Top Stories from NCPR

The New York State Assembly is set to interview potential replacements Tuesday for former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned May 8 in a domestic violence scandal. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also trying to put his stamp on the selection process.

This month, NCPR is out on the campaign trail with all seven Democratic and Green Party candidates in the North Country's congressional race. Today, we meet Democrat Patrick Nelson of Stillwater.

Jennifer McGregor still lives on the McGregor family farm where she grew up on Pleasant Valley Road in Hammond, a town perched on the St. Lawrence River about halfway between Ogdensburg and the Thousand Islands. The farm was originally built by her great-grandparents at the turn of the 20th century, and Jennifer counts herself as the fourth generation to live on it.

Hiking season is upon us in the Adirondack Park and once again there are growing concerns about overuse, especially in the High Peaks. A new study out last week found that nearly 80 percent of trailheads in the wilderness areas around the High Peaks were overused, some of them heavily.

Rivers and streams, especially in snowmelt areas of the Central Adirondacks and High Peaks, remain high and trails there are very muddy and icy.

Mark Walczyk was elected to his first term on Watertown's city council in 2015. Now he's running as a Republican to unseat longtime Democratic Assemblywoman Addie Jenne. He announced his campaign outside the St. Lawrence county courthouse in Canton Thursday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that he's appointed Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas as a special prosecutor to look into the domestic violence accusations against disgraced former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

There are lots of farms and factories across the North Country. A couple of years ago, a completely new kind of enterprise came to the region: medical marijuana. As part of the state's highly restrictive medical cannabis program, a company called Etain, LLC set up shop in the Adirondack hamlet of Chestertown, just west of Lake George. It's one of ten licensed growing facilities in the state. About 30 workers grow marijuana plants and turn them into oils, liquids, and dissolvable powder. Zach Hirsch got a rare look inside.

We talk with Northern Lights Choir director Helen Demong, who is directing the world premiere of the folk opera "Promised Land," written by composer Glen McClure. It tells the story of African-American settlers in the Adirondacks in the 1850s and their struggle for racial equality and voting rights.The opera will be performed Friday night at St. Bernard's Church in Saranac Lake at 8 pm. The performance will showcase the Northern Voices Choir, members of the Orchestra of Northern New York and featured vocal soloists.Helen Demong says in 2013, she founded the Northern Lights Choir to perform songs written by McClure that eventually became the full opera. She says over the years, the story has expanded with new characters and orchestrations. Tonight's performance will be the first time the opera will be performed in its entirety.

Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley revisit this feisty predator, whose fierce reputation comes from a high metabolism and the need to consume 80-90 percent of their body weight in food each day to survive. The small insectivore is active throughout the winter and shrinks in size until spring.