The number of people living in the Adirondacks has been declining or stagnant for decades and the schools have far fewer kids than they used to. So it all begs the question, who's the next generation of Adirondackers? That's why the notion of who feels like they belong in the Adirondacks, who feels welcome, is so important. We asked people across the park what they think, and they had a lot to say. That's today's story of the day. Support for Story of the Day.
Serving the North Country for three generations. MorgiaWM.com. Securities offered through Hightower Securities LLC. Hightower is an SEC-registered investment advisor. and kidney drugs now offering specialized home medical equipment and supplies learn more at kidney home care Hey, I'm David Sommerstein. It's Tuesday, May 6th. First up. Two of New York's top lawmakers are taking aim at each other on national television.
North Country Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul were both asked recently about facing off in next year's gubernatorial race. Emily Russell reports. Rumors have been swirling for weeks about Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's next political move. That's after President Donald Trump took her out of the running for UN ambassador last month. It seems Stefanik is pivoting to New York's top political posts.
the republican who lives in saratoga county was on fox news on sunday where she was asked about her potential run for governor well absolutely i am strongly considering because look at the crises that kathy hochel and single-party democrat rule have delivered to New Yorkers and this has been over the period of decades. Stefanik went on to criticize high tax rates and high levels of out-migration in New York. She said New Yorkers are, quote, yearning for a new generation of leadership.
And the outpouring of support has been tremendous. And Kathy Hochul is the worst governor in America. I dubbed that of Andrew Cuomo, not thinking anybody could make it worse. Kathy Hochul makes the impossible possible. She is the worst governor and it's showing in her poor abysmal approval ratings. Hochul's approval rating has gone up slightly in recent months from 40 to 44 percent in the latest poll from Siena College.
A day after Stefanik was on Fox, Hochul went on CNN, where she was asked about the potential challenge from Stefanik. Hochul pushed back saying any Republican who has deep ties to President Donald Trump faces an uphill battle in New York. Donald Trump has made sure that the Republican Party brand is so tainted in New York.
that no matter who runs against me they will have the baggage of explaining why that people's prices went up, why they lost health care, why they lost Medicaid, why they lost education. Trump's funding cuts have targeted schools. His tariffs have hurt the stock market. Republicans are considering sweeping cuts to Medicaid, which covers more than 190,000 people in the North Country. On CNN on Monday, Hochul said she's ready for next year's election.
The last Republican to win the governor's race in New York was George Pataki when he was re-elected in 2002. But Hochul's most recent win a few years ago was the smallest margin of victory for Democrats in decades. She defeated Republican Lee Zeldin by a margin of about 6%. Emily Russell, North Country Public Radio.
NCPR and Adirondack Explorer have this partnership. We're sharing a reporter, David Escobar, who we've heard a bunch. He's reporting on issues of diversity in the Adirondacks and who feels welcome, who feels like they belong. So this spring, we took his reporting out on the road to the public and held listening sessions in North Creek, Old Forge and Tupper Lake to hear what people had to say and to get ideas for another round of stories.
David joined Northern Light co-host Catherine Wheeler to report back on what people had on their minds. Things that can be hard to talk about. You know, some folks talked about racism and homophobia. Other folks talked about the lack of social opportunities there are for young people or maybe the exclusion they face being a newcomer in the area. And during each session, we passed around a recorder to capture all of those candid thoughts.
Yeah, what other issues did people bring up during the sessions? Honestly a lot of things but housing came up again and again In Old Forge, for example, people were still talking about a proposed apartment development that got struck down a couple of years ago. Some of you might remember it. It would have added 52 mixed income housing units.
which could have helped local families and seasonal workers afford to pay rent and live in the area full time instead of commuting from a community nearby. But there was strong pushback at a town board meeting. in part due to fears of outsiders, including refugees that have resettled in the nearby community of Utica, and the project collapsed. That moment really stuck with some people, including Eagle Bay resident Dan Kiefer Bach.
We're very much an insular community, and I think that that just causes a challenge when, as a young person, that housing, you know, when that fell apart and in the fashion that it did, it signaled to me that this is not a community for me. And that idea that Adirondack communities can feel closed off to newcomers, especially if you're not from a multi-generational local family, we heard that a lot throughout these listening sessions. All right. That's pretty interesting.
Beyond housing, what other issues came up? At our first session in North Creek, people talked a lot about how to make the region more welcoming to newcomers. And one resident, Sharon Barker from North River, said that conversation is complicated. These different layers of issues, one is attracting people to live here, and one is making people feel welcome recreating here. intersect but they're not the same thing.
And I found there was a lot of overlap between the feelings from people in North Creek and Old Forge. People talking about a housing shortage and a lack of sustainable job opportunities. That's just really made it hard for some of these places to attract young families or retain young adults. But even in all of that, a lot of people also talked about how people in our small community support one another and how it makes it such a special place to live.
Haley Brannon grew up in Minerva, and she and her wife moved to the city, but they came back to be closer to family, and partially because they missed the town's tight-knit community. Brannon got emotional describing that feeling to us. They care and they want everything for you and that
I don't have that on Long Island. I didn't have that anywhere. It's the only place I've ever felt that. And the events up here, it's so thoughtful and people are so cared for. And so that was a huge, that's really for me. It's my family and it's all this community who does care. everyone could get to experience and see that because it's really it's special and it's rare in this country. lot of residents are also thinking about how outdoor recreation could be part of all of these solutions.
You know, whether that's through youth programs or just finding ways to make it easier for people to explore the outdoors here. Their hope is if people fall in love with the place, maybe they'll want to stick around. So we've talked about Old Forge and North Creek. What stood out from folks who attended the Tupper Lake session? That conversation came just a couple of weeks after federal immigration officials detained nine unauthorized workers at a local sawmill.
People told us the incident really rattled the community. And it's not just about that one business. There was a concern for some foreign-born workers in Tupper Lake. especially people working in the town service industry, that they're now having to keep a low profile since the raid. Other residents shared concerns over racism they've seen and heard in the...
There have been past reports of Confederate flags and derogatory signs displayed around the town, and some locals say they continue to see that racism. There was a lot of talk about racism and bigotry in every community we visited. I just want to make that clear, you know, how much there is, or is it even unique to these towns or part of the national culture?
people were really wrestling with what to do about all of that. And some folks pointed towards the role schools can play in all of this. But Saranac Lake Central School teacher Drew Benware says that's easier said than done. Teachers are in contact with students for six hours a day, if that. all the conversations that we have with them can be undone around the dinner table. the family environment.
is really what shapes the children. One of the comments at our listening sessions about belonging and welcoming in the Adirondacks, our Report for America reporter David Escobar, who's covering diversity issues in the Adirondack Park, spoke with Catherine Wheeler. He'll be working on stories that came directly from people's comments at those listening sessions. So if you have a thought and weren't able to make it, email him david at adirondakexplorer.org.
Music today by Tim Elifritz of Johnsburg and Ben Cato of Day. I'm David Summerstein, North Country Public...