These invasive aquatic plants can threaten native wildlife, harm water quality and make lake recreation difficult. Dozens of lakes across the state are trying to keep the plants at bay.

Education reforms dominated the state Legislature this year. Most efforts failed, though a few bills await action from Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Lawmakers rejected bills mandating new public school courses, open enrollment expansion, and increased oversight of the state’s school voucher program. The federal courthouse in Concord handles all kinds of cases, but over the past year one particular type of case has shot up: Habeas Corpus petitions by people detained by ICE. Lawyers say filing these petitions is a way for detainees to get due process, but the sheer number is putting a strain on the system. We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the NH News Recap with NHPR reporters Annmarie Timmins, Lau Guzmán and Imaan Moin.

State lawmakers wrapped up their session in a series of high-stakes votes this week. Some priorities were pushed across the finish line, while others failed to win support in either the New Hampshire Senate or House. State senators voted to table a Republican-backed bill for open school enrollment, which would let New Hampshire students enroll in any public school in the state. Among other things, the House and Senate agreed to legislation that will require towns and cities to consider capping local property taxes spent on school and district administrative costs. Meanwhile, 2026 political hopefuls are streaming into the State House, with the state candidate filing period open until June 12. And a meteor exploded over New England before crashing into Cape Cod Bay. Astronomer John Gianforte puts this space rock into perspective for us.

Lawmakers have released a 12-page report detailing how failures by the state’s top child protection agency contributed to a crisis at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Leaders from the Division for Children, Youth and Families are scheduled to tell lawmakers later today how they are responding to the report’s findings. And a proposal to build a data center in Nottingham has been withdrawn after statewide backlash over the plan. NHPR reporters Annmarie Timmins and Kate Dario discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

The director of the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families is disputing many recent allegations at the state’s youth detention center. Marie Noonan testified before lawmakers this week after concerns of abuse or improper restraint were detailed in reports by the Disability Rights Center and the Office of the Child Advocate. Noonan sent a letter to the Disability Rights Center late last week arguing that the Center’s investigation and visits to the facility are having a negative impact on the kids and staff there. And New Hampshire is full of historic homes, barns and churches that are at risk of falling apart. But there’s a shortage of people who know how to repair them. On this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap, we discuss an effort to preserve the state’s landmarks by building up the workforce with reporters Jeremy Margolis from the Concord Monitor and NHPR's Jackie Harris.

New Hampshire Corrections Commissioner William Hart says his department is struggling to find enough people to staff the state's positions. Currently half of the positions in the corrections department are vacant. The state Executive Council voted Wednesday to approve $12 million to cover overtime for guards currently working at the state prisons. Gov. Kelly Ayotte says she’s committed to making sure young people at the state’s youth detention facility are properly treated. That comes as the state Attorney General continues to investigate claims of physical abuse at the Sununu Youth Services Center. And state lawmakers are moving ahead to formally censure state Rep. Travis Corcoran for inflammatory social media posts, including referencing the Holocaust in response to a Jewish colleague's invitation to a bipartisan Karaoke event. We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

President Donald Trump has been outspoken about fighting antisemitism, but it continues to creep into politics nationally and here in New Hampshire. That’s according to a new NPR investigation of a state lawmaker who tried to get a holocaust denial conspiracy theory into public school lesson plans. And a federal judge ruled that she will not hold New Hampshire officials in contempt for suspending the state’s motor vehicle inspections program. The vendor, Gordon Darby Holdings, that oversaw those inspections sued the state in December for ending the annual inspections. We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap with NPR's Tom Dreisbach and NHPR reporter Todd Bookman.

It’s been a little over a year since New Hampshire police departments started signing agreements with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce immigration law in the state. ICE now has 15 local partnerships, which are encouraged by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, and these so-called 287g agreements have contributed to a notable uptick in arrests here. Immigration arrests have doubled in the last 15 months. Of 429 people arrested, local agencies made 51 of them. What’s in for local police? In part, money. ICE offers at least $100,000 in stipends, and local police departments are using that money to pay for operating expenses. We talk about this on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap. Also, the state’s youth detention center continues to make headlines. Authorities are investigating recent allegations of abuse against children at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Lawmakers and advocates are also raising concerns about leadership of the center. In other news, there’s good news for Franklin. In a bit of a comeback story, the city’s high school was just named the top high school in the state. We discuss these story's on this week's editing of the New Hampshire News Recap with Lau Guzmán and Annmarie Timmins.

The Office of the Child Advocate says it is increasing oversight of the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester following new allegations of abuse and neglect of children in the state’s care. The state health department and Attorney General’s office say they are investigating. And the oyster industry in New Hampshire has grown, but across New England, oysters have been dying at alarming rates during the winter months. Scientists are trying to figure out why. We discuss these stories and more on this week’s edition of the New Hampshire News Recap with reporters Amanda Gokee with the Boston Globe and William Skipworth with the New Hampshire Bulletin.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte has expressed interest in expanding nuclear development in New Hampshire with the help of the federal government. But there are still questions about the local effects of nuclear power, including how to safely handle nuclear waste. And the crew aboard NASA's Artemis II mission is due to splash down to Earth following a record-breaking trip around the moon. What can we learn from this mission? We talk about these stories and more on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap with New Hampshire Bulletin's Molly Rains and UNH's John Gianforte.

President Trump issued an executive order this week aimed at limiting voting by mail. New Hampshire’s Secretary of State David Scanlan says he won’t change state election practices to follow that order. A number of states across the Northeast joined a public health collaborative this fall in response to turmoil within federal health agencies. New Hampshire was the only New England state that opted not to join, but the New Hampshire Bulletin reports the state has been involved behind the scenes. We talk about these stories and more on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap with NHPR's Josh Rogers and New Hampshire Bulletin's Will Skipworth.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent $122,515 to the town of Carroll this month. The payment follows Carroll’s decision to be part of the Department of Homeland Security's Task Force Model, also known as the 287(g) program. The New Hampshire Legislature is about halfway through its current session. What are the top issues and bills arising in the State House now? We talk about these stories and more on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap with Wired's Sammy Sussman and Anna Brown, executive director of Citizens Count and the Rudman Center at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law.