These invasive aquatic plants can threaten native wildlife, harm water quality and make lake recreation difficult. Dozens of lakes across the state are trying to keep the plants at bay.

Education reforms dominated the state Legislature this year. Most efforts failed, though a few bills await action from Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Lawmakers rejected bills mandating new public school courses, open enrollment expansion, and increased oversight of the state’s school voucher program.

The federal courthouse in Concord handles all kinds of cases, but over the past year one particular type of case has shot up: Habeas Corpus petitions by people detained by ICE. Lawyers say filing these petitions is a way for detainees to get due process, but the sheer number is putting a strain on the system.

We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the NH News Recap with NHPR reporters Annmarie Timmins, Lau Guzmán and Imaan Moin.

State lawmakers wrapped up their session in a series of high-stakes votes this week. Some priorities were pushed across the finish line, while others failed to win support in either the New Hampshire Senate or House.

State senators voted to table a Republican-backed bill for open school enrollment, which would let New Hampshire students enroll in any public school in the state. Among other things, the House and Senate agreed to legislation that will require towns and cities to consider capping local property taxes spent on school and district administrative costs.

Meanwhile, 2026 political hopefuls are streaming into the State House, with the state candidate filing period open until June 12.

And a meteor exploded over New England before crashing into Cape Cod Bay. Astronomer John Gianforte puts this space rock into perspective for us.

Lawmakers have released a 12-page report detailing how failures by the state’s top child protection agency contributed to a crisis at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Leaders from the Division for Children, Youth and Families are scheduled to tell lawmakers later today how they are responding to the report’s findings.

And a proposal to build a data center in Nottingham has been withdrawn after statewide backlash over the plan. NHPR reporters Annmarie Timmins and Kate Dario discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

The director of the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families is disputing many recent allegations at the state’s youth detention center. Marie Noonan testified before lawmakers this week after concerns of abuse or improper restraint were detailed in reports by the Disability Rights Center and the Office of the Child Advocate.

Noonan sent a letter to the Disability Rights Center late last week arguing that the Center’s investigation and visits to the facility are having a negative impact on the kids and staff there.

And New Hampshire is full of historic homes, barns and churches that are at risk of falling apart. But there’s a shortage of people who know how to repair them. On this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap, we discuss an effort to preserve the state’s landmarks by building up the workforce.

Guests:

• Jeremy Margolis, Concord Monitor
• Jackie Harris, NHPR

New Hampshire Corrections Commissioner William Hart says his department is struggling to find enough people to staff the state's positions. Currently half of the positions in the corrections department are vacant. The state Executive Council voted Wednesday to approve $12 million to cover overtime for guards currently working at the state prisons.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte says she’s committed to making sure young people at the state’s youth detention facility are properly treated. That comes as the state Attorney General continues to investigate claims of physical abuse at the Sununu Youth Services Center.

And state lawmakers are moving ahead to formally censure state Rep. Travis Corcoran for inflammatory social media posts, including referencing the Holocaust in response to a Jewish colleague's invitation to a bipartisan Karaoke event.

We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

Guests:

• Steven Porter, Boston Globe
• Annmarie Timmins, NHPR

President Donald Trump has been outspoken about fighting antisemitism, but it continues to creep into politics nationally and here in New Hampshire. That’s according to a new NPR investigation of a state lawmaker who tried to get a holocaust denial conspiracy theory into public school lesson plans.

And a federal judge ruled that she will not hold New Hampshire officials in contempt for suspending the state’s motor vehicle inspections program. The vendor, Gordon Darby Holdings, that oversaw those inspections sued the state in December for ending the annual inspections.

We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

Guests:

• Tom Dreisbach, NPR
• Todd Bookman, NHPR

It’s been a little over a year since New Hampshire police departments started signing agreements with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce immigration law in the state.

ICE now has 15 local partnerships, which are encouraged by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, and these so-called 287g agreements have contributed to a notable uptick in arrests here. Immigration arrests have doubled in the last 15 months. Of 429 people arrested, local agencies made 51 of them.

What’s in for local police? In part, money. ICE offers at least $100,000 in stipends, and local police departments are using that money to pay for operating expenses.

We talk about this on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

Also, the state’s youth detention center continues to make headlines. Authorities are investigating recent allegations of abuse against children at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Lawmakers and advocates are also raising concerns about leadership of the center.

In other news, there’s good news for Franklin. In a bit of a comeback story, the city’s high school was just named the top high school in the state.

Guests:

• Lau Guzmán, NHPR reporter
• Annmarie Timmins, NHPR Youth and Education reporter

The Office of the Child Advocate says it is increasing oversight of the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester following new allegations of abuse and neglect of children in the state’s care. The state health department and Attorney General’s office say they are investigating.

And the oyster industry in New Hampshire has grown, but across New England, oysters have been dying at alarming rates during the winter months. Scientists are trying to figure out why.

We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

Guests:

• Amanda Gokee, Boston Globe
• William Skipworth, New Hampshire Bulletin
• 
  

Top stories from around New Hampshire this week:

Sununu Youth Services Center faces new reports of abuse and neglect

The Sununu Youth Services Center, which for years has been embroiled in perhaps the largest youth detention center abuse scandal in U.S. history, is facing new concerns about abuse and neglect.

N.H. child advocate alleges abuse, neglect at state-run youth detention facility

State Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez said her office reported that the use of physical restraint at the facility broke one of the children’s bones in March.

National report estimates 14k to 29k could lose Medicaid in New Hampshire due to recent law

A new national report estimates that between 14,000 and 29,000 people in New Hampshire could lose Medicaid because of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the signature legislation of President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House.

North Country health center CEO says new rural health funds not enough to counteract Medicaid cuts

Edward Shanshala, CEO of Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, said when Congress passed its massive tax cuts and spending law last year, he and his colleagues made the difficult decision to shut down the organization’s clinic in Franconia in anticipation of the law’s impacts.

New England oysters are dying over the winter. N.H. scientists are trying to figure out why.

The oyster industry has grown tremendously in New Hampshire in recent years, but mass die-offs during the cold winter that can derail the business.

More New Hampshire headlines:

Family sues over 2023 death inside NH prison psychiatric unit

NH lawmakers move to scale back a ban on school vaccine clinics

Bill to end gun restrictions at NH colleges comes in for criticism at public hearing

New Hampshire police departments have made 51 immigration arrests in the past year