Northern Light

(Jul 20, 2026) A future day care center in Plattsburgh aims to help close that gap and promote workforce development; the governor is defending her executive order that bans data center development in New York for the next year; and we have a conversation about President Teddy Roosevelt's status as a political outsider and why his visits to the North Country were so significant ahead of an event in North Creek.

(Jul 17, 2026) Jefferson County has launched its long-awaited public transit system, the final piece of a regional bus network connecting the western half of the North Country; we head to the southern Adirondacks for a short hike up Stewart Mountain for big views of the Chestertown area; and we preview a Shakespeare in the Park performance in Peru.

(Jul 16, 2026) A community ceramics studio in Keeseville is opening for the first time this weekend, and its owner says it's a way to bring people together; volunteers in Long Lake run the book nook, a way to raise money for the public library; and Kitty O'Neil joins Northern Light for a closer look at how the heat affects livestock in the North Country.

(Jul 15, 2026) We hear from a filmmaker in Akwesasne who's documenting the people working to bring cultural traditions back to her community; we visit the Sargent Ponds Wilderness for beautiful views of Raquette Lake; and a painting by artist Harold Weston from nearly a century ago is being auctioned off to benefit the Keene Valley Library.

(Jul 14, 2026) Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered a moratorium of up to one year on large data centers in New York; scientists on a research vessel on Lake Champlain are studying the algal blooms that appear each summer; and we get a preview of the largest pan-African music festival in North America. 

(Jul 13, 2026) NCPR's Albany reporters talk primary fallout, a prison report and more in their weekly chat from our capital bureau; indigenous communities in the Adirondacks have relied on plants for food, medicine and other uses for generations. We meet a local college student who's working to preserve the knowledge her Mohawk ancestors passed down about those plants; and, a conversation with the boatbuilder-in-residence at Clayton's Antique Boat Museum.

(Jul 10, 2026) In many rural areas of New York and the US, there's a critical shortage of healthcare providers. Physician assistants say that modernizing the way that they're allowed to practice could help address the shortage; the military is rolling back its decision to make the flu vaccine voluntary after an outbreak sickened 280 people in Texas; and, we'll get a preview of Ogdensburg's new concert series happening throughout the summer on the banks of the St. Lawrence River.

(Jul 9, 2026) With the midterm elections just four months away, we get an update on the race to replace Elise Stefanik in Congress; advocates are pushing for Governor Hochul to sign Kyra's Law, a bill that aims to protect children during contentious child custody proceedings; and, David Sommerstein previews the Ottawa Blues Festival, which kicks off tonight in Canada's capital. It's far more than blues, with pop, country, hip hop, and alt-rock anchoring the schedule.

(Jul 8, 2026) President Trump wants to abandon the USMCA trade deal; some families on tight budgets are getting breakfast and lunches delivered to their homes while their kiddos are on summer break; and, we'll go on a fishing trip with a group of middle schoolers from Chazy.

(Jul 7, 2026) JB Nicholas served nearly thirteen years behind bars and has spent the last decade building a career as a prison journalist based in Malone; Senator Chuck Schumer meets with union leaders in Rome to criticize a ban on collective bargaining; and Betsy Kepes reviews "Real Ones" by Kathereena Vermette. 

(Jul 6, 2026) Opponents of a potential new nuclear reactor in St. Lawrence County rallied last week in Massena; local hospital employees are worried as the blood donor center in Plattsburgh is scheduled to close on Friday; and we hear about what it's like to tutor community college students in Franklin County.

(Jul 2, 2026) North Country officials hope the recently completed state energy transmission upgrade will help boost the regional economy; ahead of the nation's 250th birthday, the curator from Fort Ticonderoga shares recent discoveries of artifacts from the American Revolution; and we take a look at a St. Lawrence County family's unique 4th of July tradition.

(Jul 1, 2026) Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising rent and the cost of living have been driving up homelessness in the North Country; a business owner in Alexandria Bay has turned a former motel into seasonal worker housing to help boost the Thousand Islands' tourism economy; and Chef Curtiss Hemm joins us this morning for a fresh recipe to spice up your summer.

(Jun 30, 2026) A North Country lawmaker is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a statewide moratorium on data centers; we head to the Southern Tier, where a group is trying a new approach to helping unhoused people in rural areas; and we meet a mother and son in Edwards who are taking on a new challenge by caring for a litter of puppies. 

(Jun 29, 2026) A research lab at Paul Smith's College was awarded a million dollars in state funding to study Adirondack lake and stream health; Lawmakers and policy analysts are reacting to primary results last week, including how the candidate who President Trump endorsed beat a fellow Republican in the North Country; and a religious order that was founded nearly two hundred years ago is coming to an end. 

(Jun 26, 2026) Nurses at Alice Hyde in Malone have a new contract that includes raises and AI protections; a colorful new mural now covers the side of a historic theater in downtown Au Sable Forks, bringing attention to a years-long effort to transform the building into a new home for the arts; and we get a preview of a Trans Pride punk show in Potsdam, and Independence Day celebration in Clinton County.

(Jun 25, 2026) Advocates in New York are worried about the Trump administration moving to restrict access to gender-affirming care, especially after lawmakers failed to vote on two bills that would've countered those efforts; we'll go to Keeseville, where a man always thought he would be a farmer, then soon realized his true calling was far from the fields; and a group of pro-bono lawyers are stopping in Massena and Potsdam today to help folks understand housing rights.

(Jun 24, 2026) Democrat Blake Gendebien and Republican Anthony Constantino won their respective primaries in New York's 21st Congressional District; we hear from voters around the region on what their top priorities are for new representation in Congress; and as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, we take a historic look at the job of finding and mapping places.

(Jun 23, 2026) The end of this year's legislative session saw the departure of more than a dozen state lawmakers, including some longtime Upstate lawmakers who have left their mark on the Capitol; a new documentary tells the story of the oil spill on the St. Lawrence River in the words of those who lived it; and we have a preview of today's North Country at Work event in Ticonderoga.

(Jun 22, 2026) The Republican primary for the 21st Congressional District is turning into a test of President Trump's political clout; State officials say large-scale batteries are key to stabilizing the energy grid, but small towns in the Adirondacks are pushing back and passing temporary bans; and we take a look at the schedule for a summer concert series at The Mill in Westport.

(Jun 19, 2026) On this Juneteenth, we take a look at the abolitionist movement in St. Lawrence County; We hear from a North Countrywoman who collects Schlitz memorabilia and says, with the company ceasing production, she has a tough decision to make; John Warren checks on trail conditions ahead of a wet weekend ahead; and we take a look at Juneteenth events around the region.

(Jun 18, 2026) Two Democrats are running in the primary for New York's 24th Congressional District, covering the Thousand Islands and Watertown; scientists hope a new research boat in Lake Champlain will help answer questions about the lake and larger bodies of water; and we have a conversation about two car shows set for this weekend in Saranac Lake. 

(Jun 17, 2026) Communities around the Adirondacks are celebrating Pride Month with drag performances and queens who are bringing their art form to local stages; the agency that monitors energy usage in New York is warning that there's less power in the system and more need for power than ever before; and we have a conversation about the art exhibit in Malone that features cast sculptures of the hands of men in the trades and crafts. 

(Jun 16, 2026) The two Democrats running to represent New York's 21st Congressional District talked about how they'd get things done for the North Country in Congress in a debate last week; the United Way of Northern New York is hosting its first community food drive in St. Lawrence County tomorrow, amid a rise in food insecurity in the North Country; we're days away from the longest day of the year. Astronomer Aileen O'Donoghue will guide us through what to look for when the stars come out.

(Jun 15, 2026) The state budget passed, but many are still figuring out how these policies will play out; New York's Department of Environmental Conservation wants to learn more about the harmful algae blooms that are fouling lakes around the state; and we have a preview of the Ottawa Jazz Festival that kicks off Thursday.

(Jun 12, 2026) Anthony Constantino, a businessman from Amsterdam, is running as a Republican to represent the North Country in Congress; we stop by the neighborhood of the only member of the Knicks who is a born-and-raised New Yorker ahead of another NBA Finals game; and John Warren checks on trail conditions ahead of this weekend in the Adirondacks.

(Jun 11, 2026) Assemblyman Robert Smullen is running as a Republican to represent the North Country in Congress; a husband and wife in Keeseville are serving up free dinners at a local church; and we hear from some of our most frequent contributors to NCPR's Photo of the Day.

(Jun 10, 2026) St. Lawrence County farmer Blake Gendebien is running for the Democratic nomination in New York's 21st Congressional District; we have details on how folks in Potsdam and around New York State are celebrating the upcoming World Cup tournament; and we have a conversation with a horror film writer from Ticonderoga whose love for the genre grew from a young age. 

(Jun 9, 2026) Stuart Amoriell, a restaurant owner in Lake Placid, is running as a Democrat to represent the North Country in Congress; a new program connects soldiers who completed their service at Fort Drum with local jobs, in the hopes of keeping them in the region; and NCPR book reviewer Betsy Kepes shares a book review of Canadian writer Miriam Toews' new memoir.

(Jun 8, 2026) We break down what happened in Albany after the New York legislative session ended last week; immigration officials detained more than 20 people during recent raids in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid; and we have a conversation about a concert series that's been bringing Grammy Award winners, international performers and local musicians to Norwood for more than 50 years.

(Jun 5, 2026) A new program in Clinton County trains current and prospective manufacturing employees at no cost; we follow the unlikely path of how a young woman from Lake Placid got her job in management through her side hustle as a babysitter; John Warren checks on trail conditions in the Adirondacks ahead of weekend adventures; and we take a look at the community calendar.

(Jun 4, 2026) We join a birdwalk in Lake Placid, where organizers say the second annual Black Birders Week celebration is helping more people of color feel welcome in the outdoors; a foster dog in Ogdensburg is in the national Pet Lovers Choice Awards competition; and we remember North Country musician Dan Duggan, who died last week at 69 years old. 

(Jun 3, 2026) Now that the Adirondack rail trail is complete, crews are working on adding amenities, including to the parking area on the Lake Placid end of the trail; high school students in Saranac Lake launched a weather balloon into the atmosphere earlier this spring; and as fresh strawberries will soon appear at farmers' markets across the North Country, Chef Curtiss Hemm shares a recipe that will make them shine.

(Jun 2, 2026) State Senator Dan Stec says the budget doesn't do enough to address rising costs for New Yorkers; we step onto the streets of Lake George, where tens of thousands of motorcyclists gathered for a block party and a motorcycle stunt show; and we have a conversation about an exhibit at an art gallery in Bloomingdale that celebrates the stuffed animals we used to love as children.

(Jun 1, 2026)

(May 29, 2026) Seneca leaders say the state has yet to follow through on the promises it made towards reconciliation; we head out for an evening paddle amid a chorus of spring peepers on Forked Lake in the central Adirondacks; we catch up with Adirondack paddlers who are through-paddling the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail; and we take a look at the community calendar.

(May 28, 2026) Kitty O'Neil breaks down how North Country farmers are coping with rising costs due to the war in Iran; the North Country's newest assemblyman says the delayed budget will mean a less productive year for Albany; and we visit a small dairy in Keeseville. North Country Creamery has become one of the Champlain Valley's leaders in environmentally-conscious farming. 

(May 27, 2026) Some people on the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation say they're skeptical about a potential nuclear power plant being built nearby after a long and troubled history with industry polluting their environment; tense relations between the US and Canada are continuing to affect American tourism and alcohol industries; and we have tips for turkey hunting before the season wraps up.

(May 26, 2026) Nurses and other professionals at the hospital in Plattsburgh want safe staffing and limits on AI use enshrined in their new contract; over Memorial Day weekend, many people were remembering the losses caused by Agent Orange; and we'll take a short hike through the wetlands between the Grasse and Oswegatchie Rivers.

(May 22, 2026) After 250 years, 44 Continental Army soldiers are being buried in Lake George after their remains were discovered in a construction site; the Great Adirondack Garage Sale is this weekend, spanning more than 200 miles across the park; John Warren checks on outdoor conditions ahead of Memorial Day weekend; and we hear from local organizers about this year's Black Birders Week events in the Adirondacks.

(May 21, 2026) A police training program in the Adirondacks is helping law enforcement build trust with the communities they serve; each year, restaurants and businesses from New York City pack up their products and head to the State Capitol in Albany; and we preview the newest season of NCPR's storytelling podcast The Howl Podcast.

(May 20, 2026) A man who has been incarcerated for 25 years in New York and works as a journalist behind bars makes the case for clemency; Gov. Kathy Hochul is joining moderate Democrats in other states in securing new laws to protect immigrants after President Trump's crackdown; and talk with NCPR Amy Feiereisel on her last day at the station after a decade.