Schenectady, NY, Jul 27, 2009 — Twenty-five years ago this summer, Jeff Blatnick won a gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. The Schenectady native's upset victory in Graeco-Roman wrestling was one of the big stories of the 1984 summer games. It also marked one of the most dramatic comebacks in sports history. Blatnick lives now and coaches in Saratoga County. But his sports career was nearly cut short, first by cold war politics and then by a brutal fight with cancer. Brian Mann has our profile.  Go to full article

Mar 10, 2009 — The FBI has subpoenaed information from Lake Placid's Olympic Regional Development Authority as part of an investigation that apparently targets former Congressman John Sweeney. The Albany Times-Union is reporting that Federal agents are probing Sweeney's taxpayer-funded trips that ended in 2006 when he lost a bid for re-election. Martha Foley has details.  Go to full article

Jan 05, 2009 — The World Cup bobsled championships will be held next month in Lake Placid. Athletes from all over the world will compete on the Olympic track at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. The Americans will be riding a new generation of high-tech sleds, designed by a team that once built racing cars for NASCAR. As Brian Mann reports, the project has helped the U.S. compete in a sport long dominated by the Europeans.  Go to full article

Plattsburgh, NY, Dec 26, 2008 — One of the most visible faces in the North Country is retiring this month. Veteran newsman Jack LaDuke, a reporter for WCAX-TV in Plattsburgh, will end a career that put him on the front lines of North Country history for six decades. LaDuke, who grew up in the North Country, is seventy-four years old. He sat down with Brian Mann to talk about a life in newspapers and television.  Go to full article

Sep 26, 2008 — Since the StoryCorps Mobilebooth visited the North Country this summer, we've been spending a little time each Friday introducing you to some of the participants who got to document their stories by interviewing each other. Today, we'll hear an excerpt from June 19, when Dermott Morgan of Saranac Lake interviewed his father, Forrest "Dewdrop" Morgan. Forrest is a lifelong resident of the Adirondacks and has fond memories of the Winter Olympics coming to Lake Placid. No, not the 1980 games, but the 1932 games when he was ten years old. It was there that he met an Olympic champion who would go on to become an historic figure in World War II.  Go to full article

Sep 17, 2008 — Officials with the Olympic Regional Development Authority say state budget cuts have forced them to borrow more money to finish upgrades at Gore and Whiteface mountains. The budget cuts have raised new questions about the proposed conference center in Lake Placid and a ski-area interconnect in North Creek. As Jacob Resneck reports, the belt-tightening could also mean fewer seasonal jobs this winter.  Go to full article

Sep 01, 2008 — The Olympic Games continue to grow as a sporting event, but also as a media spectacle. The Beijing Games this summer set a new standard for glitz and pageantry. Holding the games in China also highlighted the continuing link between politics and sport, drawing new attention to that country's repressive government and its growing power. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss has written a new book about the modern Olympic movement. Maraniss focuses on the summer games held in Rome in 1960, when the world and the world of sport were changing. He spoke about the project with Brian Mann.  Go to full article

Aug 08, 2008 — The StoryCorps mobilebooth spent nearly a month here in the North Country this summer. During its time in Saranac Lake and Glens Falls dozens of people got to share their stories by interviewing each other. In late June, Natalie Leduc, of Saranac Lake, visited the booth with her friend Mary Woodhouse. Natalie is a lifelong Adirondacker and a skier almost from birth. And on this opening day of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, we wanted to bring you a bit of her memories of the opening ceremonies of the Winter Games in Lake Placid 28 years ago.  Go to full article

Aug 08, 2008 — Keep a close eye on the summer Olympics coverage, not just for the athletes but the art, too. Two large, outdoor sculptures with ties to the Adirondacks are in Beijing's Olympic Sculpture Park. The stone and metal pieces are two of fifty outdoor sculptures on display. The exhibition aims to promote international cultural links. Stone sculptors John Van Alstine and Caroline Ramersdorfer visited Beijing last year to supervise the start of construction. Both have installed art in galleries and public spaces around the world. This time, they're among 50 people, 25 from China and 25 from elsewhere, displaying their artwork around Olympic venues. Todd Moe visited their southern Adirondack studio to find out what it's like for artists to make it to the Olympics.  Go to full article

Oct 30, 2007 — A stone artist from the south-central Adirondacks is preparing for next year's Olympics in China. John Van Alstine's sculpture is being built in Beijing for the 2008 summer games. His stone and metal piece will be one of fifty outdoor sculptures on display. The exhibition aims to promote international cultural links. Todd Moe talks with the Wells sculptor about his artwork. Van Alstine recently returned from a trip to Beijing to supervise the start of construction.  Go to full article