Top Stories from NCPR

Street art has changed over the decades, and new forms of self-expression and visual communications are evolving in public spaces. Although they've been around on signs, windows and street light poles for almost a hundred years, street art stickers have emerged as a provocative means to engage passersby. As part of a new exhibit, the walls in the Brush Art Gallery at St. Lawrence University are filled with hundreds of stickers from around the world. "Re-Writing the Streets" explores the international language of stickers - political, social and just whimsical.Todd Moe stopped by the Brush Art Gallery as director Catherine Tedford was assembling the exhibit, with the help of seniors Meg Chandler and Rebecca Clayman. Tedford says street stickers are a democratic form of art and more interactive and contemplative than graffiti."Rewriting the Streets" premiered two years ago at Susquehanna University, and Tedford is hoping the show will travel to a university in Washington next year. She said there are over 800 stickers in the exhibit, which include some from her own personal collection and that of Oliver Baudach, in Germany. [full story]

Governor Cuomo has declared a statewide state of emergency for the duration of the major nor’easter expected to hit the state overnight. [full story]

If you love to ski in the North Country, it often feels like there are two basic choices. You can ski cross-country on fairly flat trails, or you can ski downhill at a place like Gore or Whiteface Mountain. But for a lot of back country skiers, there's a third option: exploring the wooded, steep-sloped glades of the Adirondacks. One of the most popular glade skis is found on Lyon Mountain in Clinton County. [full story]

Tim Fortune grew up in Saranac Lake and eventually came back to roost there as an artist. He’s been working in his tiny studio-slash-gallery for the last twenty-two years, where he paints scenes from the Adirondacks. [full story]

Justin case you're watching the thermometer drop and getting antsy about pruning your trees and shrubs, there's no hurry. Especially with the weather this week (New England states broke the record for cold on Saturday, the AP reports), it's not a good idea for person or plants to get stressed about this spring chore. Cooperative Extension's Amy Ivy says there's time. She advises sitting back and thinking through your pruning plan, and she's got some tips. Then wait for a nicer day to actually do the work. [full story]

President Donald Trump has hit a milestone: It's been 50 days since he took office. That time's been marked by huge policy shifts on immigration and trade. There have been widespread protests. The president has fought back, blaming the media for reporting “fake news” and focusing on the negative. It’s a lot to take in. As part of our 100 Days Project, we wanted to know— how have the last 50 days been affecting you? [full story]

The Senate and Assembly will release their one-house budgets early next week, as the March 31 deadline for a new spending plan draws near. They’ve already given some hints as to what the plans will include. [full story]

Plattsburgh has a new police chief. Ken Parkinson, a 24-year veteran of the city police department, started the job last week. [full story]

Hundreds of sugar houses across the state will open their doors for the annual Maple Weekend starting Saturday morning. Half the maple syrup produced in New York State comes from North Country farms and forests. There are pancake breakfasts, sugarbush tours and plenty of places to watch bubbling vats of sap and taste the freshest maple syrup.Marcia Rudd is a maple producer in Mannsville, in southern Jefferson County. She's coordinating the annual Maple Weekends in Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida and Oswego Counties over the next two weekends. She says her family, which owns and operates Rudd's Maple Syrup, taps 500 trees and usually produces about 300 gallons of syrup each spring. [full story]

This week President Trump signed a new executive order temporarily banning refugees and travelers from six Muslim-majority countries. Meanwhile, federal authorities are stepping up efforts to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.Aid groups say those policies are driving some people out of the country. Many refugees are giving up on the idea of applying for asylum here and in recent months, hundreds have fled the U.S. to apply for asylum in Canada. A lot of people are crossing the border in northern Clinton County, usually passing through Plattsburgh first. In that city, "border calls" are becoming big business for taxi drivers, and faith groups are bracing for a potential refugee crisis. [full story]