This time of year, you're likely to see cars and pickup trucks heading home on the highways with fresh-cut Christmas trees tied to roofs or in the truck beds. Fraser firs, Korean firs, Balsam firs, and Spruce (ouch!)... So today on Something Wild we take a look at Christmas tree farms, and the important habitats they provide for New Hampshire wildlife. You might be heartened to know that tree farms are a unique land use, and serve as early successional habitat, one that is neither residential neighborhood, cropland, nor deep forest. It's a landscape that was far more common a century ago, before small family farms began to vanish. Early successional habitats are an incubator: warm, sunny, scrubby zones with a variety of foods...like grasses, weeds and sometimes fruit-bearing shrubs or vines…raspberries, blackberries and grapes. Anything sun-loving, including fast-growing tree seedling and saplings. Tree farms provide ample food and shelter to a wide variety of disturbance-adapted

Sometimes called a Marsh Hawk, the northern harrier is currently one the rarest birds of prey nesting in the Granite State. Unlike many of our more common hawks, harriers shun the forest, opting instead to hunt in wide-open spaces like fields, brushy areas -- even in marshes. And get this --they build their nests on the ground . Peculiar preferences indeed, and ones that have made it a challenge for them to survive here. ___________________________ Flying under the radar is the modus operandi for harriers, both literally AND figuratively. They hunt for voles, snakes, and small birds by skimming the landscape, gliding low over the ground, zipping just above North Country hayfields during the summer, and slipping in and out of coastal salt marshes in the winter. Figuratively speaking, Northern harriers have largely stayed out of sight, and out of mind of wildlife managers...even though their populations across New England have been on the decline for decades. So much so, that harriers

It’s an unmistakable sound. One that elicits memories, sights and scents of events long ago. It recalls the joy of youth, the possibility of a spring evening. But it can also incite insomnia and the blind rage that accompanies it.

President-elect Donald Trump won the election by flipping Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin after President Biden won them in 2020. Looking at how Democratic counties voted explains how he did it.

Black and Latino voters moved toward Republican Donald Trump in this year's presidential election, and some of the biggest shifts were among men under age 45, and that helped expand his margin over Democrat Kamala Harris. 

More people are getting cancer in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and surviving, thanks to rapid advancement in care. Many will have decades of life ahead of them, which means they face greater and more complex challenges in survivorship. Lourdes Monje is navigating these waters at age 29.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday on whether a law that legislators adopted more than a decade before the Civil War bans abortion and can still be enforced.

Homan was the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement from January 2017 to June 2018, where he was a key architect of the Trump administration's controversial family separation policy.

The election is over, but rumors, lies and misinformation are here to stay. MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the role misinformation played in the election and how we can protect ourselves from it.

At his second official event since the Democratic presidential ticket lost to Republican Donald Trump, Gov. Tim Walz noted the nation’s democracy “is strong.”

Did the election leave you feeling numb? Or maybe you’re hopeful, relieved, angry or feeling something else entirely. Coming at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, MPR News host Angela Davis talks with two therapists about our complicated postelection emotions.

The second-term DFLer says he’ll challenge Trump if Republicans push politics that contradict Minnesota laws.

Recounts are expected in two Minnesota House races. The election results could determine control of that legislative body. The upcoming recounts are expected soon and come after initial ballot totals changed when election officials discovered technical glitches.

President Biden called his predecessor — now, successor — a threat to democracy. Today he'll sit side by side with President-elect Trump as part of the ceremony around a smooth transfer of power.

It's auction day for Alex Jones' Infowars. The Infowars studio and most other assets of the conspiracy theorist's company are expected to be sold off Wednesday. 

In her final appearance, Laura Knoy is on the other side of The Exchange mic, as Peter Biello interviews her about her 25 years as host. We discuss the show's origins, moments that have stood out over the years, and hear her observations on how New Hampshire has changed.

Last summer, many trails were overcrowded as outdoor enthusiasts and newcomers took advantage of the Granite State’s natural resources. In a conversation recorded before Memorial Day this year, we discussed what lessons we take from that experience and what to expect this summer. We discussed how we can balance sharing the trails with all those who want to use them, and also promote stewardship of our natural resources.

Robert Frost famously said “good fences make good neighbors” and if you’re out for a walk in the woods in New Hampshire, you will likely find a stone wall. We talk with Kevin Gardner, a master stone builder and author of several books on the subject, about the on-going appeal of stone walls and how to build them. He explains the philosophy behind the craft of placing stone and examines the mythology of the stone wall and its place in the New England imagination.

Have you hiked Mount Lafayette in N.H.'s Franconia Notch? We talk with N.H. author Ty Gagne, about his new book “The Last Traverse: Tragedy and Resilience in the Winter Whites." It’s the true story of two friends on a winter hike that goes awry, and the search-and-rescue efforts that keep it from becoming a bigger tragedy. What makes it especially relevant for this moment is the insight into how we make high-stakes decisions and manage risk in uncertain situations.

Gov. Walz delivers the State of the State from home

The Legislature is set to work again this week; counting Latinos in the census in the age of the coronavirus

Will the stay at home order be extended? And tribal governments look for help from the Trump administration

The pandemic hits the state budget; hospitals prepare to reopen for non-emergency procedures

Lawmakers ponder their next steps on the budget

It’s the last week of the legislative session, sort of

Partisan differences over the best way to fight the pandemic; state workers may lose a pay raise

What the Legislature wants to do when it returns; more businesses cautiously reopen

Nurses say they need more protective equipment; Asian owned businesses have been especially hard hit

Results from the latest Minnesota Poll

On Politics Friday, host Mike Mulcahy speaks with the legislative leaders of both parties about the major issues in the State Senate and House of Representatives races.

Sen. Tina Smith and her Republican challenger Jason Lewis sparred over the coronavirus response, public safety, climate change and immigration Friday during a debate on MPR News. 

What’s being done to confront the coronavirus and stem the economic fallout from the pandemic are central to this year’s election campaigns. That was clear when the candidates in Minnesota’s 2nd and 6th Congressional Districts met in separate MPR News debates Friday.

The front-runners in Minnesota’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts took part in telephone debates on Politics Friday.

The Borealis route is Amtrak’s second daily train from St. Paul to Chicago and hit a ridership milestone on Oct. 24.

Pensions are a major sticking point between Boeing and its striking machinists union. Many workers want the company to restore the pension plan they lost a decade ago, but Boeing hasn’t budged.

Older homes are the only ones many Americans can afford, but they are costly to fix and maintain, especially for seniors. A patchwork of programs to help are underfunded and have years-long waitlists.

Spending on campaign ads is up $1 billion from four years ago, according to data from AdImpact, analyzed by NPR. The state that's been the target of the most money is Pennsylvania.

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz” is on the auction block nearly two decades after a thief stole the iconic shoes, convinced they were adorned with real jewels.

An NPR investigation finds thousands of veterans were pushed into high-cost mortgages by a program that was meant to help them. A rescue plan being rolled out by the Department of Veterans Affairs is excluding many vets who need help.

Many veterans who’ve started small businesses tell a similar story: Their military service prepared them mentally for the task, but they were at a disadvantage when it came to the financial part.

Voters really don't like inflation. In fact, whenever there's a sustained jump in the cost of living, the party in power often pays a price.

Rolf Nordstrom, president and CEO of the nonpartisan nonprofit Great Plains Institute, and Gregg Mast, executive director of Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, weigh in on what the election results will mean for the energy transition already underway.

The Africa Mission Association is on a mission to help churches in Africa establish mission associations in all 54 countries from the current seven in the continent.

Some 12,000 Christians, young, old, male and female, and of various ethnicities, walked through the center of the city of Dublin in excited solidarity for the faith at the first ever “March for Jesus.”

Muslims in Sudan’s River Nile state drove 34 displaced Christians from their homes, sources said.

Actor and "The Passion of the Christ" director Mel Gibson recently revealed his support for former President Donald Trump and his belief that Vice President Kamala Harris sports both an "appalling track record" and a low IQ.