Northern Light

(Jul 17, 2025) Less than two months ahead of the upcoming school year, schools across the nation and here in the North Country find themselves in a tough spot as the Trump administration withholds nearly $7 billion in already appropriated federal education funding; NCPR Station Manager Mitch Teich discusses the possible impacts of the rescission of Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding, which passed the Senate last night and is expected to be taken up by the House later today; and we have a conversation with one of the artists featured in Keene Arts' current exhibit, "Follow the Water," which highlights the intersection of beauty and science in the Ausable River Watershed. 

(Jul 16, 2025)

(Jul 15, 2025)

(Jul 14, 2025) We visit a small hospital in the Hudson Valley that's trying to figure out how it can continue to serve its community as Medicaid cuts are coming; a new generation of owners is bringing fresh life to the Lazy River Playground in St. Lawrence County; and the artistic producers at the Depot Theatre in Westport are pretty curious about what you'll think of their new dark comedy, "Radiant Vermin," opening this week.

(Jul 11, 2025) Leaders from around the region gathered in Alexandria Bay this week for an informational session on nuclear energy; The recissions package that would claw back $9.4 billion dollars in already approved funding will likely be voted on by the Senate next week; Plattsburgh  manufacturer has received orders from two government contractors; Recent DEC rescues included two litter carry-outs and a helicopter airlift; and, a preview of the Paddle for Betterment this weekend!

(Jul 10, 2025) We hear from a Canadian trade expert about Canada's ongoing efforts to strengthen its economy beyond the U.S. amid the ongoing trade war; homeowners in Tupper Lake can now get help eradicating Japanese knotweed from their property; and News Director David Sommerstein previews the massive Ottawa Blues Festival, which kicks off tonight and runs for 10 days.

(Jul 9, 2025) With Republicans' big spending bill now law, reporter Amy Feiereisel stops in to help break down how Medicaid works, what is getting cut and how it will impact the North Country; North Country at Work profiles a technician with the Soil and Water Conservation District in Franklin County; and North Words host Mitch Teich sits down with an ESPN broadcaster from Norwood who's written a new book about striking the balance between working in sports and being a mom.

(Jul 8, 2025) A new bill could finally turn EMS into an essential service in New York and bring financial relief to local EMS squads; after a 20-year hiatus, a special day of wooden boat races returned to Blue Mountain Lake this summer; and we stop by the costume shop at the Seagle Festival in Schroon Lake ahead of opening night.

(Jul 7, 2025)

(Jul 3, 2025) Local officials are weighing the future of Clinton Community College's current campus as the institution prepares to move to SUNY Plattsburgh next month; ahead of this Sunday's Willard Hanmer paddling race in Saranac Lake, we listen back to last year's contest; and North Words host Mitch Teich sits down with Canadian rocker, Rob Benvie, about his latest novel, "The Damagers," that follows two teenage girls who stumble into a cult that's building its home base in the Adirondack High Peaks.

(Jul 2, 2025) As part of our volunteerism series, we visit a fishing day for middle schoolers organized by the Chazy Rod & Gun Club; the Potsdam Public Library has a volunteer program that offers free literacy tutoring; and Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe for mushroom fricassée.

(Jul 1, 2025)

(Jun 30, 2025)

(Jun 27, 2025) What's changed after the 2015 Dannemora prison escape revealed security cracks; Governor Hochul talks about Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' and immigration crackdown; Lewis County Sheriff's Office has arrested a man it says was deported last year; the Jefferson County Board of Elections says it has identified and remedied a discrepancy in its unofficial primary election results; and, rainy days ahead.

(Jun 26, 2025) Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was in Plattsburgh yesterday to announce new funding for a local nonprofit; registration to be a volunteer observer for New York's annual loon census is open; and a conversation about how the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts transitioned to a new home in Blue Mountain Lake this summer.

(Jun 25, 2025) Retired State Police Sgt. Jay Cook recounts the day he spotted, shot and recaptured Clinton Correctional escapee David Sweat in a field in Constable, ending the weekslong Dannemora manhunt; a project by the Potsdam Rotary Club gifts families with their own birthday celebration kit; and North Words host Mitch Teich sits down with Michael Aguirre from the Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake to preview its last summer season at its current location on Brandy Brook Avenue before it gets a new home.

(Jun 24, 2025) New York primaries are today; our Albany reporters break down this year's legislative session now that state lawmakers are on summer break; an event in Canton wants to show people how to fix their broken belongings; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue is in the studio to guide us through this month's night sky. 

(Jun 23, 2025)

(Jun 20, 2025) Plattsburgh officials are again calling on the federal government to address failing infrastructure at the former Air Force Base; Glens Falls' mayoral race will be decided on the June 24 primaries; NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says President Trump should pursue diplomacy, not war, in the Israel and Iran conflict; Assemblyman Robert Smullen says he's considering a run for NY-21 if Elise Stefanik runs for Governor; Indian Lake will be celebrating monarch butterflies this weekend; and, a preview of the EP of ‘The North Country's Premier Post-Outlaw Country Band.'

(Jun 19, 2025) Eight candidates are vying for two spots on Watertown's city council, and many say they're running because they're tired of infighting within local government there; state lawmakers have left Albany after shelving environmental bills that faced pushback from big corporations and watering down consumer protection legislation; and we preview the 45th edition of the Ottawa Jazz Festival, which kicks off tomorrow and runs through Sunday, June 29.

(Jun 18, 2025) The state has found a developer for a new solar project at the Benson Mines site in the Adirondack Park; a North Country organization is planning a tour of the region's Underground Railroad sites this weekend in honor of Juneteenth; and Kitty O'Neil from the Cornell Cooperative Extension stops by to talk about how humid and wet weather from earlier this spring is impacting North Country farmers.

(Jun 17, 2025) We hear what the three-week Dannemora prison escape manhunt was like for the people nearby; Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited a hospital in Saranac Lake yesterday to bring more attention to potential cuts to Medicaid included in Trump's proposed federal budget; and we meet a social worker in the southern Adirondacks who created a comic book series to encourage the teenagers she works with.

(Jun 16, 2025)

(Jun 13, 2025) NY's Governor testified in front of Congress about immigration policies; NY-21's Stefanik is supporting a northern border bill; St. Lawrence County hosted an open house to show the community all the ways the government serves them this spring, with few attendees; Emily Russell takes us on a trail run on Wellesley Island; Elizabethtown concerts this weekend feature an oddball instrument combo: the saxophone and clarinet; and, NoCo communities are out and proud this Pride Month. We'll get a preview of events in Potsdam, Plattsburgh, Lake George and beyond.

(Jun 11, 2025)

(Jun 10, 2025) Locals and town leaders weigh in on how Long Lake plans to manage the proceeds from the sale of the $125 million Whitney estate; survivors of a residential school in western New York are telling their stories of abuse and the efforts to destroy their Native American culture and identity; and a conversation with a St. Lawrence University grad about her new foundation that brings the sport of hockey to children across the globe.

(Jun 9, 2025)

(Jun 6, 2025) NPR's Brian Mann covered the Dannemora escape manhunt for North Country Public Radio and shares his memories and takeaways; Legislation legalizing physician-assisted suicide is one step closer to becoming law in New York; Ticonderoga is celebrating six new murals by artists from all over the world this weekend; and, Watertown students explore hip hop.

(Jun 5, 2025) The number of families using childcare assistance in New York has nearly tripled in just three years. But money for the program is running out, and families are now losing the childcare they've come to rely on; Fifteen years ago, workers  at the World Trade Center site made the discovery of a lifetime: a ship, deep in the muck, that dates back to the Revolutionary War; and a listener sent in a recording to try and stump Monica during a sound quiz.

(Jun 4, 2025) As New York is at the center of President Donald Trump's plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, we have a conversation with one of the state's largest immigrant advocacy groups; a new report finds winters on the Tug Hill Plateau are getting warmer and snowfall is getting more unpredictable; and Chef Curtiss of the Carriage House Cooking Schools joins the show for a recipe for smash burgers.

(Jun 3, 2025) Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado announced on Monday he plans to challenge his boss, Gov. Kathy Hochul for the state's top job; a developer from Texas is set to purchase a 36,000-acre estate in the heart of the Adirondacks near Long Lake; and we preview the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, which kicks off tomorrow and runs through the weekend.

(Jun 2, 2025)

(May 30, 2025) Democrats in New York continue to criticize the House-passed bill that slashes funding for social services; a recent study of New York's parole board found that it is about a third less likely to release a person of color on parole than a white person; Last weekend, the volunteer-run 'Friends of the Schroon Lake Library' Bookstore opened for the summer season; Arts in the Park is Parishville's latest push to pull together and try to meet the needs of the all the kids in their school district; and, a rainy weekend ahead!

(May 29, 2025) The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority has rejected all the construction bids for its child care center, which has been in development since 2021; we remember Dana Fast, a Holocaust survivor who lived in the Adirondacks until her death earlier this month; and in today's North Country at Work story, we speak with the only tattoo artist in Lake Placid.

(May 28, 2025) President Trump wants to cut funding for rural airports, like those in the North Country, by 50%; new initiatives in Clinton County want to make it easier to develop more housing; and NCPR book reviewer Betsy Kepes reviews a book from an Adirondack naturalist.

(May 27, 2025) New York food banks say more people are looking for food assistance, and that cuts to SNAP, included in the recently passed House budget, would make things a lot worse; two North Country students will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which kicks off today; and astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue is in the studio to share what's going on in this month's morning and evening sky. 

(May 23, 2025) Two more Adirondack lakes will be treated with an herbicide to kill an invasive plant this summer; New York officials say the state is disproportionately affected by President Trump's “big beautiful bill” that House GOP members passed on Thursday; a Jefferson County man caught a state record-breaking catfish earlier this month; and, racing season at the Mohawk International Raceway kicks off tonight.

(May 22, 2025) The Plattsburgh city council installed Jarrod Trombley as its new police chief last week, and some residents expressed concern over past workplace misconduct allegations against him; locals in Glens Falls hope the opening of a new event and market center called The Ed signals a fresh start for the city; and for Mental Health Month, we're putting the spotlight on what makes farmers more vulnerable to mental health challenges.

(May 21, 2025) A hill in the Adirondacks has been renamed to honor a family of 19th-century Black settlers; Gov. Kathy Hochul called the residential boarding school system "sanctioned ethnic cleansing" when she apologized to the Seneca Nation yesterday; and North Words host Mitch Teich speaks with former Adirondack Life Magazine editor Chris Shaw about his new Cold War spy novel inspired by the 1980 Winter Olympics titled "The Manager."

(May 20, 2025) State and local leaders are warning that Medicaid cuts included in Trump's policy bill will have outsized impacts on the North Country; Gov. Hohcul is visiting the Seneca Nation in western New York today to apologize for the state's role in an former Indian school; and Kitty O'Neil gives us an update on what's happening on the North Country's farms this spring.

(May 19, 2025)

(May 16, 2025) The Watertown City School District is at odds with the child care providers who run its pre-K program. Those providers are calling for residents to vote the school's budget, which is over $103 million, down; John Brown Lives! is starting an oral history project to track the impact of federal policy changes on local residents; and, North Country Honor Flight will send veterans down to the war memorials in Washington, D.C. Saturday morning. Organizers say the trip is about thanking them and creating space for them to heal.