Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

New Hampshire Public Radio

@nhpr.org

2K followers 56 following 1.2K posts

News above the noise — on air, online at NHPR.org. [email protected]

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · Jan 15

Hello Bluesky! 🦋 We're New Hampshire Public Radio, a NPR member station covering the Granite State. Follow along for breaking news from New Hampshire and NPR, feature stories, moose sightings and more!

NHPR is New Hampshire's NPR news organization. We produce independent, high-quality journalism on air, online and on demand.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1h

“You have often heard me say that higher education is not perfect and that we can do better," Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock said in a recent message to the campus community. "At the same time, we will never compromise our academic freedom and our ability to govern ourselves.” buff.ly/dv5e3RR

Dartmouth preparing feedback to Trump administration’s college compact proposal

The White House’s 10-point memo issued to Dartmouth and eight other highly regarded schools asks them to commit to a number of conditions that align with the administration’s policy positions and…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3h

What's an easy way to delay getting a smartphone? For these parents, the answer to that riddle is: get a landline.

Maine parents say getting an old school landline for kids is revolutionary

What's an easy way to delay getting a smartphone? For these parents, the answer to that riddle is: get a landline.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 4h

While her plea marked the end of a criminal case that had been careening towards a November trial, New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi's battles are not over.

With plea deal official, Hantz Marconi ends high profile legal fight

NH Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi agreed to a plea Tuesday that avoids jail time, after she was charged with trying to use her position to influence an investigation into her…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 16h

“It’s definitely a little eerie,” said Melissa Heard, who was camped out at the edge of Crystal Lake in Manchester while her daughter swam. “It’s definitely October, and we’re still rocking this weather.”

It’s hot. Here’s how New Hampshire is making the best of 80-degree October days.

My editors are trying to make “Hot-oberfest” happen. I won’t let them.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 17h

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review several lawsuits challenging its birthright citizenship executive order, including one case filed in New Hampshire. buff.ly/uWSpaG3

Federal court upholds block in birthright citizenship lawsuit; may go to Supreme Court

A federal appeals court in Massachusetts has upheld a temporary block on President Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship for the children of some immigrants. The case is among several…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 20h

A community center in Nashua is offering a new weekly program that gives toddlers and their parents the chance to hear stories in English and Spanish. 📚 buff.ly/u2lfpNQ

From the Dominican Republic to Kazakhstan, Nashua families connect with bilingual story time

The bilingual storytime at the Arlington Community Center in Nashua is a new program for parents and young children to read stories in English and Spanish every Thursday.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 21h

Is an unwanted car, truck, motorcycle, boat, or lawn tractor haunting your driveway? This fall, create space and BOO-st the independent local journalism you count on every day by donating a vehicle of any kind to NHPR! nhpr.careasy.org/home

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 23h

“I always call her the most influential American that almost nobody knows about," said Keith Mestrich, board chairman of the Frances Perkins Center, the nonprofit which donated this barn and farmhouse to the National Park Service last year for the monument.

Maine's newest national monument celebrates first season, even without federal funding

The Frances Perkins National Monument in Newcastle honors the woman credited with proposing and helping to implement many of FDR's New Deal reforms, including Social Security, the minimum wage and a…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

“The goats are great at the trees and the goldenrod and the other types of brush, but the sheep really do well with the grasses,” says farmer Adam Ricci.

“So by mixing the two together, we get everything covered pretty well.” 🐐🎿🐑

Goats on the slopes? A potential climate solution hits the ski trails at Jay Peak

A new state grant is funding pilot projects across Vermont to swap weed whackers for goats and sheep in power line right of ways and ski trails.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) previously stated that the agency provided “no substantive assistance” to the project, despite records showing an employee's repeated involvement in meetings with the company.

Attorney General review of Chinese land purchase in Nashua finds no wrongdoing

A state employee who helped facilitate the purchase of a warehouse in Nashua by China-based Nongfu Spring did not violate any laws or policies, but kept key information about the deal from his bosses.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

The ACLU of New Hampshire has filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of New Hampshire’s decades-old loitering law.

They argue the law is unconstitutional because it violates the right to due process and against unreasonable search and seizures.

ACLU of NH is challenging the state’s loitering law

“When you want to criminalize something, you need to do it in a clear and defined way so individuals can conform their conduct to the prohibitions,” says ACLU-NH Legal Director Gilles Bissonnette.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

New Hampshire Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge on Tuesday, ending one of the most high profile criminal cases involving a public official in recent state history. A trial was set to begin in November.

ow.ly/8zT850X7pVb

NH Supreme Court Justice Hantz Marconi to plead guilty, ending legal saga

Jury selection in the criminal case against Hantz Marconi was scheduled to begin next month. She will pay a fine and serve no jail time.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

The last coal-fired power plant in New England, Merrimack Station, has stopped running.

With the closure of that facility, the region is poised to become the first in the United States without a coal plant on its grid.

ow.ly/RN5v50X7pzS

New England’s last coal plant has stopped operating, according to its owners

Merrimack Station has been winding down its operations for years. But in September, they announced they would cease operations of their coal-fired generators.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

A review by the New Hampshire Department of Justice into the controversial purchase of an industrial property in Nashua by a China-based beverage company with alleged ties to the Communist Party has cleared a state employee of any wrongdoing.

www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...

Attorney General review of Chinese land purchase in Nashua finds no wrongdoing

A state employee who helped facilitate the purchase of a warehouse in Nashua by China-based Nongfu Spring did not violate any laws or policies, but kept key information about the deal from his bosses.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 1d

Inside The Younger Years in Swanzey, it looks like any other elementary school classroom. But there’s a key difference: It has only one student, its second since it began in 2024.

It’s known as a microschool, nontraditional schools that generally teach fewer than 15 kids.

ow.ly/tE4X50X7eCE

Tiny Swanzey school part of an emerging educational trend

The microschool model gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as many as 2.1 million children in the U.S. attend these schools, per a May 2025 study from the National Microschooling Center,…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 2d

Trees are home to all sorts of critters: birds, squirrels, frogs and more than a trillion teeny tiny microbes living in roots, bark and leaves.

But it turns out, maybe city living isn't so great for trees, because of stressors like heat and pollution.

City living isn't good for a tree's microbiome, study shows. Here's what that means

A new study found that oak trees in Boston have a greater number of "bad" microbes, like pathogens and plant decomposers, than beneficial ones because of city stressors like heat and pollution.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 2d

On a bright weekend morning in the courtyard outside of Corpus Christi Parish in Portsmouth, pets were under foot.

The animals weren’t in pairs, though. They were with their people, gathering to receive a blessing from the parish’s leader.

www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025...

At ‘Blessing of the Animals,’ creatures great and small seek protection from above

Catholic parishes around the state honored Saint Francis this weekend, with many holding blessing events for domestic pets.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 2d

Eric Sweeney was sentenced Friday in a Concord courtroom filled with friends and family of the victims. Kassandra and Sean Sweeney, Eric’s half-brother, had guardianship of Eric, who was 16 years old at the time of the killings.

Northfield teen to serve decades in prison for slaying three family members

Eric Sweeney was 16 when he killed his sister-in-law and her two young children. He will be eligible for parole at the age of 70, following Friday’s sentencing by Judge John Kissinger.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 2d

"National parks remain as accessible as possible during the federal government shutdown," a notice on the NPS website reads. "However, some services may be limited or unavailable."

National parks caught in the crosshairs of government shutdown

National parks across the country face conflicting demands and uncertainty as a result of the ongoing federal funding dispute.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 2d

The 2025 Rising Stars Awards — a celebration of New Hampshire’s outstanding young leaders and the organizations that champion them — are Oct. 16 at The Venues at The Factory in Manchester. NHPR's Lau Guzmán is the host this year.

NHPR's Lau Guzmán to host Rising Stars Awards on Oct. 16

NHPR is proud to partner with Stay Work Play for the 16th annual Rising Stars Awards — a celebration of New Hampshire’s outstanding young leaders and the organizations that champion them.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3d

This is the height of white shark season. Peak sightings off the Outer Cape have shifted later in the last couple of years, from August toward September.

🦈 Maybe you’ve been on a whale watch. But what about a trip to see great white sharks? CAI’s Jennette Barnes joined one of the public tours.

It's shark-watching time off Chatham. We take you on a tour

With just five guests and one journalist, this nearly private tour happens on a 35-foot fishing boat. But the only thing they’ll be fishing for is an eyeful of a feared and fascinating ocean…

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3d

The Augustinians number fewer than 3,000 friars worldwide, making any increase in people interested in joining the order significant.
www.nhpr.org/2025-10-02/p...

Pope Leo's religious community is drawing renewed interest. Here's what makes it unique

"Before, we might get two or three discerners. But after Pope Leo, I now have 15. It's unbelievable."

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3d

Join us for the next Writers on a New England Stage on Oct. 8, featuring bestselling author Patricia Cornwell, at the Music Hall in Portsmouth.

Bestselling author Patricia Cornwell to join 'Writers on a New England Stage'

Join author Patricia Cornwell on Oct. 8, 2025, for an evening of thrilling conversation and storytelling. Don’t miss this special event at The Music Hall !

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3d

Aadi Kulkarni, 17, started teaching digital skills to seniors in his community around five years ago. He and his friends would go to local libraries and senior homes to help with things like sending emails or using a smartphone.

Nashua teen wins national award for his work to improve digital literacy among seniors

17-year-old Aadi Kulkarni started teaching digital skills to seniors in his community five years ago. He then founded the nonprofit TechPals to continue that work.

New Hampshire Public Radio @nhpr.org · 3d

In 2022, the Harris Center for Conservation Education launched a project aimed at conserving America’s smallest falcon, the American Kestrel, a species of special concern in NH.

📻 Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, NH Audubon, and NHPR.

Something Wild: Saving kestrels one nest box at a time

The American Kestrel, a tiny, colorful raptor, is declining in the state, and the Harris Center for Conservation Education is installing nest boxes in hopes of bolstering local kestrel populations.