Extension about the impact of the first few frosts of fall on North Country farms.
(Oct 29, 2024) More than 14,000 people in the North Country cast their ballots on the first 2 days of early voting; a federal program is ensuring that flight from Ogdensburg to Washington D.C. fly no matter what, even if almost no one is aboard; and a steel sculpture by an artist and Akwesasne Mohawk tribe member is now on display at a museum in the Adirondacks.
(Oct 28, 2024) Incumbent U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and her Republican challenger, Mike Sapraicone clashed over New York’s Proposition One and abortion rights in their only debate ahead of Election Day; health officials in the North Country say it's best to get a flu and COVID-19 shot before flu season ramps up; and grief and beauty come together in a new photo exhibit featuring the cemeteries of St. Lawrence County.
(Oct 23, 2024) A new report on New York's child care industry has found nearly half of providers have raised tuition and a third have lost staff since federal COVID funding dried up last year; we listen back to a story on Plattsburgh's inaugural Crow Ride; and a preview of season 3 of the Howl Podcast, which features personal stories from around the North Country.
(Oct 22, 2024) Hear from some of the workers who've come from Jamaica to harvest the Champlain Valley's apples; all of the two and four-year colleges in the North Country are waiving application fees for prospective students; and a couple from Canton takes us clamming on the muddy shores of Long Island.
(Oct 21, 2024) Researchers at Cornell University are generating weekly price reports for the produce sold at farmers markets and hoping it encourages farmers to charge what their goods are worth; New York celebrated a solar energy milestone a year ahead of schedule; and two Plattsburgh-based sculptors are showing their work at Keene Arts in a temporary exhibit that examines nature, shelter, refuse, and our shifting climate.
(Oct 17, 2024) A new program in Plattsburgh seeks to give people a safe place to recover from mental illness and connect people with the services they need; twelve larger-than-life "Westport chairs" were placed around downtown Westport this summer were decorated by local artists; conversation with an improv teacher based here in the North Country about why the art form is so special.
(Oct 16, 2024) A team of rescuers from New York, including four Adirondack Forest Rangers, spent two weeks in North Carolina during and after Hurricane Helene; we listen back to an audio postcard from when Radio Bob and David Sommerstein had to lug an aluminum pipe up Blue Mountain to improve reception for our transmitter there; and we preview this Saturday's Piano by Nature concert at the Essex Quarry.
(Oct 15, 2024) Short-term rentals have exploded in the North Country in recent years, and communities are grappling with how to regulate and tax them; a professional meat smoker in Lowville shares how he learned the trade from his grandpa as a kid; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue shares what's happening in the morning and evening skies this month.
(Oct 14, 2024) About seven bears have to be killed every year in the Adirondacks due to interactions with humans; a Clinton County resident finishes a yearslong project to walk every public street in the City of Plattsburgh; and a conversation about comedy, connection and imagination with the members of a Plattsburgh improv troupe ahead of their show in Altona next weekend.
(Oct 11, 2024) The two candidates hoping to become Plattsburgh's next mayor participated in a debate earlier this week; a Pride event in Plattsburgh is giving the North Country's queer community a space to be out and proud; and John Warren checks in with trail conditions in the Adirondacks this weekend.
(Oct 10, 2024) A third-party presidential candidate who visited Potsdam last week says her visit wasn't about getting votes; a potter and art teacher shares his love of creativity and clay with North Country at Work; and we preview world-class vibraphonist and Plattsburgh native Tim Collins' performance with his band, Quadro Nuevo, Sunday at the Strand Center for the Arts in Plattsburgh.
(Oct 9, 2024) The Big Tupper ski area will go up for foreclosure auction next month after years of uncertainty about its future; New York National Guard members are among those deployed to the Hurricane Helene relief effort in the southeast; and a conversation with Jim Bourey, the "poet laureate of Dickinson Center," whose latest poems are all about the legacy of the mining community of Lyon Mountain.
(Oct 8, 2024) A festival in the Adirondacks is hoping to make the outdoors more inclusive through recreation education; a group in Jefferson County is hosting a voter information event on Tuesday evening; and New York spent $9 million renovating a historic courtyard in the Capitol building. But it's not getting used yet because of pigeons.
(Oct 7, 2024) Democrat Paula Collins faces steep odds against Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik in the race for New York's 21st Congressional District; a visit to Westport's library, where a mechanical clock has been ticking away for well over a century; and a woodworker in the southern Adirondacks is experimenting with incorporating technology into this art.
(Oct 4, 2024) A guide to who's on the ballot in the North Country and how to make sure you're ready to vote; we meet the Lowville Free Library's director; and Emily Russell, Catherine Wheeler and their canine sidekicks send us an audio postcard from Floodwood Mountain as we hit peak fall foliage in the Adirondacks.
(Oct 3, 2024) Reporter Amy Feiereisel sends an audio postcard of a fall foliage bike ride on the Adirondack Rail Trail; a Wadhams pianist tells North Country at Work about her musical process, and how it helps her connect with both body and mind; and we hear from this Saturday's Three O'Clock Special co-host, Kent Gregson of Indian Lake, a former Upper Hudson River Railroad train conductor who brings an itinerary of regional music.
(Oct 2, 2024) As women's mountain biking grows in popularity, we hear from fans and riders at last weekend's World Cup races in Lake Placid; the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has created a new digital law library of its own laws so community members have better access to legal information; with EEE on the rise, Sen. Schumer is calling for increased coordination between local and federal agencies; and, a lobster chowder recipe from Chef Curtiss!
(Oct 1, 2024) As dockworkers at ports around the country begin their strike, state officials say New Yorkers don't have to worry about major food shortages yet; fisheries managers are cautiously optimistic about the increasing amount of wild-born lake trout on Lake Champlain; Saratoga Springs welcomed farmers and their giant pumpkins from across the country for an annual competition; and a lifelong baseball enthusiast moved to the North Country to help coach the Boonville Lumberjacks baseball team.
(Sep 27, 2024) ORDA has authorized improvements at several of the Olympic venues in the Adirondacks; a BOCES Culinary Arts Instructor in Gouverneur is the winner of a state award for her decades of work teaching North Country students how to cook; as fall colors begin to pop in the Adirondacks, we take a hike around Black Pond near Paul Smith's; and, a preview of show at Bluseed Studios in Saranac Lake.
(Sep 26, 2024) Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is cosponsoring a bill that would require the federal government to update its strategy for northern border enforcement; a merger between two small school districts in the southern Adirondacks was voted down earlier this week; and we preview magician Leon Etienne and assistant Chelsea LaCongo's performance in Pulaski this weekend.
(Sep 25, 2024) New York state has approved a plan for a company to build a commercial solar development in the town of Canton; we head to the Glenview Preserve in Harrietstown, whose owners are trying to find the balance between "Forever Wild" and the region's growing movement for accessible outdoor recreation; and we listen back to a North Country at Work story on the Morristown Ferry, which carried people across the St. Lawrence River before big bridges like the Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge came along.
(Sep 24, 2024) Gov. Hochul is declaring a mosquito-borne illness an imminent threat to human health; state officials are continuing the push for a statewide cellphone ban in schools; and a Saranac Lake firm is offering free herbicide treatments to fight the invasive Japanese knotweed plant.
(Sep 20, 2024) Over two months after an EF-0 tornado ripped through parts of Warrensburg and Chestertown, residents are still picking up the pieces; The Autism Alliance of Northeastern New York will host Hari Kondabolu at its third annual fall comedy fundraiser this weekend; Two North Country healthcare providers are getting federal funding to serve rural populations and Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills this week that support ambulance reimbursement; and, a preview of Potsdam band Uprooted
(Sep 19, 2024) Migrants from India are crossing the US-Canada border in Clinton County and winding up at a bus stop in Plattsburgh; a North Country at Work story on Lowville's fire chief, who's devoted his work and personal life to helping those in crisis; and a preview of electroacoustic duo ARKAI's show at the Recovery Lounge in Upper Jay this Saturday.
(Sep 18, 2024) We travel to the inaugural Adirondack Nature Festival for People with Disabilities at Paul Smith's VIC; a Peru man faces 25 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife; and we listen back to a story on Farm Aid, the massive benefit concert for farmers that's returning to Saratoga Springs this weekend for the first time in 11 years.
(Sep 17, 2024) The annual event aims to increase awareness of North Country food systems
(Sep 17, 2024) A new initiative aims to beef up the North Country's health care workforce; about 30 paddlers rallied on Sunday to complete the final leg of the 90-Miler canoe race after it was canceled; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue shares what we should be looking for in the night sky.
(Sep 16, 2024) As she moves on as editor of the ADK Daily Enterprise, Elizabeth Izzo reflects on her career so far; a Watertown housing project got funding on the heels of a housing summit held in Ogdensburg; the Essex County Land Bank has put its first home on the market; and, Adirondack Sculptor John Van Alstine has a bronze on permanent display at the Adirondack Experience Museum at Blue Mountain Lake.
(Sep 13, 2024) A look at Camp Santanoni's mobility pilot program through the eyes of a disability advocate; the APA's proposed amendments to the Adirondack Park's master plan; Passenger rail service from New York City to Montreal is back on track after a months-long suspension; and, two-hundred cyclists will ride through Keeseville, stopping at farms along the way.
(Sep 12, 2024) Residents in Saratoga Springs honored first responders and veterans on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks; the Plattsburgh city council voted last week to allow two major bus companies to use the former farmers market location downtown, offering another temporary option for where to put a bus stop; and we check in with Kitty O'Neil from the Cornell Cooperative Extension about how the warm, wet summer has affected North Country farms.
(Sep 11, 2024) Environmentalists and the Adirondack Park Agency say a carrying capacity study of lakes and ponds is necessary; North Country at Work visits a doggy adventure camp in Queensbury; and a preview of the Lake George Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend.
(Sep 5, 2024) Two green groups from Lake George are ready to move on after a years-long fight over an herbicide; officials in Plattsburgh say the infrastructure left behind by the former Air Force Base there is failing. They want the federal government to do something about it; and, St. Lawrence Valley artists are helping us hang on to summer in a community art show in Potsdam.
(Sep 4, 2024) A former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul was arrested and is accused of being an agent for the Chinese government; One man is dead and two people are charged after a shooting in Plattsburgh; and the sun sets on this year's New York State Fair.
(Sep 3, 2024) Several North Country counties have been approved for disaster aid; a group of Akwesasne Mohawk educators are using dance to teach Adirondackers about Indigenous history; and harmful algal blooms pop up across the state.
(Aug 30, 2024) A Thousand Islands' man keeping the nautical heritage of wooden boats alive; the annual lighting of Adirondack fire towers; United Helpers has purchased a restaurant in Ogdensburg; Tourism to the North Country grew modestly last year; a preview of the Northern Current Music Festival in Saranac Lake.
(Aug 29, 2024) Schools in the North Country are starting to require students to turn off their phones; campers on an island on Lower Saranac Lake let a fire get out of hand; a young farmer takes over the land in the heart of the High Peaks; a preview of a show at the Salmon River Arts Center in Pulaski.
(Aug 28, 2024) Cases of a deadly mosquito-borne illness are on the rise in North Country horses; Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin was in the Adirondacks on Saturday for a Democratic fundraiser; and a group of fiber artists in St. Lawrence County is hosting a quilting festival in Wanakena this weekend.
(Aug 27, 2024) The second phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail is now open, connecting Lake Placid to Santa Clara; a new mural in Plattsburgh aims to raise awareness about mental health and help reduce the stigma surrounding suicide; and we talk to the Evans Mills Raceway about their new weekly "kartway" races.
(Aug 23, 2024) The state is looking for feedback on a plan that aims to conserve more land and water; adultery may no longer be a crime in NYS; Lowville's high school sustained serious damage during recent flooding; we visit a little known gem for birding and paddling near Canton has a special restricted section that's only open for two weeks in August.
(Aug 22, 2024) The state Department of Environmental Conservation had to euthanize a bear and her two cubs in Old Forge after interactions with people; Clinton County says it now has a plan for one of the buildings Clinton Community College will leave behind when it moves to SUNY Plattsburgh next year; and a conversation with Donna Stoner, who became a watercolor artist when she retired to the southern Adirondacks and now helps organize the annual Plein Art Paint Out in Old Forge.
(Aug 21, 2024) We remember the life of local civil rights activist Alice Green and learn about her work getting Black Adirondackers involved with the state's reparations commission; a North Country at Work profile of a Glens Falls man who's spent his life selling big trucks; and work by North Country artists that considers the value of our region's waterways is on display this month at the Ogdensburg Free Academy's Montpelier Gallery.
(Aug 20, 2024) The village of Lowville has suffered severe flooding for the second time in less than two months; Paul Smith's College in the Adirondacks has appointed its next president; an astronomer stops by to talk about what we can find in the night sky in the next month.
(Aug 16, 2024) Despite widespread opposition, the CPB is moving forward on a controversial Blind Bay site for its new facility; a nonprofit is using a mobile food pantry to reach remote parts of the Adirondacks; Rep. Elise Stefanik is giving national attention to a Potsdam town board member's disparaging comments against Donald Trump; NY school districts are enacting their own cell phone bans as a statewide ban is considered.
(Aug 15, 2024) A windsurfer shares his observations on Lake Champlain wind and water conditions; a North Country at Work story on a Sister of Mercy who came to the region in the 1960s; and we get a preview of this Saturday's Adirondack Family Book Festival in Lake Placid.
(Aug 14, 2024) Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Canton's fire department to thank first responders for their repairs and rescue efforts in the aftermath of last Friday's flooding; the Timbuctoo Institute brings about 50 students of color from New York City up to the Adirondacks each summer; and with the major leagues of fishing returning to the St. Lawrence River in August, we revisit a story about how Bassmaster Elite anglers prepare and practice to win the big weigh-in.
(Aug 13, 2024) A Fort Drum soldier has been charged with the murder of a fellow soldier; Some St. Lawrence County cannabis shops were raided and shut down; fish advisories tell us what local fish to eat; and remembering David Duff, who died last week.
(Aug 9, 2024) NYS Senator Stec described inmates as the "animals of New York" at a recent prison rally in Fort Ann; several Planned Parenthood clinics are closing in Upstate NY; Saranac Lake hosted a festival in honor of Philippine president Manuel Quezon, a former resident of the village; State officials are warning North Country residents to be prepared for up to six inches of rain to fall in the next 24 hours.
(Aug 8, 2024) Longtime NCPR reporter Brian Mann gives us a behind-the-scenes look at covering the Summer Games for NPR; A look at the language in a proposed constitutional amendment that voters will weigh on this fall; the heyday of the tiny St. Lawrence County hamlet of Pyrites comes to life in a new novel.
(Aug 7, 2024) The Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center is looking to expand its museum to help build for the future; New York officials react to Kamala Harris' choice for vice president; a professional angler competing in Major League Fishing's bass pro tour in Massena talks about what it's like on the St. Lawrence River; and Chef Curtiss shares a summer recipe.
(Aug 1, 2024) The rules for taking dogs across the U.S.-Canada border change today; St. Lawrence Nurseries in Potsdam is changing hands; and a new exhibit at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vermont spotlights life and work on canal boats during America's early industrial boom.
(Jul 31, 2024) A dive into the North Country's political trends and how they've changed over the last decade; the City of Ogdensburg is offering help to residents who have had sewage in their basements after storms; and we listen back to a story on relayball, a sport invented in St. Lawrence County.
(Jul 24, 2024) New York state has launched a new online portal to help people apply for child care assistance; Forest Rangers managed multiple rescues in the Adirondacks last week; and we meet NCPR's newest reporter, David Escobar, who'll cover diversity issues in the Adirondacks as part of a collaboration with the Adirondack Explorer through Report for America.
(Jul 22, 2024) A new report looks at working conditions for workers in New York’s solar industry. Many are not unionized, lack healthcare and take stimulants to work longer; the closure of Great Meadow Correctional near Glens Falls could have a big impact on families of staff and the local economy; and, the current opera of the Seagle Festival in Schroon Lake is underway. We'll chat with artistic director, Darren Woods.
(Jul 19, 2024) Three tornados ripped through the southern Adirondacks on Tuesday, tearing down huge swaths of trees and leaving tens of thousands of people without power; Clinton County is at odds with Greyhound after the bus company's abrupt change in stops over the last week; and, John Warren checks the trail conditions for us in the Adirondacks this weekend.
(Jul 17, 2024) Severe storms swept across the North Country yesterday afternoon, leaving downed trees and powerlines; a peer support group is open for veterans in St. Lawrence County, and advocates say it's a place veterans can turn to for more resources; an Indian Lake realtor shares what it's like to work in real estate; and News Director David Sommerstein takes us to Nuits D'Afrique, the largest pan-African music festival in North America.
(Jul 16, 2024) Border Patrol officials in the North Country say they're seeing record numbers of illegal crossings at the northern border. It's changing life for people who live in communities like Mooers; forest Rangers recovered the body of a kayaker whose boat overturned in the Husdon River last weekend; Onchiota listener Phil Fitzpatrick shares a poem for a stormy summer day; and, astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue guides us through what to look for in the morning and evening skies.
(Jul 8, 2024) This summer, there will be events at John Brown Farm in Lake Placid that honor abolitionist Harriet Tubman; tick-borne illnesses have increase in the Northeast due to climate change and suburbanization; and, Betsy Kepes reviews a new adventurous novel set in the Adirondacks that's written to entice reluctant young readers.
(Jul 3, 2024) Late last month, the Adirondack Park Agency approved the use of a chemical herbicide to eradicate Eurasian water milfoil on Lake George. Today, we head to Chateaugay Lake where the community just applied Prosellacor for the first time; a fire in Lake George destroyed an amphitheater over the weekend. Local officials are already altering summer events and planning to rebuild; and, Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a dish that could be a dessert, a salad, or a margarita mixer: balsamic strawberries.
(Jul 2, 2024) As climate change comes to the North Country, one St. Lawrence County farm is tracking how its changing the ecosystem; a healthcare network in Jefferson County is taking over a doctor’s office in Lewis County; and, Stephanie Coyne DeGhett shares her poem "The Joy of Deserted Spaces."
(Jul 1, 2024) The ADK Land Trust will use a $3 million grant to build accessible trails in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid; since 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been hosting entrepreneurship fairs at military bases to encourage troops to start businesses; and, through the big back windows of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake, you’ll see a 500-foot clothesline, with about 150 pieces of clothing on it, flapping in the breeze. It's the museum's newest art installation, by Brenda Baker.
(Jun 27, 2024) The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe is working to protect trees used for traditional basket making, but they're threatened by a deadly invasive beetle; the DEC is hosting a public, virtual meeting from 5-8pm Thursday tonight on visitor use management in the ADK High Peaks; and, Burlington author Mo Fitzgerald is out with a memoir. She uses lists, conversations, poems and personal high school diary entries to make sense of her journey from pro soccer player to artist in the Champlain Valley.
(Jun 26, 2024) The Thousand Islands community showed their opposition at a public meeting with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Clayton last night; the state Board of Regents is moving towards a plan to change graduation requirements, including no longer requiring the standardized Regents tests for graduation; and, This month, there were two fatal farm accidents in upstate New York. In St. Lawrence County, a dairy farm worker was tending a newborn calf when a cow charged her, killing her. Then, in central New York, two men died when they fell into a manure tanker. We'll talk with Kitty O'Neil of the Cornell Cooperative Extension about the inherent risks of farm work and measures to keep workers safe.
(Jun 21, 2024) After years of removing the invasive aquatic water plant Eurasian water milfoil by hand, the Adirondack Park Agency has voted to allow the use of a chemical herbicide in three lakes, despite pushback; US Customs and Border Protection wants to build a new facility on a part of undeveloped shoreline on the St. Lawrence River. Residents, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and environmental groups have all said it's not the right place; a Montreal-based pharmaceutical company that’s been in the North Country for more than 30 years held a ribbon-cutting for a new state-of-the-art facility in Plattsburgh yesterday; and, a preview of Potsdam's Juneteenth celebration.
(Jun 20, 2024) Earlier this week, over 100 people gathered at Paul Smith's College to talk about the intersection of climate change impacts and an aging population; after 34 years as public radio's eyes and ears in Albany, reporter Karen Dewitt is retiring on Friday. We talk with her about her career and how Albany has changed for a journalist.
(Jun 19, 2024) Watertown Juneteenth is hosting the second part of its Juneteenth celebrations today. Organizers hope the events inspire other Black people to share their stories; while a national memorial for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans goes through a lengthy planning and fundraising process, veterans are working with state and local governments to build smaller monuments around the country; and, two ducks. A goose. And competing taco trucks. That's all part of a new kids book out now from Canton author, Laura Lavoie.
(Jun 18, 2024) This week's heat wave is part of a trend of warmer, more extreme weather events in the Adirondack North Country; because of the Canadian wildfires last year, officials are asking New Yorkers to monitor air quality every day this summer; and, our book reviewer Betsy Kepes stops by to talk about a novel set in St. Lawrence County about two sisters who try to hide the fact that their parents abandoned them. It's called "She Taught Me Everything" by Amy Smith Linton.
(Jun 13, 2024) With rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric around the country, why Pride celebrations in the North Country are important for connections and community; in Old Forge, the Rondaxe fire tower on Bald Mountain offers sprawling views of the western Adirondacks; and, a soccer club in Burlington was started with the goal of combating climate change. We’ll head to the UVM Virtue Stadium to talk with the founder of the Vermont Green.
(Jun 12, 2024) An upcoming mural in downtown Plattsburgh aims to help prevent and break the stigma around suicide in the North Country; the U.S. Army has stepped up training for tunnel warfare, as more combat scenarios arise like those playing out in Gaza; and, we'll spot the frogs, trillium and birch bark on an afternoon hike through the Larose Forest in eastern Ontario.
(Jun 11, 2024) Under a new law in Vermont, state officials can now try to make major oil, gas, and coal companies pay for some of the costs associated with climate change; ticks have become an expected, if unwelcome, part of North Country summers over the last 20 years. That means tick-borne diseases are more prevalent, too; and, astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue joins us to walk us through what to look for in the morning and evening skies.
(Jun 4, 2024) It’s unclear how Trump's guilty verdict will impact this November’s election, but he has remained largely popular in the North Country since he won nearly every county here in the last election; Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says a bill that would require major energy companies to pay for climate change remediation could ultimately result in higher costs for utility ratepayers; and the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival kicks off Wednesday night. We have a preview with the curator, bassist Adi Oasis.
(May 29, 2024) Researchers from Cornell have complied data that shows internet connectivity across New York State. The data can help push for easy and affordable internet access for everyone; a BOCES in Clinton and Essex counties recently got a big state grant to invest in its food infrastructure and culinary arts program; and a conversation with the silent film pianist performing in Elizabethtown and Plattsburgh this week.
(May 24, 2024) Eight Akwesasne Mohawks were arrested on Barn Hart Island near Massena for protesting the Mohawk land claim settlement talks; scientific advances have allowed the Army to identify about 200 sets of remains each year - dating back to World War II. But the passage of time has complicated the process of finding families to accept the remains; and four veterans and one Gold Star widow from Jefferson County are sharing their stories about military life through original country music at a concert in Clayton Friday night.
(May 22, 2024) Governor Kathy Hochul’s appointee to lead a state agency that helps New York’s legal cannabis retail stores get business loans faced tough questions from senators yesterday. It’s the latest in a string of accusations of mismanagement surrounding the state’s troubled rollout of adult recreational marijuana; we hear from one of the few guideboat builders left in the Adirondacks; and the 51st annual Norwood Village Concert Series opens next week. We'll talk with founder Joe Liotta about one of the oldest and most diverse outdoor concert series in the North Country.
(May 20, 2024) Folks in the Massena school district vote tomorrow on how to fund the public library. The state education deparment says switching to being a district library means there's greater accountability to the community, plus a more stable budget for the library; a group of local leaders came together in Potsdam recently to discuss ways to adapt to our changing climate; Governor Kathy Hochul visited the Vatican, for Pope Francis’s three-day climate change summit. She spoke extensively about New York's environmental policy; and book reviewer Betsy Kepes shares her thoughts about the new novel, "Help Wanted". It's set in a big box store in a fictional town in the Hudson Valley.
(May 17, 2024) Passing down a family business in Keene Valley. We’ll meet the mother and daughter owners of the Birch Store; we'll head out on a trail run to Clements Pond in Keene; and John Warren checks the trail conditions for us in the Adirondacks this weekend.
(May 16, 2024) Development near Frontier Town in the eastern Adirondacks is on pause due to legal issues over land titles; the VA now pays for IVF treatment for unmarried and LGBTQ veterans. But they still must prove their fertility problems are service-related. Critics say more people should be eligible; and we hear from North Country filmmaker Scott Carroll ahead of his three-week voyage to an island in Norway, which he hopes will show how climate change impacts remote, fragile ecosystems, and foreshadows what could be coming to our own backyard.
(May 15, 2024) A North Country school district is proposing to build a 16-acre solar array on its property. It would produce enough energy to power, heat, and cool the district's campus; a project to put a roof on a historic stone bandstand in Watertown's Thompson Park is having a final fundraising push; also, we talk with Mohawk artist Marlana Thompson about an exhibit at TAUNY in Canton that celebrates indigenous beadwork and regalia. "My Family" includes bead art, baskets and clothing created by Marlana and her daughter.
(May 14, 2024) In Buffalo yesterday, Governor Hochul unveiled the design for a memorial to honor the 10 Black people killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a Tops Market two years ago; the St. Lawrence Seaway officially opened its new visitor center yesterday in Massena; the new leader of the DEC says his priorities include land conservation in the Adirondacks and the state's climate agenda; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue explains the large sun spots' potential impact on Earth.
(May 13, 2024) A bill in Albany would create statewide standards for teaching about climate change in schools; Mercy Care for the Adirondacks is a volunteer organization that tackles isolation and depression in seniors with...friendship; it's turtle crossing season in the North Country, and we'll get a reminder about watching for turtles and what do to if you find an injured turtle from SUNY Potsdam biologist Glenn Johnson.
(May 10, 2024) Smells of spring at a St. Lawrence County flower farm; an effort to legalize physician-assisted suicide in New York may be picking up momentum; and Charlie Donevan, a hardware store owner and well-known community member from Gananoque Ontario died last week at the age of 99.
(May 9, 2024) New York announced $3 million for land conservation groups, but environmentalists say the state is falling far short of its conservation goals; meanwhile, the state Legislature voted on climate change and environmental bills this week, but lawmakers couldn't predict if any of them would become law; we meet a Potsdam girl with grit at baseball practice; and explore how the bonds of baseball span generations in a Glens Falls exhibit.
(May 8, 2024) A judge knocked off the November ballot an amendment to the state Constitution that would guarantee the right to an abortion and protections for gender identity. Democrats who support the amendment are confident they will get it reinstated on appeal; the NCPR newsroom is underway with a year-long series on how climate change impacts every part of our lives in the North Country. We want to hear from you! Amy Feiereisel stops by to share what your neighbors have shared so far through the NCPR texting club and climate survey; a conversation with Northern Lights Chorus conductor Helen Demong about their spring concert that includes new music by Adirondack composer Glenn McClure.
(May 7, 2024) A behavioral health organization with locations in Clinton and Warren counties plans to hire 100 new people; a group of advocates recently held a week-long demonstration to raise awareness about homelessness in Watertown; we'll take advantage of this warm time just before the black flies come, and go on a canoe camping trip on Lower Saranac Lake.
(May 6, 2024) The state will host a public comment hearing Tuesday night about a controversial solar development in Canton; environmental advocates are pushing state lawmakers again to cut plastic packaging in half; It’s warming up, and with that... black flies, unfortunately. Listener Phil Fitzpatrick shares advice for repelling them, a poem for the season, and a peak at some of his favorite spots near his camp in Onchiota.
(May 3, 2024) It’s been a week since the Adirondacks lost one of its most revered forest rangers and a leader among the queer community. A look at the legacy of Robbi Mecus; New York is phasing out natural gas use in new buildings, but advocates say there's a wealth disparity between who can do it easily and who can't afford the change; John Warren checks the trail conditions in the Adirondacks this weekend.
(May 2, 2024) Gov. Kathy Hochul is defending the police raids at Columbia University and the City College of New York to quell pro-Palestinian protests; as a part of NCPR's ongoing series about North Country libraries, a profile of "Mr. Ben" Carman of the Plattsburgh Public Library; and a conversation with a budding illustrator in Massena. McKenna Odjick is in sixth grade and practices sketch after sketch to nail the perfect illustration to capture her best friend's poems.
(May 1, 2024) Governor Kathy Hochul is touting the state's new investment in artificial intelligence; communities throughout the North Country are dealing with a shortage of poll workers. Many county Boards of Election are thinking of ways to get young people involved; also, we're heading into morel mushroom season, so we'll listen again to an edible mushroom hunt in the Champlain Valley with Chef Curtiss Hemm.
(Apr 30, 2024) Tahawus was a mining town built deep in the Adirondack wilderness. In the 1960s, everything in the town was either moved or buried. Today, how it came to be, and why it disappeared; it's migration season for birds! Here's what New York is doing, and what you can do to help them on their way; a listener tries to stump Todd with sound she recorded; plus, a North Country-themed love poem ahead of a reading in Potsdam.
(Apr 29, 2024) Adirondack forest ranger Robbi Mecus died in an ice climbing accident in Alaska last Thursday; former Ivy Ridge students and community members rallied in Ogdensburg on Saturday after a documentary alleges abuse that took place at a now-closed boarding facility; plus, a preview of the Pendragon Theatre's upcoming summer season.
(Apr 26, 2024) A Netflix documentary revealed abuse allegations at a former facility for troubled teens in Ogdensburg. A conversation with former Ivy Ridge student, and director of "The Program"; plus, how folks in Ogdensburg are grappling with the legacy; and, Potsdam author, Rebecca Donnelly, is out with a new graphic novel. She's joining NCPR and fellow NoCo children's authors Jessica Laurel Kane and Maxwell Eaton III for a story hour for kids at the Massena Public Library Saturday, April 27th from 10 to noon.
(Apr 25, 2024) For the last two months, a nonprofit SPCA in Clinton County has cared for almost 50 dogs seized in an alleged animal cruelty case. The organization's leaders say they've been stretched thin, but things are turning a corner as they ready the dogs for adoption; environmental groups say they'll push the New York State Assembly to approve a key climate change bill before the session ends in June; a conversation with Wilmington author and illustrator, Maxwell Eaton III. He's joining NCPR for a celebration of children's literature Saturday morning at the Massena Public Library. We sat down with him to talk about writing and the fun of getting drawings from young readers in the mail.
(Apr 24, 2024) The new state budget includes the first-ever paid prenatal leave policy in the country. Now, New Yorkers will get 20 hours of paid sick leave for health appointments during pregnancy. That's in addition to their regular parental leave; we'll hear how Essex County is helping farmers manage their land sustainably; also, a conversation with Adirondack children's author and illustrator Jessica Kane. She has two new books out and will join us for a celebration of reading and children's books this Saturday at the Massena Public Library.
(Apr 23, 2024) Stefanik is leading the push to get the President of Columbia University to resign amid pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus; Hochul scored her lowest favorability rating since Siena College began tracking her in 2021, with only 40% viewing her positively, and 49% viewing her negatively; Kitty O'Neil with the Cornell Cooperative Extension talks about the uptick in avian flu during springtime and how to protect backyard flocks.
(Apr 22, 2024) State lawmakers passed a $237 billion budget that incentivizes new affordable housing and restores cuts to school aid; a major newspaper covering the Akwesasne Mohawk community has had to suspend publication as it deals with financial troubles; also, in celebration of Earth Day we'll take a walk and talk with Vermont poet David Crews about how his writing connects him to nature, the environment and a new season!
(Apr 19, 2024) The community of North Creek is crossing their fingers for a state grant to keep their nursing home open. Elderwood is hosting an open house Saturday morning for the community to meet residents, staff and families; we’ll take a tour of the shop in the lower Adirondacks that makes all those yellow and brown Adirondack Park signs; and John Warren checks the trail conditions in the Adirondacks for us this weekend.
(Apr 17, 2024) We’ll take a closer look at the economic impact from the tens of thousands of tourists who came to the region during the total solar eclipse. Tourism officials estimate that Essex County alone saw a $2 million boost in sales; so far, two Democrats and a Republican have thrown their hats in the ring to become Plattsburgh's next mayor. Now an independent candidate is joining the field; New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says Governor Hochul spoke prematurely this week when she said they’d reached a tentative budget agreement; plus, music and conversation with Brian Keane, the drummer of Gordon Lightfoot’s band. He's performing in Brockville Friday night.
(Apr 16, 2024) Eight years after it was awarded a Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, Glens Falls is getting close to finishing its DRI projects, which would make it the first community in the North Country to do so; Hochul announced that a tentative $237 billion budget deal has been reached. A surprising and controversial change is a plan to close regional centers that help people with developmental disabilities hire their own healthcare workers, and move them out of state; we debrief with astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue about the eclipse and consider a star that looks like it will explode.
(Apr 15, 2024) Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties recently increased the amount it reimburse funeral homes when they bury people who can’t afford to pay. But, it doesn’t help working families who are on the edge of qualifying; we hear about how a small canal transformed Glens Falls in the 1800s; lawmakers are two weeks late on hashing out a spending plan for the state for the next year and there’s no resolution in sight; and NCPR book reviewer Betsy Kepes shares her thoughts about Canadian writer, Amanda Peters' debut novel, "The Berry Pickers".
(Apr 12, 2024) A nursing home in North Creek in the southern Adirondacks is teetering on the brink of closure; the state budget, now over 10 days late, is hung up over housing, and tenant's rights; the spring snowmelt in the Adirondacks creates powerful, roaring waterfalls, including at Auger Falls in southern Hamilton County.
(Apr 11, 2024) One pizzeria in Warrensburg sold pies to people in bumper-to-bumper traffic as they left the North Country after Monday's eclipse; just 26% of FBI special agents are female. The agency held a career fair in Albany to attract women to the profession; we talk with Lisbon photographer Beverly Patchin about her love for travel and nature photography. An exhibit of her favorite photos is on display in Waddington this month.
(Apr 10, 2024) Colleges and universities are a pillar of the North Country's economy. Many are under financial pressure and communities are worried about the future; New York State’s budget is over a week late. Lawmakers plan to meet on Thursday to pass another spending extender that will last until April 16th; Canton musician, Kyle Tupper, was inspired by his dad to pursue his dreams in Nashville. Tupper has just released a cover version of a song made popular in the 80s by his dad's band, Double Axel.
(Apr 9, 2024) It was a once-in-a-lifetime, awe-inspiring day across the North Country yesterday. The clouds held off just enough for thousands of people to soak in the total eclipse of the sun. People laughed, whooped, and cried all over the region. Today, we bring you scenes of totality from our reporting team.
(Apr 8, 2024) Our NCPR's news interns checked in with folks around St. Lawrence County to hear how they're feeling about this afternoon's eclipse; a Louisville woman with a love for her St. Lawrence County town is trying to bring her community's historic town hall back to life; the wonder and awe of big celestial events like a total solar eclipse can ignite a passion for astronomy in people. For Olmstedville astrophotographer Bob Fisher, it was the first time he saw Saturn through a homemade telescope. Thirty years of his night sky photos are on display now at the Chestertown Public Library.
(Apr 5, 2024) Tupper Lake has been preparing for the total solar eclipse for years. It's expected to be a main hub on Monday; communities across the North Country are gearing up for Monday's total solar eclipse. In Plattsburgh, the Strand Center for the Arts and SUNY Plattsburgh's Feinberg Library decided to do that with a collaborative art exhibition; and John Warren checks the trail conditions in the Adirondacks this weekend.
(Apr 4, 2024) A new state report says emergency services agencies across New York are struggling with staffing and costs, and that they need more help from the state. We hear from North Country ambulance services in Jefferson and Warren counties; Watertown's zoo has been struggling to stay open for months. This week, the city council has approved some short-term funding to keep it open for the season. But local leaders still aren't sure about the long-term; also, we talk with the director and crew of an original theatrical experience at SUNY Plattsburgh this week. "How We Walk on the Moon" includes outer space, astronauts, and a trip to the moon — all designed to prepare you for Monday's eclipse. It opens Thursday night in Plattsburgh's Blackbox Studio Theatre.
(Apr 3, 2024) One school district in the North Country is making the eclipse a special day for students; six inmates are suing the state over the its planned prison lockdown during Monday's eclipse; also, Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a fresh spring dish: pasta with fresh arugula, peas, and Romano cheese.
(Apr 2, 2024) School districts in New York have to switch to all electric buses by 2035. It's drawn the ire of districts and Republican lawmakers. Today, we visit the first district to get electric buses on the road - Alex Bay; all the prisons in New York State will go on a three hour lockdown during the total solar eclipse on Monday. The state says it’s for safety, but advocates say it could do the opposite; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue joins us to answer your science questions about the total solar eclipse.
(Apr 1, 2024) A program that aims to increase the pool of non-US doctors who can work in the North Country is opening up to specialty physicians; a disagreement over increasing criminal penalties for retail theft is one of many issues making the state budget late; UVM announces the winner of its first "VT Pitch Challenge" later this week. It's a contest for high schoolers around the world to develop business ideas for their communities. The finalists include teens from the North Country and Vermont.
(Mar 29, 2024) On Wednesday, a sure sign of spring on the Paul Smiths College campus. Professor Curt Stager has been monitoring the same sandy hillside for the first bees of the season; student athletes in Glens Falls were honored with a parade earlier this week; once again, the state budget will be late this year; and Aileen O'Donoghue combines astronomy and gastronomy, by helping Todd and Monica make a sweet-n-salty snack to enjoy during the total solar eclipse April 8th.
(Mar 28, 2024) The majority of North Country's and New York State’s fire departments are staffed by volunteers and have been for over a century. Fire chiefs say they're struggling to recruit the next generation; both houses of the state legislature have passed a bill that would close a loophole in the state's fracking ban; also, we talk with a Plattsburgh artist who has created a thousand hand-carved signs during her career.
(Mar 27, 2024) The Adirondack Council is warning adventurous solar eclipse watchers to prepare for winter conditions on April 8th and avoid backcountry trails; the state recently awarded Clinton County $3 million to help develop its upcoming business park; and, we meet writer, Beth Nguyen, speaking at St. Lawrence University tomorrow night. The Vietnam-born, Michigan-raised writer was relentlessly teased for using her given name, Bich. Then, in her 30s, she decided to change it.
(Mar 26, 2024) Housing activists are packing Albany ahead of the April 1st budget deadline to push lawmakers to limit annual rent increases and the reasons why a landlord can evict a tenant; forest rangers rescued a lost hiker last weekend during a snowstorm in the Adirondack High Peaks; Gov. Hochul announces statewide plans for the total solar eclipse; book reviewer Betsy Kepes shares thoughts about Brad Kessler's new novel, "North". Set in Vermont, it intertwines the lives of a monk, a Somali refugee, and an Afghan war veteran.
(Mar 25, 2024) A Lake George project to build housing for seasonal workers is drawing opposition, in part because of unfounded concerns it will be used to house asylum seekers; The solar eclipse is two weeks away. Watertown is planning a party and closing its city buildings; funding for a pandemic-era broadband program is set to end in April. That could make life harder for North Country residents who still don’t have reliable, affordable internet; we check in with Kitty O'Neil at the Cornell Cooperative Extension to find out how these erratic spring temperatures are impacting maple producers and apple growers.
(Mar 22, 2024) Thousands of North Country high school seniors are in a stressful state of limbo right now. They're trying to make decisions about college, but they're still waiting on financial aid offers from schools. That's because of delays with the FAFSA; North Country districts are still grappling with the severe staffing shortage impacting schools across the US. Many districts are calling on retired teachers to close the gap as a short-term fix; the observatory in the Adirondacks is one of just a handful of spots in the country gathering official tape for NASA on the day of the total solar eclipse. We'll check back in with the Sky Center president, Seth McGowan who says they're planning a whole community festival.
(Mar 21, 2024) Republicans in Plattsburgh have tapped a familiar face as their candidate for mayor. Don Kasprzak held the city's top job from 2006 to 2014; after years-long delays and a clunky rollout to the state’s legalized recreational cannabis industry, Governor Hochul has appointed one of her top commissioners to take over; Clarkson’s women’s hockey team is headed to the Frozen Four. Listen in to their super cute and fun send-off at the Potsdam middle school; hear from Seth McGowan, president of the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory in Tupper Lake about what the total solar eclipse means to our humanity.
(Mar 20, 2024) There are more than 8,000 people in prison in the North Country. Visiting a loved one behind bars can be complicated and expensive. A conversation with the mother of a man imprisoned in the Adirondacks; while some states are putting constraints on birth control, Gov. Hochul signed a standing order to allow all pharmacies in New York to dispense birth control medications to anyone who wants one; NCPR's news team is launching a year-long investigation into climate change in the North Country, how it's affecting the region during each of the four seasons. We're starting by getting your feedback about what we should be paying attention to; also, we'll talk with Saranac Lake artist Brittany Sternberg about her plans to create a new outdoor mural with the help of other community artists and organizations.
(Mar 19, 2024) Journalist Ted Conover wanted to know what it was like to work in a prison, so he became a correction officer; New York's state budget is due at the end of the month. Lawmakers and Gov. Hochul have a lot of decisions to make, including whether to raise taxes and how much money to give schools; for years, humorist Stuart McLean hosted the Canadian public radio show, The Vinyl Cafe. Now that warmth and nostalgia about Canadiana is returning in a new podcast: “Backstage at the Vinyl Cafe”
(Mar 18, 2024) There's a staff shortage of prison workers in NY, potentially leading to 5 more correctional facilities closing this year; a conversation with St. Lawrence County DA about his investigations into dozens of abuse claims against the former Ivy Ridge boarding school. The school is the subject of a new Netflix documentary; and we'll check out the current photo exhibit on display at the Chapman Museum in Glens Falls that features the small family camps and lean-tos of the southern Adirondacks.
(Mar 15, 2024) Rep. Stefanik has helped secure $1.8 million for Massena, but critics say she voted against the larger measure it was part of; Lake Placid's only thrift store closed last fall. Now it and the food pantry it supports are getting a new home; Governor Kathy Hochul wants harsher penalties for retail theft, but Democrats in the State Legislature are pushing back; John Warren says to plan for winter conditions if you're headed into the Adirondacks this weekend; and we ask a maple researcher about climate change and our region’s maple sugar season.
(Mar 14, 2024) More than 600 people have signed onto a petition from one of several former female employees of the Clinton County jail, who have filed federal lawsuits alleging harassment at the jail; the chairs of the state Legislature's health committees say insurance companies shouldn't be in the business of providing home health care. The companies are fighting back; we’ll check in with the founder of the North Country’s Empire Baseball League that trains underdog players to try out for MLB affiliations.
(Mar 13, 2024) Democrats in the State Legislature have released counterproposals to Governor Hochul’s budget. They want to restore cuts to school aid, try an ambitious affordable housing program, and raise taxes on wealthier residents; a Malone man Malone is spending his retirement using a high-tech drone to search for missing dogs; ice coverage on the Great Lakes reached a historic low this winter. That will impact people, animals and the shoreline; and it’s a busy weekend for athletes turned stage performers at the North Warren Central School ahead of their spring musical.
(Mar 12, 2024) Senate democrats are making a push to try to solve the state's affordable housing crisis; go for a ski to Great Camp Santanoni in Newcomb, which hosts Winter Weekends in January, February and March; and check in with astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue about the longer days, and Jupiter, Uranus and Leo in the evening skies.
(Mar 11, 2024) Every Monday night, folks gather in Saranac Lake to write letters to politicians calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza; as Congress flirts with more government shutdowns, people in the military have to deal with the stress of missing paychecks and losing access to federal programs; we’ll talk with one of the organizers of the Support Women Artists Now events in Malone this month, including a gallery exhibit, drumming circle and print workshop.
(Mar 8, 2024) Towns and villages across the North Country are revving up their preparations for the total solar eclipse on April 8th; people with disabilities and elderly New Yorkers who use a self-managed home care program known as consumer directed services are fighting proposed budget cuts by Governor Kathy Hochul; Adirondack folk singer Dan Berggren sent us a new song to celebrate the start of a new season!
(Mar 7, 2024) State lawmakers plan to restore school aid reductions proposed by Governor Kathy Hochul in their budget proposals next week; Clarkson is transferring 16 graduate programs from its Schenectady campus to Siena College; Dr. Matthew Vaughan with the Lake Champlain Basin Program will give a talk Thursday night about the impacts of last summer's rainstorms on the lake's water quality; the current exhibit at the Hyde examines ideas of colonialism, displacement and home.
(Mar 6, 2024) St. Lawrence County's only assisted living facility is closing. The closure will strain the country's overburdened elder care system; forest rangers in the Adirondacks spent Saturday night on two separate rescues; Gov. Hochul's budget director left open the possibility that an extra $1 billion in tax collections could help reduce cuts to school budgets; Champlain Valley chef Curtiss Hemm shares one of his favorite recipes as we head into maple syrup season - maple teriyaki salmon!
(Mar 5, 2024) A statewide effort to raise awareness among students athletes and their parents about proper treatment of concussions comes to Potsdam Tuesday night at 6pm; Each winter, volunteer snowmobile clubs groom hundreds of miles of trails in Lewis County, and they do it for free; Gov. Hochul, in a congressional election year where crime remains a concern, touted her achievements that she says has helped bring down the crime rate; St. Lawrence County weaver Susan Riley shares the story of her love for textiles. An exhibit of some of her fiber art continues this month at the Lake St. Lawrence Art Gallery in Waddington.
(Mar 4, 2024) Snowmobiling is a big part of life and business in Lewis County, home to about 25,000 people. In a two part series starting today, we're diving into snowmobiling economics, weird weather, and the people who support the $80 million industry on the Tug Hill; a new report from the state outlines how climate change will affect agriculture and what farmers can do to adapt; Rob Schwimmer, former co-director of the New York Theremin Society, is bringing his theremin and haken continuum for a solo music show in Saranac, and the Saratoga Springs folk duo, Drank the Gold, is performing Irish music at TAUNY on Friday.
(Mar 1, 2024) Check out a story the NCPR newsroom is raving about. Lucy Grindon introduces us the reenactors of the Battle of Ogdensburg; a historic tent-only campground in Lewis County is getting major upgrades ahead of this summer; John Warren checks the trail conditions for us on this first weekend of March.
(Feb 29, 2024) The New York state legislature finalized new congressional lines for the 2024 races. That clears the way for petitioning for the June primaries that started this week; two political newcomers plan to challenge the mayoral and council candidates endorsed by Plattsburgh's Democratic committee; crazy for crepes at the TAUNY cafe; a celebration of listeners' Leap Day birthdays!
(Feb 28, 2024) Democrats in the New York State legislature say they hope to vote on the latest version of new Congressional district maps as early as today; many environmental leaders in the Adirondacks say DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos' leadership will be missed; the latest report from the USDA shows that maple production continues to grow in New York State. We'll talk with a maple researcher in the Adirondacks who says the North Country is a big part of the state's maple syrup industry.
(Feb 27, 2024) Democrats will draw their own maps for the 2024 New York Congressional races; NCPR interns ask folks at universities in Canton and Potsdam their thoughts on mild winter weather; Historians are trying to tell a truer story of the United States by including the vital role of Black people. Anne Hampton was a free Black woman from Hudson Falls in the 1800s when he husband was kidnapped and enslaved, the subject of 'Twelve Years a Slave'; how are farm animals faring in February? Kitty O’Neil of Cornell Cooperative Extension joins us for a new segment to get the latest on agriculture in our region.
(Feb 26, 2024) We hear what it's like to work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at a North Country college; a few skaters recently caught the perfect day out on Cascade lakes, between Lake Placid and Keene; in April, almost all of the North Country will go dark and cold for three minutes in the path of a total solar eclipse. A retired science teacher in Clinton County uses original audio to share about his road trip to totality as a high schooler in 1970.
(Feb 23, 2024) New York lawmakers need to enact new congressional district lines by next Tuesday, and control of the House of Representatives could lie in the balance; the Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake partnered with a Black artist last summer on a landscape painting where a Black man was killed nearly a century ago; John Warren checks the trail conditions before the warm-up next week; Flags, photos and foods from dozens of countries were on display last night in the Saranac Lake Middle School gymnasium, as part of Multicultural Night. We talk with some of youngsters eager to share their worldly knowledge.
(Feb 22, 2024) A public library in the Southern Adirondacks is set to reopen next week, after almost half a year of being closed. The local area erupted with controversy last spring after the library invited a drag queen to come read books to kids. In September, the librarian resigned. Now, the library has finally hired a new manager; during Black History Month, we're re-airing stories from the past year about Black history and life in the North Country. This past fall, a North Country historian released a new book that details the lives of Black people in the region from before the Revolutionary War to the 1930s; we listen back to a story on how the Woodruff Motel became a family affair.
(Feb 21, 2024) A new poll finds Governor Kathy Hochul’s popularity is slipping among New York voters. It also shows decided lack of enthusiasm for the likely Democratic and Republican candidates in the 2024 presidential race; February is Black History month, and we’re re-airing stories from the last year about Black history and life in the North Country. Today, we hear from Alice Green, a Black woman who grew up in the 1950s and 60s in a small mining town on Lake Champlain; the Grasse River Players is one of upstate New York’s oldest community theater groups and it's celebrating its 50th anniversary.
(Feb 20, 2024) Clarkson University recently started a 9-month paramedic training program. Officials say they hope to double the number of paramedics in the county in the next year; in the 1920s and 30s, the Ku Klux Klan terrorized people in St. Lawrence County, driving out most of the area's Black population over a decade; the Adirondack Center for Writing has expanded its annual Poetry Village Project to reach writers and the public in Saranac Lake, St. Lawrence County and Malone.
(Feb 19, 2024) We’re going to be diving into Black history in the North Country all this week. Today, how some scholars and local leaders have been digging deeper into that history and working to make the region a more welcoming and diverse place; a new proposal from the state's redistricting commission includes few changes to the North Country's congressional districts; our book reviewer Betsy Kepes and Todd Moe share their thoughts of the novel, "Gather", a 2023 National Book Award finalist.
(Feb 16, 2024) A new report says the number of farms, both across the country and in New York State, is continuing to shrink. It’s also highlighting continued struggles for the dairy industry; Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wants congress to give bigger tax breaks to families raising children, the way it did during the pandemic. She's supporting a bill that would once again expand the child tax credit, making it more like it was at the height of COVID; an exhibition on display at SUNY Plattsburgh focuses on the humans behind mass migration; John Warren checks the impact of this long-awaited snowfall on the trail conditions in the Adirondacks
(Feb 15, 2024) Officials in Saranac Lake are calling an emergency meeting today over a monster truck with an image of the Confederate flag that drove in the winter carnival parade; how Plattsburgh police, hospital staff and family members foiled a potential mass shooting at CVPH earlier this week; conversation with artist Virginia Burnett on her beads, dyed fiber and bent metal at TAUNY.
(Feb 14, 2024) Tom Suozzi clinches key seat for House Democrats; Plattsburgh police stop armed suspect en route to CVPH; Adirondack transplants find love at Heart Lake; conversation with Canton Free Library’s director, Emily Hastings, about the joy of serving her community.
(Feb 13, 2024) A school district in the Champlain Valley will vote on Thursday on a proposed $66 million new school; for the last week, we’ve been sharing love stories leading up to Valentine’s Day. Today, we’re headed back in time, to share a classic Adirondack tale about how Heart Lake and Mount Jo got their names; St. Lawrence University astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue guides us through the morning and evening skies in February.
(Feb 12, 2024) Fewer people in St. Lawrence County are signing up to foster kids in their homes, which means many kids are placed further away from their birth parents; our series on North Country love stories continues in the Tug Hill; it’s been a tumultuous year for SUNY Potsdam, which has made significant cuts to address a declining student population. At a hearing last week, North Country Assemblyman Scott Gray asked the SUNY Chancellor about how it will move forward; a preview an upcoming concert in Elizabethtown, featuring three jazz musicians who got their start in the North Country back in the 80s.
(Feb 9, 2024) Democrats are rallying behind Clinton County Legislator Wendell Hughes in his bid to become Plattsburgh's next mayor; the old Kraft cheese plant in Canton is losing its manufacturer. For years, the facility has been one of a handful in the U.S. to clean cheese boxes for dairy manufacturers; some people have deep roots in the North Country. But many people fall in love with the place when they move here and put down NEW roots. That's what happened to one man, and we're telling his North Country love story this morning.
(Feb 8, 2024) The findings of an annual survey on the North County’s quality of life show people aren’t satisfied with some aspects of the community. The results show continued struggles with housing, child care, and inflation; the State University of New York is launching a statewide effort to train college students to produce local news; in the week leading up to Valentine's Day, we're sharing North Country love stories. First up, a Potsdam couple who met as kids.
(Feb 7, 2024) A new initiative called Next Move New York aims to turn Fort Drum near Watertown into a workforce pipeline for the entire North Country; in Albany recently, an unusual musical act took the stage. Former Governor David Paterson has put together a band; just in time for the Superb Owl, Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe for a tartine that is perfect for breakfast, or the big game on Sunday night
(Feb 6, 2024) A trial date has been set for next year for the man accused of a racist shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo in 2022; a recent Cornell University study throws the future of cold water fish species like brook trout into question. It found that 95% of Adirondack lakes have an oxygen problem; St. Lawrence County painter Steven Cobb has turned his artistic focus to weathered, monochromatic barns.
(Feb 5, 2024) Educators and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are outraged over the way Governor Kathy Hochul is funding schools in her new budget plan. For the first time in years, some schools would actually lose funding. Dozens of North Country districts would face that scenario if the legislature doesn’t make changes; a long-term study hopes to shed light on an array of vague symptoms that can affect veterans who were exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan; New York lawmakers have proposed a bill that would change how students in public schools learn about climate change; lead tackle is still a leading cause of loon deaths in the Adirondacks
(Feb 2, 2024) At a hearing, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle criticized Governor Kathy Hochul's proposed reductions to school aid in her budget plan; a Canton mom is lobbying in Washington, DC to force tech companies to better protect teenagers from predation and addiction on social media; An upcoming exhibit at the Strand Center in Plattsburgh showcases the work of seven Black artists. We'll hear a profile of one of the youngest participants in “Eloquent Visions: Honoring the Rich Tapestry of Black Artistry.”
(Feb 1, 2024) New York could close up to five state prisons this year. The head of the State department of corrections says a big reason is the lack of staff; Democrats in the Senate approved a plan to work directly with drug manufacturers to make cheaper, generic versions of key drugs, like insulin; we meet a couple in Cranberry Lake who makes wooden duck decoys; an elementary school in Watertown recently unveiled a second vending machine that dispenses books. The goal: inspire a love for reading.
(Jan 31, 2024) Local neighborhood centers aim to alleviate poverty and food insecurity throughout St. Lawrence County. We visit the center in Ogdensburg to learn more about how they work and what they provide; a new law in New York expands and updates the definition of what constitutes the crime of “rape” to include other forms of sexual violence; we'll preview Season 2 of the HOWL podcast, featuring live storytelling from your neighbors.
(Jan 30, 2024) New York's temporary disability insurance payout has not been raised in 35 years. The governor and some state lawmakers say that's too long; the Adirondack Rail Trail is getting $13 million to finish the final phase of construction; also, we talk with Julian LaVerdiere, who remembers his father's legacy as an art teacher at SUNY Adirondack for over 30 years. The school is honoring Bruno LaVerdiere with an exhibit that opens this week in Queensbury.
(Jan 29, 2024) A proposal by Governor Kathy Hochul to give less money to schools has united both Democratic and Republican lawmakers in opposition; the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe has reached a settlement with Monsanto over toxic chemicals that were dumped near Akwesasne in the 1970s; as we wrap up our series on far-right extremism, we talk to the hosts of NCPR's investigative podcast, If All Else Fails, about their findings.
(Jan 26, 2024) The percentage of babies born at home in St. Lawrence County is almost ten times the state average. One midwife delivers most of them; the mild weather means unstable ice conditions on North Country rivers and lakes. Emergency officials are warning people to be aware before going on the ice; music and conversation with the electroacoustic duo ARKAI, coming to Saranac and Saranac Lake this weekend!
(Jan 25, 2024) Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is backing a bill that would incentivize mental health professionals to work in underserved areas like the North Country; as part of our series on far-right extremism, we talk to New York's top security official, Jackie Bray; Times Square, in the southern Adirondacks, is the setting for a new play that premieres this weekend at Ticonderoga High School.
(Jan 24, 2024) Three North Country communities will get millions of dollars from the state this year; a bill to combat climate change known as the HEAT Act gains momentum at the State Capitol; St. Lawrence County is encouraging companies and local governments to use a new online solar development mapping tool to avoid developing the highest quality farmland; robotic chickens; fungi blasted into space; automatons built to protect humans. We’ll meet the collage artist in Lake George addressing the pros and cons of nanotechnology and genetic modification.
(Jan 23, 2024) Starting later this year, it’ll be illegal in New York to hunt rabbits, squirrels, coyotes, and other animals in a tournament; a new Siena poll gives Governor Kathy Hochul a mixed review; Aileen O'Donoghue guides us through what to look for in the morning and evening skies in January.
(Jan 22, 2024) North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik joined former President Donald Trump at campaign events in New Hampshire over the weekend in the leadup to the presidential primaries; 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of New York’s state park system. To celebrate, the state is encouraging New Yorkers to explore state parks through the ‘Centennial Challenge;' Paul Smiths College is one of just a handful in the US that teach students how to train work horses. They also offer sleigh rides in the wintertime which are starting up this weekend!
(Jan 19, 2024) All this week on Northern Light, we're featuring the episodes from NCPR's new investigative podcast, "If All Else Fails," on far-right extremism in the North Country. James Bonet went through a political transformation over the last few years, from leaning left to diving deep into the far right. He went down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, including about the 2020 presidential election, eventually landing him in federal prison.
(Jan 18, 2024) This week on Northern Light, we're featuring the episodes from NCPR's new investigative podcast, "If All Else Fails," on far-right extremism in the North Country. Today, Episode III: Recruited, Now Reconsidering. A few years ago, another sheriff in rural New York was invited to a far-right group. Sheriff Rich Giardino says he didn’t know how extreme the group was and joined because he was recruited by someone he knew. Now Giardino says he’s rethinking his membership.
(Jan 17, 2024) All this week on Northern Light, we're featuring the episodes from NCPR's new investigative podcast, "If All Else Fails," on far-right extremism in the North Country. Today, Episode 2: A Sheriff's Oath. There’s a far-right group that teaches sheriffs around the country that they don’t have to enforce laws they think are unconstitutional. Some sheriffs in rural Upstate New York have embraced that idea, including Mike Carpinelli, who also has ties to the Oath Keepers militia.
(Jan 16, 2024) All this week on Northern Light, we're featuring the episodes from NCPR's new investigative podcast, "If All Else Fails," on far-right extremism in the North Country. Today, Episode 1: The Far-Right Landscape. What do people believe in? What groups and militias have been active? We found that all kinds of extremist groups have tried to recruit people here.
(Jan 12, 2024) Dmitry Feld, a community organizer and key figure in the luge community in Lake Placid, has died; the state says a solar company's application for a solar energy and battery storage site in the Town of Canton has been completed. Local officials will now have the chance to ask questions and raise their concerns; New York Governor Kathy Hochul releases her new state budget in just a few days, amid a multi-billion-dollar deficit; this week in Orlando, 51 contestants have been competing in the Miss America pageant. One of them has North Country roots.
(Jan 11, 2024) Two small school districts in the Southern Adirondacks are taking steps towards a potential merger; Leaders of Clinton Community College announced plans to relocate the college's campus to SUNY Plattsburgh by fall 2025 to address CCC's financial woes; we talk with the Remington Art Museum's new director, Maggie McKenna.
(Jan 10, 2024) Governor Kathy Hochul laid out an agenda focused on crime, housing, mental health, and the economy yesterday in Albany; an Adirondack bowl turner talks sanding, sawdust, and finding his passion in middle age
(Jan 9, 2024) North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik had a sit-down interview on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday. She called people found guilty of entering the Capitol illegally on January 6th “hostages” and wouldn’t commit to certifying the 2024 election no matter who wins; Governor Kathy Hochul will deliver her third 'State of the State' address later today; Many Mohawk people are raving about the all-new Marvel superhero that's from right here in the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Folks who attended a pre-screening in Montreal say Kahhori is a hero for generations of Mohawks.
(Jan 8, 2024) We'll chat with Amy Feiereisel about the NCPR texting club; Heuvelton's animal shelter is planning to build a new space, as the state rolls out new rules for animal shelters starting in 2025; we'll preview what's happening Monday nights this month at the Hootenanny in Saranac Lake.
(Jan 5, 2024) A group in Lake Placid wants to form a housing co-op. One of their board members says they need more people involved it make it a reality; The Carthage Area Hospital is taking on the management of some outpatient and acute care clinics in St. Lawrence County; as Governor Kathy Hochul prepares for her 2024 State of the State speech on Tuesday, she's still dealing with fallout from some of her vetoes from last year.
(Jan 4, 2024) Governor Kathy Hochul wants to make fundamental changes to how reading is taught in New York schools; Communities throughout the North Country are grappling with what to do about short-term rentals. Plattsburgh is creating a registry that sets standards and requires property inspections; Restoration work recently wrapped up along the Ausable River to strengthen it against the impacts of climate change; music and conversation with Johnsburg's Sven Curth
(Jan 3, 2024) Governor Kathy Hochul announced steps for greater consumer protections as part of her 2024 agenda; according to a new report, the U.S. is nearly 4 million homes short. It says New York State alone needs about 240,000 more homes for everyone who lives here. Rural areas are especially vulnerable; Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe for simple, healthy oatmeal pancakes.
(Jan 2, 2024) A SUNY Canton student is creating a pronunciation guide for Mohawk names. The goal is to make campus more inclusive; it's been a decade since New York banned hydrofracking, but environmentalists say one company is finding a loophole; we listen back to a Norwood bread recipe that spans generations
(Dec 29, 2023) If you are driving around Buffalo and you happen to be Black, you are 3.1x more likely to get pulled over by the Buffalo Police Department compared to a white person; Ticonderoga's main street has been filling back up over the last few years; bird lovers will fan out across wetlands, mountains, and lakes for the 68th annual Christmas Bird Count in Saranac Lake, part of a nationwide, Audubon bird counting effort.
(Dec 28, 2023) The village and town of Lake George will get a $10 million downtown revitalization initiative grant; for most of December, a film crew was shooting a Hallmark-style Christmas movie in and around Lake Placid; Isis Melhado, aged 98, passed away at her home outside Canton. We listen back to a 2012 story in Melhado's garden.
(Dec 27, 2023) Teacher shortages continue in the North Country. That means logistical and financial strains for districts; after a string of high-profile deaths and disappearances, the Army is trying harder to find soldiers who fail to report for duty; this fall, a few dozen people gathered in Plattsburgh on bikes, rollerblades and scooters to become a murder of crows.
(Dec 26, 2023) Plattsburgh city council confirmed the appointment of a new police chief last week, but it wasn't without some controversy; Governor Hochul is trying again to get the legislature to approve a comprehensive housing package; we meet a mohawk beader who lives in the Adirondacks and rediscovered her culture through making jewelry.
(Dec 22, 2023) Clarkson University will be phasing out nine majors over the next three years. The board of trustees approved a new reorganization plan earlier this week that will cut down net operating costs; The Lake Placid Olympic facilities are bidding to host sliding sports for the 2026 Olympics; The Children's Home of Jefferson County is in the middle of its annual holiday fundraising campaign. Santa Claus stopped by at a Christmas party for the organization's foster care program.
(Dec 21, 2023) A new audit by the New York state comptroller finds nursing homes still aren't fully prepared for another pandemic years after the height of COVID; NCPR listeners and readers share photos and stories, of the natural world, holiday traditions, and how they get through the darkest part of the year; Winter begins tonight, and with a change in the seasons, we invited Vermont poet David Crews to share his thoughts and a poem.
(Dec 20, 2023) New York is creating a commission to study whether residents who are descendants of slaves should receive monetary reparations; the Lake Luzerne public library is a step closer to reopening after a controversy over a drag queen story hour that never happened; students at St. Lawrence University de-stress with furry friends; a conversation with a nostalgia expert on dealing with grief during the holidays; and Betsy Kepes reviews the debut novel from Ottawa's Kai Thomas.
(Dec 19, 2023) Flooding update; there’s nowhere near enough in-home care aides to take care of all the seniors who need it. We'll see what happens when families who need in-home care don’t get it; an astronomy chat with Aileen O'Donoghue.
(Dec 18, 2023) Most seniors want to live out their years at home. To do that safely, they need the support of a professional caregiver. Today, Part 1 of a story on in-home care; North Country at Work: a quilter uses thread to make fabric come alive; Caperton Tissot and photographer Skip Murray's new book, "Saranac Lake: An Adirondack Portrait”.
(Dec 15, 2023) Service providers for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities say Governor Hochul's new budget should include more money to pay their workers better; St. Lawrence County's record-breaking bus ridership; two new winter attractions opened recently in Lake George. Neither is dependent on ice or snow.
(Dec 14, 2023) Aerospace company Beta Technologies will get $20 million from New York to expand its Plattsburgh facility. In exchange, it must employ at least 85 locals; the military is opening more childcare centers, but thousands of kids remain on waitlists due to staffing shortages.
(Dec 13, 2023) Hiking 350 miles from the Adirondacks to Algonquin Park in the footsteps of a famous moose; after Monday's earthquake near Canton, one geologist encourages listeners to report what they felt (or didn't) to the US Geological Survey; Tupper Lake artist Brenda Baker collects clothes from local farmers for a 2024 art installation
(Dec 12, 2023) Until recently, Old Forge was a total child care desert, but that all changed when a child care center opened in a really convenient location - the local school; inflation takes a toll on school districts' capital improvement projects; we listen back to one listener's "Breadtime" story
(Dec 11, 2023) The Lake Luzerne library has been closed for over two months due to fallout from a public controversy over a drag queen story hour; advocates of public campaign finance reform urge Governor Hochul to reject a bill they say weakens that system.
(Dec 8, 2023) One solution to the North Country's shortage of doctors is expanding the pool of eligible doctors from other countries; GOP businessman Josh Eisen is challenging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand her seat; John Warren checks trail conditions for us in the Adirondacks.
(Dec 7, 2023) Governor Kathy Hochul summoned the likely Democratic nominee to run to replace ousted Congressman George Santos; we'll meet immigrants learning English at a literacy class in Plattsburgh; and renting woes turned DIY art
(Dec 6, 2023) There's not a lot of data about the health of the North Country's LGBTQ+ residents. A Lake Placid native and grad student wants to change that; an acoustic guitar maker on falling in love with guitars in the 70s; Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a truffle and onion dip recipe with plenty of "wow" factor for your holiday table.
(Jun 9, 2022) Jury deliberations are underway in Nick Hillary’s civil rights trial against Potsdam Police. Hillary is a former Clarkson University soccer coach who lived in Potsdam and alleges police violated his civil rights when they detained him for six hours without a warrant in 2011 in connection with the murder of 12-year-old Garrett Phillips. Hillary was found not guilty five years later for that crime in a bench trial that captivated the region and garnered national headlines.