Northern Light

(Sep 8, 2026) The town of Plattsburgh's former Air Force Base has been added to a federal program that will fund a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; there may be a slow start to this year’s fall foliage season, but forest researchers are still expecting vibrant colors across the landscape; and we preview Afrofestival Ottawa, a celebration of African music, fashion, food, and culture in Canada's capital, coming up this weekend.

(Sep 4, 2026) We visit the Evans Mills Raceway in Jefferson County ahead of big races this weekend; we tag along with kids at the Little River Community school outside Canton, as they paint local wildlife for nature trail signs; John Warren checks on Adirondack trail conditions for this first weekend in September; and we have a preview of the Northern Current Music Festival in Saranac Lake this weekend.

(Sep 3, 2026) Immigration arrests surged across New York State last month after ICE conducted what it calls "Operation Rotten Apple"; we tag along with a professional 'treetop rescuer' in the Southern Adirondacks; and Kitty O’Neil joins us for a conversation about what’s going on on North Country farms this month.

(Sep 2, 2026) Even though New York is barring local police from collaborating with ICE, other programs, especially here along the northern border, encourage local police and federal border agents to work together; we meet a crossing guard in Canton who delights kids with her fun chatter and collection of funny hats; and Chef Curtiss Hemm of the Carriage House Cooking School joins us for a discussion about cookbooks.

(Sep 1, 2026) The crisis within New York's prison system is driving staff away from jobs that used to be sought after in the North Country; we go to Dekalb in St. Lawrence County, where an educational program immerses kids in the Revolutionary War era; and we get a preview of the Bike the Barns event in the Champlain Valley, where cyclists can get an up-close view of the region’s farms.

(Aug 31, 2026) We speak to people along the North Country coast about President Trump's executive order renaming Lake Ontario; a law prohibiting local law enforcement in New York from signing formal cooperation agreements with ICE is getting backlash from the state’s Republicans; and we listen back to a story about a small group of Americans and Canadians who want to preserve the relationship between the two countries amid the challenges of the second Trump administration.

(Aug 28, 2026) An immigrant advocacy group in the North Country is getting new funding to expand its work with families dealing with the impact of ICE detentions; we visit a summer basketball camp in western New York, where college athletes are preparing for the sport they love; we check out the trail conditions in the Adirondacks for this final weekend of August.

(Aug 27, 2026) As rural healthcare struggles nationwide, Clifton-Fine Hospital, the smallest hospital in the state, has found a way to survive and add new services; a musician from Jefferson County says he has an unlikely figure to thank for his career; and we go to Blue Mountain Lake for a preview of a musical that’s taking its show on the road across the Adirondacks.

(Aug 26, 2026) A new study from Jefferson Community College puts data behind how a lack of child care options is impacting residents and the local workforce; the permit application for a controversial weapons testing range in the Adirondacks is stuck in legal limbo; and we hear from one of the top anglers in the country about why the St. Lawrence River is his favorite spot to fish.

(Aug 25, 2026) Since last summer, food insecurity has climbed by 14%  in some North Country counties and nearly 20% for children; a new state law restricts local police from making formal agreements with ICE, but some officials are resisting; and astronomer Aileen O’Donoghue is in the studio to guide us through the expanding darkness.