Potsdam, NY, Feb 01, 2013 — Continuing our occasional series on the North Country's entrepreneurs is this portrait of one man who's become a poster child for small entrepreneurship

Potsdam's Tim Damon built a custom fly rod business into an online storefront success story. Then-Senator Hillary Clinton held him up as a model. The first President Bush bought a Damon rod and invited him to Maine to fish with him.

Now Damon's turning his knack for success to a new business - high end, custom drums for the drummer seeking a perfect sound.  Go to full article

Jan 15, 2013 — Serious birders spend a lot of time looking for birds -- not just during the annual Christmas Bird Count. Joan Collins led a trek through St. Lawrence County on Sunday during near record-breaking warm temperatures.

Eighteen people took part in the NYS Ornithological Association's car-birding excursion across the northern section of the county including communities along the St. Lawrence River. Collins told Todd Moe that she and her binocular brigade saw a wide variety of winter birds: Trumpeter Swans, Bohemian Waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks and lots of Common Redpolls.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jan 04, 2013 — There are 9,000 U.S. veterans in St. Lawrence County alone - thousands more across the North Country and across the border in Canada.

An event this Saturday aims to recognize those veterans' service to their country and also make sure they're aware of all the benefits they're entitled to.

The North Country Veterans Appreciation Day is tomorrow at Clarkson University from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m.

Mike Boprey is head of Veterans Services for St. Lawrence County and is one of the event's organizers. He told David Sommerstein one of the goals is to help veterans stay in the North Country, where job prospects are few.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jan 04, 2013 — The new year marks the start of a new chapter for the St. Lawrence County Arts Council. The group's new executive director, Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton, who began her new duties this week in Potsdam. Hilary Oak, former executive director of the Arts Council, stepped down at the end of December to pursue other interests.

Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton is a photographer and graphic designer with a keen interest in fostering working relationships between artists and their communities. She spoke with Todd Moe about her arts career that has taken her from teaching high school visual art in Colorado to serving in the Peace Corps in Southwest China for the past two years.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Dec 18, 2012 — The group that's pushing for an Interstate to be built from Watertown to Plattsburgh has collected hundreds of local endorsements.

But it just lost an influential one. The New York Farm Bureau passed a resolution earlier in December, opposing the so-called "rooftop highway".  Go to full article

Dec 04, 2012 — One big item caught up in gridlock created by the current budget debate, with its "fiscal cliff" threat, is the federal farm bill.

Most farmers are still covered by crop insurance and other programs until next planting season, but that's not true of dairy.

Dairy farmers now have no safety net if milk prices fall. And with feed prices soaring, many feel they're falling off a cliff of their own.  Go to full article

Massena, NY, Nov 30, 2012 — The biggest cleanup in the country of former General Motors property is underway in Massena. Crews are removing more than 100,000 tons of concrete and soil contaminated by toxic PCB oils.

The cleanup won't be finished for another three years. But the federally appointed trust that owns the property is already bullish on selling it.  Go to full article

Hogansburg, NY, Nov 27, 2012 — The U.S. Attorney General's office is defending the St. Regis Mohawks' land claim in its entirety. That's after a judge recommended throwing out most of it last fall.

In a brief filed earlier in November, Assistant Attorney General Ignacia Moreno made two important points about the decades old Mohawk claim to 12,000 acres in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties.  Go to full article

Nov 26, 2012 — It's a strange time for the North Country's dairy farmers.
On one hand, Congress' failure to pass a new farm bill has meant the loss of a safety net if milk prices drop or feed costs rise. On the other hand, the soaring popularity of Greek yogurt is offering what New York's dairy leaders call a "once in a generation" opportunity to shore up an industry that's been eroding for decades.

New York has lost about two-thirds of its dairy farms since the 1980s. The ones that remain have gotten bigger.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Nov 26, 2012 — (UPDATE: The St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators approved a $235-million dollar budget Monday night, over-riding the state tax cap, and raising property taxes by more than 14-percent.)

The 57 counties outside New York City face a collective budget gap estimated at $130 million as they write their budgets for the fiscal year that starts in January.
That's according to a report this fall from the New York State Association of Counties.

NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario says counties are caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they pay for dozens of mandated services, from Medicaid to child welfare, which cost more every year.

On the other hand, they now face a new state cap on property tax increases.
Acquario told North Country Public Radio that leaves counties essentially "governing by triage."

St. Lawrence County legislators plan a public hearing tonight on the 2013 budget. County administrator Karen St. Hilaire says the $250 million spending plan contains a 13.5 percent tax increase.  Go to full article