Northern Light

(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.