On Saturday, anti-Muslim groups staged a rally outside a small religious community in Upstate New York called Islamberg. State police formed a protective cordon outside the settlement's gates to prevent a confrontation. Islamberg has existed since the 1980s without any history of violence or criminal activity, but the community has become a fixation for hate groups and the right-wing media, who say it's being used as a terrorist training camp. That's a claim that law enforcement and Islamberg's neighbors reject.

It hardly seems like we've had enough "summer" for this, but it's mid-July, and time to harvest garlic. In fact, according to Cooperative Extension's Amy Ivy, other areas in the state have their garlic out of the ground already.This week, she's got tips on how to tell when it's really ready, how to get the bulbs out of the ground, and what do do to insure both good-keeping heads for winter use and a good crop for next year.

Hoedowns, reels, & frolics - Phil Jamison can do them all. Jamison is a dance caller, flat-foot dancer, and old-time musician. In the 1970s, he was a member of the St. Regis String band here in the North Country. In June, he came to Canton to talk about Southern Appalachian dance. He spoke to an enthusiastic audience at the center for Traditional Arts of Upstate New York, showing the crowd the dances he loves and exploring how the tradition began.

The lives and work worlds of everyday folks are being brought to the stage this summer in Colton. "Working: the Musical" opens Thursday, July 20 in the old Fire Station in Colton. The Sunday Rock Legacy Project, a local community collaboration to promote Colton;s history and culture, is teaming up with the Grasse River Players to produce the musical.The show is part of the theme of the group's official 2017 project "All Geared Up," which will celebrate the businesses and people who have helped make the Town of Colton a success."Working" is based on the Studs Terkel book of the same name, and tells the stories of workers with words, song and dance. The musical will be held at the Old Fire Station in Colton on July 20, 21 and 23. As part of the industrial theme of the show, the stage is actually a flat-bed trailer. Todd Moe spoke three members of the committee putting on the show: Elaine Kuracina, Mary Jane Watson and Ruth McWilliams.

The corruption conviction of the former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was overturned on a technicality by a federal appeals court.Silver's lawyers say they are "grateful" for the decision, but the U.S. Attorney's office for New York's Southern district says it will retry the case. Until recently, the office was headed by Preet Bharara. He was fired by President Donald Trump earlier this year.

The last of a group of World War II-era Norwegian sailors who came here to the North Country to cure from tuberculosis was laid to rest this week. Knute Grytebust died in December and was buried Tuesday in Malone.

The modern supermarket holds a bewildering variety of oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, tangerines and more. But they are all the product of 4,000 years of selective breeding by humans to tease out tastier, larger, sweeter and juicier variations and hybrids from four ancestral Asian fruits. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley climb back down the citrus family tree to look at the Mandarin orange, the pomelo, the citron and the papeda.

Artists in the Ausable River Valley will offer an insider look at the creative process this weekend during their annual Studio Tour. More than 20 artists who live from Keene Valley to Au Sable Forks will open their home studios and galleries for the self-guided driving tour.The weekend kicks off with the 4th Annual Jay Invitational of Clay, an exhibit featuring local, regional and national works in clay, and a special preview event tonight as a benefit for the Ausable River Association. Both events are being coordinated by the group Norte Maar, an advocate and presenter of the visual, literary, and performing arts in the North Country and Brooklyn. Todd Moe spoke with Norte Maar director Jason Andrew for a preview of the studio tour and clay invitational.

Actor and director Ben Stiller is working on a major Hollywood production about the 2015 Dannemora prison break, and you could be a part of it. It's called "Escape at Dannemora," an eight-part miniseries for Showtime. A casting call went out this week for extras. Locals are encouraged to use their real-life experience to audition as journalists, law enforcement, and other roles in the series.

A source has given North Country Public Radio social media posts that Sgt. Justin Walters wrote in the weeks leading up to the shootings of his wife, Nichole, and New York State Trooper Joel Davis. The Facebook messages include a seemingly angry reference to death and mortality.