N.H. News Recap

As the New Hampshire Legislature approaches the end of this year's session, first-term Gov. Kelly Ayotte can point to political success on a number of issues, including parental rights, immigration enforcement and school choice. The state Supreme Court has ruled that New Hampshire’s long-standing practice of using a statewide property tax to pay for education is largely legal. We talk about these...

The state Senate passed its two year spending plan Thursday. The nearly $16 billion budget reverses several deep spending cuts made by the New Hampshire House, restoring some funds for Medicaid and the state’s public university system. The Senate also voted to expand New Hampshire's school voucher program and ban state and local governments from having DEI policies. We dive into the Senate’s budge...

A new law signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte grants the gun manufacturer Sig Sauer immunity from some lawsuits in New Hampshire. Market Basket's board of directors is investigating its CEO, and has placed him on administrative leave. And there's a lot happening at the State House in Concord right now as lawmakers near the end of the legislative session. We talk about some of the bills you might've missed...

New Hampshire’s top corrections official resigned this week without explanation ending a more than two decade career with the department. Commissioner Helen Hanks oversaw the Department of Corrections for eight years until this week. Tensions had been brewing between Hanks and top New Hampshire Republicans. And the number of Canadians visiting the U.S. declined in recent months and state officials...

Gov. Kelly Ayotte recently signed a law making New Hampshire the first state to authorize its treasury to purchase Bitcoin. What’s driving efforts here to make the state more attractive for cryptocurrency businesses? And top House Republicans have accused New Hampshire’s public universities and colleges of admitting undocumented individuals as students at the exclusion of legal New Hampshire resid...

The state could lose over $80 million in federal grant money for health programs, and funding for university research is also on the chopping block as the Trump administration continues to make cuts. Gov. Kelly Ayotte and Republican lawmakers continue to be at odds over the next state budget as they work to resolve a shortfall. We talk about these stories and more on this edition of the New Hampsh...

Lawmakers are crafting the state’s budget for the next two years, and one area facing a shortfall is the settlement fund for alleged victims of abuse at the state’s Youth Development Center. How does that settlement process work, and what would happen if lawmakers don’t fund it? We hear from the settlement fund’s administrator, former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick. We al...

New Hampshire lawmakers have proposed significant spending cuts as the state faces a shortfall in the next budget. Among those cuts, is a proposal to eliminate the Office of the Child Advocate, an independent watchdog agency that oversees the state’s treatment of at-risk youth. House budget writers have also proposed moving around funds originally meant for helping people living with opioid addict...

Kelly Ayotte is approaching her 100-day mark as New Hampshire governor. NHPR’s Josh Rogers talks about what kind of a start she’s made to her first term. A New England real estate attorney and U.S. citizen says he and his wife are pursuing legal action after they were detained at the Vermont-Canadian border without explanation. Bachir Atallah says he was handcuffed and then held by Customs and Bor...

The New Hampshire House passed its version of the state budget this week that includes deep spending cuts and eliminates state jobs. The spending plan will now go to the Senate for review. Students at universities across the country, and here in New Hampshire, have lost their immigration status abruptly in the last week, affecting their ability to work and conduct research. We talk about these sto...

Congressman Chris Pappas announced this week he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen announced last month that she won’t be seeking election. The New Hampshire House Finance Committee voted this week to make steep cuts to government spending in its proposed state budget for the next two years. We discuss these stories with NHPR senior political reporter...

As the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has made sweeping cuts to federal spending, members of New Hampshire’s Commission on Government Efficiency, or COGE, are beginning their work — though the panel says it’s taking a different approach than its federal counterpart. New Hampshire libraries and arts organizations are bracing for possible funding cuts from both...

Local immigration lawyers are raising concerns after two people with legal status were recently detained at Boston Logan Airport after traveling internationally. In one of those cases, a person was deported despite having a visa allowing her to work in the US. We hear how one New Hampshire immigration lawyer is advising clients to prepare if they have international travel plans. And the number of...

Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen announced this week that she will not run for reelection in 2026. Felice Belman, editor for the New York Times, joins us to talk about what's next for Shaheen and how could her decision affect the upcoming midterm elections. And voters across the state went to the polls this week for town elections. We talk through some of those results with Abigail Ham, reporter for...

President Trump’s tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico were slated to take effect earlier this week, but on Thursday Trump changed course, saying he would give a break to all goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement. We hear if energy imports are covered in the exemptions and how tariffs could affect Granite Staters’ energy bills. Also: A new lawsuit out of New Hampshire is ch...

New Hampshire's bail system has been the subject of debate among state lawmakers and municipal leaders since it was overhauled back in 2018. A recent case in Manchester has helped bring that debate to the forefront once again. A prison in Berlin will potentially be one of five federal facilities used to hold immigration detainees in the U.S. And New Hampshire farmers are feeling the effects of the...

The state’s Education Freedom Accounts program gives money to families for homeschooling costs or private school tuition. A recent analysis from the Concord Monitor found those funds can go toward a wide range of different expenses, including ski trips and horseback riding. New Hampshire lawmakers are hoping to address a number of concerns related to maternal health this session. And businesses in...

Two New Hampshire high school students are challenging President Trump’s transgender sports ban. The students are also fighting the state’s version of the ban in federal court. Gov. Kelly Ayotte presented her budget proposal to the New Hampshire Legislature this week. And a new state law allows New Hampshire voters to cap school funding in their local districts. We talk about these stories and mor...

State advisory panels on policing and diversity initiatives are no more after former Gov. Chris Sununu rescinded over a hundred executive orders before he left office. And a state lawmaker is apologizing after making derogatory comments about victims of abuse at the state’s youth detention facility. Republican Rep. Ken Weyler said victims may have brought abuse on themselves and didn’t deserve set...

New Hampshire schools and hospitals are figuring out how they’ll respond if immigration enforcement comes to their grounds. This comes after the Trump administration lifted protections on schools and other areas from immigration operations, including arrests. And a Trump administration directive that would freeze federal grants and assistance was rescinded this week. We hear about New Hampshire no...

A New Hampshire nonprofit is one of three organizations suing President Donald Trump and other government agencies over efforts to end birthright citizenship. The ACLU of New Hampshire, as well as the groups affiliates in Massachusetts and Maine, are representing the plaintiffs. And the cost of public education in New Hampshire is rising, even as student enrollment continues to decline. We talk ab...

New Hampshire legislators are considering immigration enforcement as the incoming Trump administration promises to carry out a mass deportation of immigrants when he’s in office. How could these state proposals affect New Hampshire’s labor force? And Granite Staters rallied outside the State House earlier this week, calling on lawmakers to fund special education programs. We discuss these stories...

Gov. Kelly Ayotte officially took office this week and gave her first inaugural address. She touched on many different issues in her speech – from the state budget, to education and housing. We discuss her message to Granite Staters. And state officials have approved the acquisition of Catholic Medical Center by HCA Healthcare. We hear what this means for the state of the healthcare industry in Ne...

Voters turned out in record breaking numbers in New Hampshire's general elections this November. Students across the country and here in New Hampshire took to college campuses this spring to protest Israel's war in Gaza. Communities across the state continue to recover from multiple flooding events. We look back on these top stories and more from 2024 in this edition of the New Hampshire News Reca...

In the new year, a former New Hampshire prison guard will stand trial for murder. State prosecutors say he killed a man in a prison psychiatric unit by restraining him in a dangerous way. But this wasn’t the first time someone in this unit with serious mental illness died after being held down by officers. And in that case, the state denies any wrongdoing. NHPR reporter Paul Cuno-Booth digs into t...