How Community Action Partnerships support New Hampshire residents in need of assistance

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The holidays can be a difficult time for those who are struggling. As we begin this holiday season, we’re highlighting some of the organizations that support New Hampshire residents now and all year-round for those who may need assistance. The Community Action Partnership of New Hampshire is one example — it continues to aid residents across the state. That organization has five action agencies that support New Hampshire residents with resources such as access to food, energy and housing. Here to discuss what is offered locally is Betsey Andrews Parker, chief executive officer of the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County. 

Melanie Plenda:

To start, what is the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County? What kinds of resources do they provide for residents?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Community Action really is a bunch of coordinated programs that wrap around families or individuals to help get them over that tough time. Community Action Partnership of Strafford County is just one of five Community Action agencies in the state of New Hampshire. We cover the entire state. So anyone in New Hampshire that is looking for that support because of a job loss, an unexpected bill that's put them over the edge, for rental assistance, etc., Community Action is there.

Melanie Plenda:

How does your organization’s services compare to the services provided by other Community Action Partnership offices? Are there any differences between what Strafford County offers versus other counties?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

We’re one of 1,000 across the country — Community Action was started back with the War on Poverty in 1965. Across the board in New Hampshire, you know you can access Head Start, weatherization, fuel assistance, housing supports — that’s very consistent across Community Action.

But what makes Community Action really different and unique is that we're about community. So we look locally in our area at what needs to be done that we can help address. We do that by doing a needs assessment every three years and working with our community partners to say, “Is there something that we can do?” For example, some operate shelters. Three of our Community Actions operate the BRIC ((Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) program. What makes us different is that we all offer programs to help people who are experiencing low to moderate income be able to make their ends meet. We do it either directly or we partner with another organization. 

Melanie Plenda:

Who qualifies for these services? How can people find out what they are eligible to receive?

Betsey Andrews Parker: 

I would first of all encourage people to look up the Community Action Partnership of New Hampshire. You can actually go on and put your zip code in to find out exactly where your local Community Action office is, because we do have offices all across the state. 

When I say low to moderate income, that could mean a lot of things. Typically, people who are experiencing low income would be what we call 100% of the federal poverty level, and we go up to 200% of the poverty level. Basically for a family of four, that’s around $55,000, $56,000. We are targeting the people in New Hampshire who are working, who are working and disabled, who are seniors, a lot of folks who are working in lower-wage jobs who are barely making ends meet with rent, child care payments, health insurance payments. Those are the folks that are really qualifying for our services right now.

Melanie Plenda:

What is the process for applying for these services?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Every program tends to be a little different, and I think that's what makes Community Actions some of the best-kept secrets around. It's our job to worry about the red tape and the nuances of paperwork. So when you come in, for example, and you have a young child — you may have been referred by your provider to our agency — we do an intake with that client, the age of the child, how many kids, what the needs are, what the income is, and we sort of wrap around and find out what it is needed. It's really trying to figure out what the needs of the client are and how it fits in. 

Melanie Plenda: 

Do you have an idea of how many people in New Hampshire use these services across the state?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Just in Strafford County alone, we have over 19,000, and if you look at the number of people for fuel assistance alone, it’s over 60,000 households. We’re really not talking about a couple of thousand, we’re talking close to 100,000 households that access a Community Action in some way shape or form.

Melanie Plenda:

Are there any services that residents are using more frequently than others? Over the past few years, rent has increased dramatically in New Hampshire. Are more people seeking housing assistance, for example?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

COVID really showed us what the housing instability was in the area, and that has remained. I know there's lots of conversations and different schools of thought about why it has remained, but the one thing that we saw is that when we stabilize families with the Rental Assistance Program, we saw other things stabilize. We saw people were able to feed their families. We saw people were able to pay for their child care. We saw that they were able to pay off some of their debts, and we saw that they were able to remain stably housed. They had better health care outcomes, and they just had better attendance in our programs. So that money went away — and that also included one-time things like moving expenses, security deposits, first-month rent — and since then we have seen that that has been one of the biggest requests right now.

 Melanie Plenda:

According to a recent study from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one in three individuals experiencing poverty in New Hampshire are disabled. What specific services does your organization provide for these residents?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

I think fuel assistance is the big one that comes to mind. I think that one of the best things that New Hampshire does is when our program is open for enrollment, we target the most vulnerable, the disabled, people 65 and older, and families with children under the age of 5 because we do know how hard it is to heat a home. That is one big service that people do come to rely on because that big nugget of filling your oil tank or having that reduction of your electrical rates — that's one way we do it, with fuel assistance. If you have heat included in your rent, you get a discount on your rent. 

It's a really big piece that people who have a disability have as one of their tools in their toolbox to help offset the other costs, such as healthcare, transportation and food. I mean, let's not forget that our food expenses have gone up, and that's one thing I forgot to mention — that Community Action agencies across the board have nutrition programs. Community Action also is a distributor of what’s called commodity food programs, and we coordinate the distribution of a lot of the government surplus food that comes through to all of our soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters in New Hampshire. I think nutrition for people who are disabled, WIC, SNAP, our senior programs, our food pantries, Meals on Wheels programs that are operated through Community Action. We also have a summer meals program too. So again, it captures a lot of things to help families.

Melanie Plenda:

In President Trump’s proposal for the 2026 budget, he aims to get rid of the Community Service Block Grant program, which funds Community Action Partnership programs — New Hampshire received $4 million from this grant in 2024. If this grant goes away, how will it affect your organization in the coming years?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Again, I come back to what makes Community Action Community Action. One of them is the Community Services Block Grant. If we were to lose that, the Community Action agencies in New Hampshire will not be able to respond as quickly and effectively to community needs as we are right now.

Melanie Plenda:

How can residents who may not need services support your organization? 

Betsey Andrews Parker:

First of all, we have an amazing federal delegation right now that advocates for us in Washington, D.C. Residents could also talk to our local state reps and town and city councils about how important Community Action is and the role that we fulfill in the communities. 

I think people who don't need Community Action services should talk to our local elected officials about what would happen to your local tax bill, to your welfare bill, to your other budgets and things. Who would pick up the slack if we were gone? There aren't enough public education slots here in the state of New Hampshire for public preschool for all of our Head Start kids. There are not enough dollars in local cities and towns to pick up the amount of money that is in fuel assistance. There certainly aren't enough child care slots. So I think that people here could talk about why Community Action is very, very important to our community. And, as always, you can give money, you can volunteer, and you can find ways to get involved. 

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you, Betsey, we really appreciate it. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

Health insurance in New Hampshire: What do recent changes mean for you?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s going on with health insurance in the Granite State? If you’re following the local news, you might be confused with talk of subsidies, changes and open markets. Insurance regulations and carriers operating in New Hampshire have been constantly changing within the past couple months, creating confusion for many residents. Here to help us understand everything is D.J. Bettencourt, commissioner of the N.H. Insurance Department.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell our audience a bit about the Insurance Department? What does it do? And what is your role as commissioner?

D.J. Bettencourt:

The Insurance Department is the referee of the insurance marketplace. We are tasked with enforcing the insurance laws of the state to make sure companies are playing by the rules, are treating customers fairly, and are financially sound, while at the same time not micromanaging or stifling innovation within our health insurance marketplace. My role as commissioner is to strike that balance. We set clear guidelines and guardrails and let competition do what it does best, which is to increase quality and drive affordability. 

Melanie Plenda:

What's new with the insurance marketplace? What changes will people see this year?

D.J. Bettencourt:

There are going to be a number of changes, but I think the highlight for this year is stability in a period of uncertainty. We still are seeing very strong carrier participation here in New Hampshire. There are new plan designs for consumers to choose from, and there is continued rate stability. We feel this is the result of fostering a level playing field in a competitive environment that has multiple insurers competing for consumers. 

So while consumers I know are hearing a lot about changes and challenges to affordability, we here in New Hampshire are in a fairly advantageous position, certainly as compared to the rest of the country. Some states use heavy regulation, and the result of that is volatility. What we do here in New Hampshire is take a different approach. We have fair rules, we have transparency, we have robust oversight where it's necessary, and the result is a marketplace where consumers are going to have choices, and insurers are going to have to earn their business by making their plans affordable and offering high-quality coverage.

Melanie Plenda:

What about people on Medicare? In October, the Insurance Department sent out a press release advising New Hampshire residents to be ready for Medicare Advantage market changes in 2026. What are some of these changes Granite Staters should be aware of?

D.J. Bettencourt:

The Medicare Advantage market here in New Hampshire is in a very, very challenging time. There is a lot of disruption in that market. Here in New Hampshire, we are seeing carriers withdraw from that market entirely, and we are seeing the carriers that remain in that market significantly narrowing their plan offerings. 

We have found that the more rural counties in our state are being more impacted. By that I mean fewer carriers in the market, fewer plans that are available for those seniors to choose from. It is a very frustrating situation.

The reason this has come about is complicated, but the federal government, in my opinion, has done a poor job over many, many years in terms of creating a stable market. There have been a lot of shifting regulations that have been damaging to the market. In addition, the insurance carriers have made some poor business decisions over the years that have contributed to the unfortunate condition of things at the present time.

It is my hope that Washington will bring the states to the table to offer our perspective as to what reforms are needed to make Medicare Advantage more widely available to make that market more healthy. Until that time, we're going to do our part here at the department to provide those impacted seniors with as much information as we can and to make them aware of the opportunities that they now must consider.

Melanie Plenda:

How have you seen the marketplace evolve during your time with the Insurance Department? What have you learned about navigating it and advising others?

D.J. Bettencourt:

When I arrived at the department, the marketplace was still recovering from years of federal policy swings, tax credits and changing rules that were shifting. There was a lot of uncertainty, and we focused on stability. We designed a state-designed reinsurance waiver that brought premiums down by approximately 25% to 30%. We focused on streamlining regulations and strong consumer protections that did not turn into burdensome red tape.

Now I'm not claiming that the government creates value. I think the competition in the market does that, but what the department can do, and what we have done, is to do our very best to foster an environment where companies want to participate, and as a result of that, consumers benefit from those companies fighting for their business.

Melanie Plenda:

What's going on with the Affordable Care Act subsidies? What are you advising people about them? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

I know there's a lot of confusion about the subsidies right now. So the first thing I really want to be clear is that the non-American Rescue Plan tax credits remain in place. All of the tax credits and financial support that were in place prior to the American Rescue Plan — which I believe came online sometime in either 2021-2022 somewhere in that time period — all of those financial supports are still in place.

The current debate that Granite Staters are hearing about are, again, those American Rescue Plan enhanced tax credits. In New Hampshire, our preliminary review of the actuarial work and the carrier filings indicate that, on a statewide average basis, the loss of those enhanced tax credits would translate into roughly a 3% to 4% impact on premiums. That's going to vary, potentially significantly, based on the type of plan that you're looking at. That 3% to 4% is an average. 

Certainly, that 3% to 4% is meaningful for families living close to the margin, but it is a very different picture than the idea that everyone’s premiums are going to double and some of the catastrophic stories we’re hearing from other states. I always tell people to choose a plan that meets their long-term needs, with or without the subsidies, because federal policy can change quickly, and at the end of the day, the subsidies can help, but they're not a strategy. The real long-term protection for consumers is a market where insurers are competing on value and price, and that's what we have built here in New Hampshire, and what largely is preserved as we look to 2026.

Melanie Plenda:

As you mentioned, federal policies can change quickly. If Congress changes its mind in December or January about these subsidies, how will that affect people? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

We are going to be ready to implement whatever opportunities Washington makes available to the states, and we're going to leverage those opportunities to the maximum benefit of Granite Staters.

New Hampshire utilizes the federal exchange, the healthcare.gov platform, so how quickly we can leverage those opportunities will be dependent on how quickly the federal government opens up the systems that we're going to need to bring those supports online. We're going to be ready to educate Granite Staters about the potential benefit that will be available to them. We're going to make sure there's a lot of information out there. But here's the key point: While some states could face major volatility and major premium increases, New Hampshire is again better positioned than most, because we already have the lowest benchmark premiums, the lowest average premiums in the nation, and so we're going to certainly take advantage of those opportunities to create an even more competitive and affordable marketplace.

But whatever Washington does, again, it is absolutely still worth the while of the consumer to get onto the exchange and see what opportunities are out there.

Melanie Plenda:

Will these changes to insurance have any impact on the state budget or the average taxpayer? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

I think what you’re speaking to there is enrollment. We have seen significant increases in enrollment over the course of the past several years — we’re very happy about that. We like to see that people are getting more coverage. Our enrollment in the individual market is approximately 77,000, which is by far the most we have seen in terms of enrollment here in New Hampshire.

In terms of budget impact, obviously if we start to see a significant drop-off of people getting coverage, that could have an impact on uncompensated care, which are people who don't have coverage going into hospitals where the hospitals are obviously legally required to provide them with care, but the hospitals are not going to be paid for that care. The bill largely becomes the responsibility of the state, and so if we start to see a significant amount of people not getting coverage, driving up that uncompensated care cost, it could very well have an impact on future state budgets.

Melanie Plenda:

As someone who knows so much about the ins and outs of health insurance, in your opinion, are there ways to fix our insurance system as it relates to health care? What would you advise lawmakers, if asked?

D.J. Bettencourt:

If Congress were to ask my advice, I always recommend focusing on competition, innovation and consumer empowerment. I don't believe in heavy price controls — I do believe that sound consumer protections are always the way to go. Those heavy regulations — they sound good, but we find that often they rarely produce the results that you want to see. We find that prices fall naturally when the system rewards efficiency, preventative care and new innovations.

I certainly believe the government should intervene and get involved when there are true market failures. But I think the big gains in affordability come from letting companies compete and letting consumers vote with their feet, while again assuring appropriate consumer protection. 

We've got a good model here, and I think there are a lot of planks of our philosophy and model that the federal government could very seriously take a look at to improve the overall system.

Melanie Plenda:

What else should people know about getting insurance in New Hampshire? What do you hope our audience takes away from our conversation here?

D.J. Bettencourt:

It is so important to me that people know that they don't have to navigate this system alone. Again, New Hampshire has some of the most affordable coverage options in the United States, but it is still a very complex system, and we understand that. So, we as a department here at the Insurance Department, offer free, unbiased help to consumers. We get no commissions. There are no sales pitches. We are solely focused on making sure that people understand their choices and pick the plan that fits best for them, given their needs and given their budgets. 

I think that's the real story of insurance in New Hampshire. When you combine transparency, real consumer support and true competition, a lot of affordability follows from that. That's exactly what has made our state one of the most affordable places in the country for coverage — not only in 2026 but in previous years — and that is obviously something we're very proud of while fully appreciating that there is more work to do. There's going to have to be a lot of dialogue and communication between the states and the federal government to find reforms that are going to strike that appropriate balance between bringing innovation and market-driven solutions to bear to increase affordability while not compromising on consumer protection.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you, D.J., we really appreciate it.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

12 Days of Kindness in the Granite State: Celebrating goodness in our communities

By Shamecca Brown-Granite State News Collaborative

When December arrives in New Hampshire, the air fills with the scent of pine, the twinkle of holiday lights and the hum of community spirit. But beyond the decorations and gifts, the holidays are about something deeper: kindness, connection and generosity.

I know this firsthand. There was a time when I was a single mom, doing everything I could to make ends meet. Back then, organizations like Friends of Forgotten Children, Catholic Charities and others were a lifeline. They didn’t just give me support, they gave me hope. I’ve never forgotten that. And I never will.

Years later, working at YWCA NH, I had the opportunity to give back in a small but meaningful way. I helped wrap gifts for children whose parents were struggling. I remember the faces, the stories and the gratitude in that room. I felt good – not because of what I was doing, but because I understood the families’ challenges. I had been there myself. That experience reminded me why giving matters and why kindness is the heartbeat of the holidays.

People often say that news is always bad – and yes, we can’t control everything happening in the world. But we can control how we show up for others. We can choose to uplift, to share joy and to make a difference in someone’s life. That’s why I want to highlight something different this December: kind news. Stories of generosity, hope and love happening right here in New Hampshire.

To celebrate this, I present the 12 Days of Kindness in the Granite State, a countdown of uplifting moments, organizations and everyday acts that remind us of the goodness in our communities.

Day 1 – Friends of Forgotten Children

Supporting families in Concord with food, clothing and gifts, this organization ensures no child feels forgotten during the holidays. Their work is quiet but powerful, giving hope and dignity to families navigating hardship. 

Day 2 – Catholic Charities NH

From emergency assistance to food support, Catholic Charities lifts up families across the state. During December, their efforts help parents provide joy for their children, even in difficult times.

Day 3 – YWCA NH

Wrapping gifts for children at YWCA NH taught me that kindness comes full circle. I felt the impact of giving directly, seeing families’ gratitude first-hand and understanding how even small gestures can change a holiday.

Day 4 – A neighbor's helping hand

Acts of kindness happen everywhere. Someone shoveling a driveway for a neighbor before sunrise might not make the headlines, but it makes the community stronger.

Day 5 – Teachers giving beyond the classroom

Many educators quietly buy hats, gloves and supplies for children in need. Their generosity ensures every student feels cared for during the winter months.

Day 6 – Local businesses sharing joy

From free hot cocoa to holiday discounts for families in need, local businesses play a big role in making the season brighter for everyone.

Day 7 – Families supporting families

Some parents donate gently used coats, toys or books so other children can experience warmth and joy. Small contributions like this ripple through the community.

Day 8 – Teens volunteering

Young people give their time at shelters, food banks and toy drives, proving that compassion has no age limit and kindness is contagious.

Day 9 – Unexpected generosity

A grocery store cashier covering someone’s groceries when a card declines is a simple act that can restore hope and faith in humanity.

Day 10 – Safe spaces for all

Community centers opening their doors later than usual for those in need provide warmth, security and a place to feel supported, even on the coldest December nights.

Day 11 – Adopting holiday wishlists

Families and volunteers work together to make sure no child goes without a Christmas gift. Every gift represents care, love and attention to someone’s story.

Day 12 – Everyday Granite Staters

The most meaningful acts of kindness are done by ordinary people choosing to show up. From neighbors checking on each other to volunteers giving their time, New Hampshire proves that giving from the heart is what makes a community strong.

The world around us may feel heavy, and the news may often seem negative. But here in New Hampshire, kindness is happening every day. This holiday season, let’s focus on the good. Let’s celebrate the stories that inspire us, uplift others and remind us that our actions, big or small, make a difference. Because the real gift of Christmas isn’t found under a tree. It’s found in the hearts of those who give, those who care, and those who choose kindness when it matters most.

Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

(Editorial) Invest in New Hampshire Journalism

Why New Hampshire’s communities need strong local reporting—and how you can help

By the editors and reporters of New Hampshire’s participating newsrooms

This is kickoff editorial for the partners participating in the NH Community News Fund Newsmatch Fundraiser

Local news is how we look out for one another. It explains a school vote in plain language, flags a strain on the river down the road, and answers the questions behind your tax bill or a new clinic. When our newsrooms have what they need, we all see clearly and decide together. When they don’t, important choices happen in the dark.

That’s why, beginning today, our newsrooms are joining forces to raise support for the New Hampshire Community News Fund during NewsMatch, a national matching-gift campaign that helps nonprofit, public-service journalism grow. Here’s the simple, powerful math: from now through December 31, every dollar you give can be matched 1:1 up to $1,000 per gift—and together we can unlock up to $20,000 in additional matching funds for New Hampshire.

This isn’t about abstract support for “the media.” It’s about the beat reporters who sit through long meetings so you don’t have to; the investigative teams that follow the money; the editors who double-check claims before they become headlines; and the photographers and producers who bring complex issues to life. Strong local coverage saves you time, surfaces solutions, and makes public institutions more accountable.

It also protects something deeper. Press freedom and the public’s right to know are not self-executing—they only work when communities use and defend them, and when local newsrooms have the capacity to show up. As we’ve written before: you’re not powerless; every question asked, every meeting attended, and every story shared strengthens these rights in practice.

How NewsMatch works (and how you can tailor your impact)

• Give once—get matched. Donate by December 31 and your gift can be doubled up to $1,000 per gift.
  

• Choose where your gift goes. You can direct 100% to a single outlet, select multiple outlets and split your gift, or give to the NH Community News Fund, which we share among participating partners for statewide reporting and innovation.
  

• Help us unlock the full match. Your donation helps us reach the $20,000 match opportunity—and fuels more reporting across the state.
  

Practical ways to help—beyond giving

• Share a story with someone who doesn’t usually follow local news.
  

• Invite a friend to give $10—every small gift counts double right now.
  

• Sponsor a local match. Businesses, foundations, and families can underwrite outlet-specific or regional matching pools (publicly or anonymously) that double neighbors’ gifts and help trigger NewsMatch bonuses.
  

• Ask your employer about workplace matching.
  

• Tell us what you need covered. Your tips and questions guide our beats.
  

A note on stewardship

All gifts are processed by the Granite State News Collaborative (GSNC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit; contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law (EIN:88-3783560). GSNC receives donations and regrants them to participating partner outlets—and to the NH Community News Fund, when selected—exclusively for journalistic purposes.

Join us

If you value having reliable information about the place you live, this is the best time of year to act—because your gift goes twice as far. Give what you can, share what you read, and if you’re able, help us seed a local match to lift your hometown’s reporting even higher.

Donate: NH Community News Fund Drive
Interested in offering a local match? melanie.plenda@collaborativenh.org

Together, we can keep New Hampshire informed, connected, and moving forward—one well-reported story at a time.

In addition to collecting for the NH Community News Fund, these are the participating local news partners: 

Business NH Magazine; Concord Monitor; Granite State News Collaborative; Laconia Daily Sun; Manchester Ink Link; Monadnock Ledger-Transcript; Nashua Ink Link; NH Business Review; NH PBS; NH Public Radio; Valley News.

Blossoming life sciences industry aims to make its mark in NH

By Daniel Sarch, Granite State News Collaborative

Taylor Gray has tried to control his glioblastoma – a malignant brain tumor – with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. After struggling to improve his quality of life with the treatments, his radiation oncologist introduced him to Optune Gio, a wearable, portable medical device created by Novocure, a European biotechnology company with its U.S. headquarters in Portsmouth. Through electric fields in a wearable cap, the device slows or stops glioblastoma cancer division. After using the device, Gray is currently tumor-free.

NHLS President and CEO Andrea Hechavarria speaks during the NHLS Live Free Life Science 2025 event, at The Artisan at Tuscan Village, in Salem, N.H., on Nov. 12, 2025. Credit: Daniel Sarch / Granite State News Collaborative

When the option to use Optune Gio was presented to him, Gray showed immediate interest as it was another way to continue his fight to be a devoted husband and a present father of two girls. Gray spoke of his experience at the Live Free Life Science 2025 event, hosted by the industry organization New Hampshire Life Sciences (NHLS) in Salem on Wednesday.

“When my fears start to build, I remind myself that all I can do is continue to fight,” Gray said. “My greatest hope is to enjoy all the little moments now and hope I can stick around long enough to witness the amazing humans my kids are already turning up to be.”

Novocure is one of the many companies in growing New Hampshire’s life sciences industry, which includes a broad cluster of businesses involved in a range of innovations, including in medical technology, pharmaceutical manufacturing and biotechnology. The industry contributes almost $3 billion, about 3%, to the state’s gross domestic product, with $4.3 billion in total sales in 2021, according to the Life Sciences Industry Assessment and Strategy published in 2023 by the N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs  NHLS President and CEO Andrea Hechavarria said the numbers were eye-opening, since the industry has existed in the shadow of Boston, one of the largest biotech hubs in the country.

“Oftentimes, you would see New Hampshire represented as an asterisk whenever they would do Greater Boston or the Greater Boston region,” Hechavarria said. “No one really ever pulled out specifically what is happening in New Hampshire alone.”

The assessment kick-started the founding of the NHLS, an association that aims to create growth and awareness of the life sciences industry in New Hampshire and to attract a larger workforce to the state. NHLS started with only two member companies in 2023 and now has over 50 participating members in just two years.

‘Punching above our weight’

Over the past few years, New Hampshire has seen significant growth in its life sciences industry. According to a report by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and the Council of State Bioscience Associations, between 2019 and 2023 the number of establishments in the New Hampshire’s bioscience industry grew by 87.2% and employment increased by 27.9%, with New Hampshire’s total private sector growing by 22.7% and employment within it by 3.4%. Nationally, the growth was 35% and 14.7%. 

Such growth is seen most clearly at Portsmouth-based Tenovi, a company working to improve remote patient monitoring devices. The Inc. Magazine included the firm on its 2025 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. It was No. 55 in the nation, first in New Hampshire and second in the greater Boston area.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte speaks during the NHLS Live Free Life Science 2025 event, at The Artisan at Tuscan Village, in Salem, N.H., on Nov. 12, 2025. Credit: Daniel Sarch / Granite State News Collaborative

“It’s proof of what’s possible in New Hampshire’s innovation ecosystem,” the company’s CEO and founder, Nizan Friedman, said in a press release supporting NHLS.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte also has focused her attention on the life sciences industry. In September, Ayotte and Hechavarria embarked on a trade mission trip to Canada, with many of the meetings focusing on life science. The hope is that New Hampshire can act as a gateway for U.S. expansion of Canadian biotech companies. At the Live Free Life Science 2025 event, Ayotte voiced her support for the industry.

“This is the sector where things are happening in New Hampshire, and we are punching way above our weight,” Ayotte said.

Workforce retention an issue

While the state’s tax structure – having no state income tax, sales tax or capital gains tax – is a factor in luring biotech businesses to set up shop in New Hampshire, its educational institutions are a driving force as well. There are specific biotech-related programs and significant research being offered and conducted on the campuses of the two largest institutions, Dartmouth College and the University of New Hampshire. There’s also the ReGen Valley Common Campus, an initiative that includes nine colleges and universities and industry partners. Through it, students can take courses at participating institutions as a means of helping to develop a sustainable pipeline into biofabrication and life science, said Matt Simon, director of the UNH Biotechnology Innovation Center and the ReGen Valley Common Campus.

Simon said the campus was developed to “ leverage the expertise at each institution to provide the best educational benefit for the workforce in New Hampshire that are interested in getting into life sciences.”

Other New Hampshire initiatives are looking to do the same thing. Simon pointed to Manchester CREATES, a collaboration between the Manchester School District and UNH Manchester that provides a paid summer training program for teachers to learn about STEM education. The Community College System of New Hampshire also has an apprenticeship program funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration.

Doug McConnell, co-founder and CEO of Safi Biotherapeutics in Cambridge, Mass. – a panelist at the NHLS event – also told the audience that the state can look beyond its borders as well.

 “There’s a state below you and on either side of you that also has a lot of great institutions that will help solve the workforce needs in New Hampshire as this manufacturing industry grows,” he said.

Taylor Gray wears Novocure’s Optune Gio while recounting his experience during the treatment of his glioblastoma during the NHLS Live Free Life Science 2025 event, at The Artisan at Tuscan Village, in Salem, N.H., on Nov. 12, 2025. Credit: Daniel Sarch / Granite State News Collaborative

Despite these efforts, workforce retention is still an issue. While proximity to Boston has fueled early growth, Hechavarria believes the state’s relatively unknown life sciences industry makes it a challenge to keep new talent. New Hampshire has also seen the cost of living continue to rise, with mortgage costs doubling since 2015 for a median-priced single family home. Hechavarria has acknowledged this as a problem and said NHLS is a supporting organization in the Business and Industry Association’s Housing Supply Coalition, which aims to address housing affordability in the state.

“I think those types of issues are really going to be important, and ones that we have to solve as a state to continue to develop our workforce across sectors, not just life sciences,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hechavarria hopes that,, with the newfound collaboration in the industry through NHLS, there continues to be an organized, concerted effort to keep the industry thriving.

“We have a real opportunity to excel and make New Hampshire a great destination for companies small and large,” she said.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative.Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Amid consolidation pressures, some N.H. hospitals still work at going it alone

While challenges remain, the goal is independence ‘for as long as we possibly can’

By Paul Cuno-Booth, Granite State News Collaborative

As more and more hospitals in New Hampshire become part of larger health systems, a few are bucking the trend.

The growing consolidation of the state’s health care industry — which many hospital leaders say is an economic necessity — has attracted concern from policymakers and advocates, who worry about the impact on patients’ costs and access to care. 

In September, Littleton Regional Healthcare became the latest to announce plans to affiliate with Dartmouth Health, saying that would help it expand needed health services in the North Country while better positioning the 25-bed hospital to address challenges such as rising costs.

But at least a couple of New Hampshire’s few remaining independent hospitals say they hope to chart a different path.

For now, CEO Jeremy Roberge and other leaders at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro say they’re doing what they can to keep Huggins on its independent course. (Courtesy photo)

“As of right now, our goal is to try our best to stay independent as long as we possibly can,” said Jeremy Roberge, president and CEO at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro.

Leaders at Huggins and another small community hospital — Speare Memorial in Plymouth — said that, while they recognize the challenges facing standalone hospitals today, they believe it’s in their communities’ best interests to stay independent so they can make key decisions about health care at the local level, rather than answering to a larger system. 

At the same time, leaders of both institutions acknowledged that could change if new challenges arise — including shifts in federal health policy that impact hospitals’ finances.

“We do visit that question frequently to say, ‘Do we affiliate? Do we not affiliate? Do we explore? Do we not explore it?’” said Michelle McEwen, the CEO at Speare Memorial. 

McEwen said that, while she can’t rule out affiliation someday, the hospital is currently in a sound financial position and sees no reason to go that route. 

“We just completed our strategic plan [for] the next three years, and this is not part of it,” she said. “We felt that it was still in the best interest of our community for us to remain independent.”

Pressure to grow

New Hampshire, like the rest of the country, has seen a wave of consolidation over the past decade, as once-independent hospitals merged or affiliated with larger health systems. 

The national trend toward consolidation has been going on for decades, partly in response to the industry’s growing complexity, said John McDonough, a professor of practice at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Hospital executives also cite reasons like easier access to capital, saving money through bulk purchasing, or increasing their leverage when negotiating with large insurers.

“Running a hospital has become much more complicated than it used to be, with so many more requirements from government payors, from insurance companies, from business clients,” he said. “It’s become quite a burden.”

Financial trouble has also pushed some New Hampshire hospitals to become part of a larger health system in recent years, such as HCA Healthcare’s purchase of Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester in 2020, or Concord Hospital’s acquisition of Lakes Region General Hospital and Franklin Hospital out of bankruptcy the following year. Of the state’s 26 acute care hospitals, only five are unaffiliated, and with Littleton’s pending affiliation, that will leave four.

Alan Sager, a professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said New Hampshire historically “had the most profitable hospitals east of the Mississippi, partly because each one tended to have a geographic monopoly.”

“But successively, slowdowns in Medicare and Medicaid payment increases may have wounded some hospitals financially, and others suffered, I think, from erosion of physicians as doctors who liked to work there, retired or relocated,” he said.

‘We want to be in control’

For Littleton Regional Healthcare, getting ahead of those challenges was a reason to affiliate with a larger system, said CEO Bob Nutter.

Hospital leaders were seeing shifts in the health care industry that could pose threats to small hospitals like Littleton — including rising costs, changing payment models and challenges with insurers — and wanted to be proactive.

‘We felt that it was still in the best interest of our community for us to remain independent,’ says Michelle McEwen, CEO of Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth. (NH Business Review photo)

“We want to be in control and help to drive the future and the needs of the future, as opposed to just kind of being in the boat going down the whitewater of health care and getting tossed around,” he said.

The September announcement that the hospital has signed a letter of intent to join Dartmouth Health was the culmination of a multiyear process of planning for the hospital’s future and exploring possible affiliation options, he said.

The Littleton hospital has always considered itself “wildly independent,” Nutter said. “That being said, as we’re looking down the future and seeing the changes there, and we’re also realizing we’re a critical access hospital. We’re in a rural part of the state. And we can’t be all things to all people without a partnership.”

Retaining some degree of local control was an important consideration, Nutter said. Dartmouth Health will allow Littleton to retain a local fiduciary board that has more power than just an advisory committee.

At the same time, by becoming part of the system, Littleton will be able to do things it couldn’t on its own — such as expanding much-needed health services in the North Country by having more specialists from Dartmouth work there part-time, Nutter said.

He said joining a larger organization will also help the hospital weather future challenges, as well as save money on supplies through greater purchasing power. 

“I’m not talking about tens of thousands of dollars in savings,” he said. “We’re talking seven-digit numbers in savings [going] from a small hospital to being part of a family of hospitals.” 

Preserving local control

In Plymouth, Speare Memorial Hospital is charting a different path.

McEwen, the CEO, said the hospital intends to remain independent so it can keep making key decisions about strategy and what services its community needs at the local level.

For example, she said, labor and delivery isn’t a big moneymaker, but it’s an essential service for the community.

“We're the only OB program between Concord and Littleton,” she said. “We really see that's a needed service, and would hate to see somebody else making a decision that isn't part of this community, to say, ‘Oh, it doesn't make enough money, we're just going to close it.’”

McEwen said that’s possible only because the hospital’s in solid financial shape, and an affiliation might look more attractive if it was experiencing financial difficulties. And going it alone does come with tradeoffs, like not having the depth of administrative expertise or access to capital of a larger system. 

But hospital leaders are committed to preserving the hospital’s independence, and are taking steps to make that possible. 

McEwen said clinical partnerships with other providers — such as Dartmouth Health oncology doctors and Concord Orthopedics — have increased access to specialty services locally, while bringing in more patients and revenue. The hospital is also investing more in primary care.

“Those are different areas that we have tried, to one, boost our volume — because that’s still the name of the game, trying to sharpen your finances through higher volume — but also giving our community access to services that they wouldn’t otherwise have,” she said.

‘Independence for as long as we possibly can’

In Wolfeboro, leaders at Huggins Hospital similarly said local control is a key reason for staying independent.

Huggins had been part of the GraniteOne system — along with Catholic Medical Center in Manchester and Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough — for about seven years until its breakup almost two years ago.

Roberge, the CEO, said it has been “almost refreshing” to no longer be part of a system.

With GraniteOne, he said, something they thought would be a strength — a loose affiliation in which each hospital still had a great deal of autonomy — turned into its biggest challenge. Each hospital continued making decisions for itself, rather than the good of the whole system, he said, undermining the purported benefits of consolidation, such as contracting as one larger entity.

Roberge said he came away from that experience with the realization that, if the day ever comes that Huggins Hospital needs to join another system, it will need to give up more control for the system as a whole to function well.

But for now, he and other hospital leaders are doing what they can to keep Huggins on its independent course. 

“Our plan is independence for as long as we possibly can,” said Chief Strategy Officer Monika O’Clair. “If something happens, new challenges come our way or we just can’t manage those challenges that we have now, we certainly will look for something different. We’re ready to be creative or go back to a different type of operational setup. But this is our plan, and we’re going to really devote our time to this, being independent.”

Challenges ahead?

Huggins serves some of the state’s wealthiest communities along Lake Winnipesaukee, and also benefits from an influx of vacationers every summer who tend to be privately insured.

But Roberge said that doesn’t inoculate the Wolfeboro hospital from the financial pressures facing its peers. The area has stark income disparities, with many lower-income residents as you get farther from the lake, and the hospital cares for a number of patients with Medicaid or are small business owners who can’t afford insurance.

‘As we’re looking down the future and seeing the changes there, and we’re also realizing we’re a critical access hospital,’ said Bob Nutter, CEO of Littleton Regional Hospital. ‘And we can’t be all things to all people without a partnership.” The hospital recently announced its intention to affiliate with the larger Dartmouth Health system. (Courtesy photo)

Meanwhile, McDonough, the Harvard scholar, said independent hospitals could be hit hard by the Medicaid cuts passed this year as part of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — along with the expiration of enhanced tax credits that have made Affordable Care Act plans more affordable. 

Those changes are expected to drive up the number of uninsured people and increase hospitals’ uncompensated care costs.

Roberge said Huggins will be able to survive the Medicaid cuts, though it will likely take a financial hit.

Speare Hospital’s McEwen is also watching the looming cuts to Medicaid and expiration of ACA subsidies.

“Those could significantly change our resources, our revenues coming in, because we would see an influx of uninsured,” she said. “We don't know how much that will be yet, and we still — let's say, hope and pray, that the subsidies will go back into place for the insurance marketplace.”

But many of the pressures facing hospitals today don’t go away if you’re in a larger system, she said.

“Everything happening in the health care landscape is affecting all of us,” she said. “Whether we’re big, small, independent or part of the system.”

Hospitals and state reach settlement over Medicaid tax funds

The tax is a method for landing millions of federal dollars to finance health care

By Meera Mahadevan, Granite State News Collaborative

Less than two months after New Hampshire hospitals sued the state over the legality of a Medicaid tax imposed on hospitals, the two parties have reached a settlement that both say will benefit patients.

At issue was a dispute over how much money hospitals receive back from the so-called NH Medicaid Enhancement Tax, or MET. The state imposes an annual 5.4% MET on hospitals’ net patient revenues to help bring matching dollars to New Hampshire from the federal government to support the state’s Medicaid program. 

Medicaid is funded by federal and state dollars. In return for paying the MET, New Hampshire hospitals receive payments from the state to help offset financial losses they incur from caring for patients without health insurance. 

Under an agreement that expired in June 2024, hospitals were getting back 91 percent of what they paid in MET. That number has been a source of contention for several years between the governor’s office and New Hampshire hospitals. After several rounds of negotiations with then-Gov. Chris Sununu and the current governor, Kelly Ayotte, hospitals took the state to court in April, saying the tax was unconstitutional.

The two parties have now settled on a three-year agreement that will give about 93 percent of MET dollars back to hospitals in aggregate, said Steve Ahnen, president of the N.H. Hospital Association, which was one of the plaintiffs that sued the state. Other plaintiffs included Dartmouth Health and its affiliated hospitals, and Concord Hospital and its affiliates.

“It’s certainly an improvement in some respects,” Ahnen said in a telephone interview. “It’s an agreement that will provide greater stability for the Medicaid program, that will insure hospitals can budget, plan and continue to do the important work they do taking care of patients.”

In a prepared statement, Ayotte called the settlement “the best possible outcome for everyone.”

“This agreement is a win for our state, for rural health care access, and most importantly, for patients,” she said. Ayotte’s office did not return inquiries seeking further comment.

The MET, established over 30 years ago, is expected to generate $348 million this year, which will be used to bring $485 million in additional federal funding to New Hampshire to support the state’s Medicaid program, according to the state hospital association. 

Medicaid provides health care to residents with low income and/or disabilities, and also other eligible populations including children and seniors. About 13% of N.H. residents, or 186,319 people, were enrolled in Medicaid as of March. In the fiscal year 2025, the total cost of New Hampshire’s Medicaid program is projected to be $2.57 billion.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative.Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

A modern-day lynching: Why we must face hate in 2025

Hate is alive, and it’s closer than we want to admit.

By Shamecca Brown, Columnist, Granite State News Collaborative

When I read about the death of Trey Reed, a student at Delta State University in Cleveland Mississippi, who was found hanging on Sept. 15, my heart shattered. This wasn’t just news on a screen – it was a wound that cut deep. A young Black student, gone in a way that carries the weight of centuries of racial terror. And here we are in 2025, still asking the same haunting question: How can this still be happening?

I’m livid. I’m scared. And as a mother, my fear multiplies. My daughter will be applying to an HBCU soon, and instead of celebrating her journey, I lie awake at night thinking about safety. Thinking about hate. Thinking about how fragile Black lives are in a world that continues to turn a blind eye to violence against us.

This isn’t just about Trey Reed, it’s about what his death represents. It’s about how hate operates in silence, creeping into our schools, our neighborhoods and our daily lives. People say, “That doesn’t happen here.” But hate doesn’t care about geography. It doesn’t care about boundaries. It exists everywhere, including in the Granite State.

What we should be talking about is the truth: Lynching is not a thing of the past. It has transformed, but it hasn’t disappeared. We see it in suspicious hangings, in racial threats, in systems that dismiss our pain as paranoia. We see it when officials hesitate to call things what they are, leaving families without answers and communities without justice.

And here’s what keeps me up at night: Hate today feels sharper, more emboldened. In 2025, we’re supposed to be moving forward, but instead it feels like hate is spreading faster, finding new ways to dress itself up. Sometimes it’s in a cruel comment, sometimes it’s a threat, and sometimes, as in the case of Trey Reed, it’s in the unthinkable.

I feel the anger rise in me because hate isn’t just a feeling; it’s an act of violence. It’s the cruelest part of humanity. And when people try to dismiss it, when they minimize it, when they call it “rumor” or “unconfirmed,” they’re asking us to swallow our pain and silence our fear. But I won’t.

Because hate doesn’t just kill bodies – it tries to kill hope. And if we don’t speak up, it wins. This affects us all, whether we want to admit it or not. When one of us is targeted, all of us are shaken. And in the Granite State, where people like to believe racism doesn’t run deep, I say this: open your eyes. This violence may have happened in another state, but hate knows no borders. It could happen here. It has happened here.

The legacy of lynching still haunts America. We cannot keep sweeping it under the rug as if time alone will erase it. It won’t. And every time we see a story like Trey Reed’s, we are reminded that the work isn’t done. We are reminded that safety for Black children, for Black students, for Black families, is still not guaranteed.

I am angry. I am scared. But most of all, I am awake. And to anyone reading this, I ask: what will it take for you to be awake too?

Because pretending this isn’t happening won’t protect us. Facing it just might.

For those who want to learn more about the history and ongoing impact of lynching in America, I encourage you to read the Equal Justice Initiative’s work on racial terror, Lynching in America.

Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

 These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative.Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

From incarceration to employment: investing in prisoner job training

Hiring from among an overlooked workforce can have a strong return on investment

By Anthony Tone Payton, Granite State News Collaborative

When Julian Miller of Hudson isn’t driving a cement mixing truck, you can find him giving motivational speeches in high schools and organizations from Boston to New Hampshire. Both in his speeches and not, he talks about the anchors to his stability: faith, family, and his job.

His story is similar to that of many men and women re-entering society after incarceration.

Miller, a father and husband, has a background involving substance misuse and incarceration, but he said he never let that prevent his passion for redemption and giving back. He said he found redemption while in prison, where he participated in several of the programs available to people behind bars, learning the culinary arts and the food service trade.

“I had to take advantage of those programs in prison,” Miller said. ”I knew it would be easy to find work as a cook or a chef.” Miller said. After some time in the food industry, which had provided him with the stability of a paycheck, Miller eventually landed a better-paying job driving cement-mixing trucks. 

Miller’s journey to work and better employment stands among many examples of the importance of investing in prisoner education and job training.

According to a report by the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank, providing education and programming to people in prison is directly related to a reduced recidivism rate. The report argues that education and training programs save taxpayers money and have a high return on the investment.

Education and training behind the wall

Vocational and educational programs are important parts of rehabilitative efforts in New Hampshire’s three prisons. The N.H. Department of Corrections offers programs that range from business and computer courses to a whole range of trades. 

And, under the umbrella of the N.H. Correctional Industries, there are also service and manufacturing shops, a retail store, and a working farm that provide incarcerated workers with hands-on training in manufacturing and retail skills, horticulture, greenhouse management, and forestry.

At the State Prison for Men in Concord, incarcerated workers are employed in the plate, sign, engraving, print, and upholstering/refinishing shops. The Northern NH Correctional Facility in Berlin operates a furniture woodshop and an upholstery and refinishing shop. At the Correctional Facility for Women in Concord, incarcerated workers train in warehousing, distribution, and materials-handling through a canteen fulfillment center, gaining production experience in a sublimation print shop.

N.H. Correctional Industries employs 22 full-time and three part-time staffers who oversee about 240 incarcerated workers across the three facilities.

It’s not just basic skills that those in the prisons can obtain. For instance, the Granite State School of Cosmetology, a licensed cosmetology school within the women’s prison, makes it possible for apprentices with enough hours to apply to the state Board of Cosmetology licensing. And they can earn START certificates – a program administered by the American Hotel & Lodging Association that offers general foundational knowledge and skills training for a job in the industry, as well as certification through Restaurant Ready, a similar program to START created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

But vocational education is the centerpiece of the department’s rehabilitation efforts. At the men’s state prison in Concord, 39 men completed the automotive mechanics program, 26 finished building trades, 83 graduated from culinary arts, and 139 completed the Intro to the Workforce course. 

Julian Miller, outside of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention facility in Central Falls, R.I., where he spoke to the prison population. Photo: (Courtesy photo)

The business and computer education program had the most participation, with 364 completions.

Inside the women’s prison, 94 women finished business and computer courses, 23 completed Intro to the Workforce, 23 graduated from culinary arts, and 39 earned certification in cosmetology. 

Meanwhile, at the Northern Correctional Facility in Berlin, 10 students completed business and computer education courses, and 13 took part in Intro to the Workforce.

In addition, 26 participants statewide earned their START certification for the lodging industry. Fifteen incarcerated students completed associate degrees through White Mountains Community College, and 34 are currently enrolled in college courses, including 24 continuing their studies at White Mountains.

In other words, people behind prison walls have access to learn the skills and train for jobs that can make them a source of employees for businesses that are still grappling with New Hampshire’s shrinking labor force participation rate. In August  2025, that rate stood at 65.4 percent – 3.6 points lower than the pre-COVID participation rate of 69 percent. 

In July 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 34,000 job openings – a job opening rate of 4.6 percent, higher than the national rate of 4.3%.

The range of programs give New Hampshire’s prison population access to learn skills and train for jobs outside prison walls – and that can make them a source of employees for businesses that are still grappling with New Hampshire’s shrinking labor force participation rate. (In August 2025, that rate stood at 65.4 percent – 3.6 points lower than the pre-COVID participation rate of 69 percent.)

Systemic barriers

While some in the formerly incarcerated workforce are not only ready to work, but qualified, their qualifications can become overshadowed by their past. And the obstacles formerly incarcerated people face can be a barrier to employment – the kind of obstacles that are unique among others seeking employment.

Many times, individuals who’ve been impacted by the justice system have to rely on word-of-mouth recommendations from friends to earn a livable wage. Without the network and resources to assist them, many get caught in a cycle of lower pay, entry-level positions.

A hurdle can be something as simple as transportation. For someone who is newly released and living in a halfway house or on parole, getting to and from work can be problematic. They have to abide by the rules of the halfway house or parole, and one of those rules bars them from being in vehicles with anyone who has a criminal record, meaning that in many cases, newly released individuals can often not rely on people in this network to assist them.

Perhaps even more daunting, qualified job candidates sometimes face a background question on employment applications when they’re asked about a potential criminal record. An affirmative answer in many, many cases often resulted in even a highly qualified applicant missing out on the chance to proceed in the hiring process.

Julian MIller with a group of students at a school he recently visited for a presentation. (Courtesy photo)

New Hampshire did have a “Ban the Box” law – which went into effect in 2020 – that banned public sector employers from using the “check box” asking about an applicant’s criminal history. The goal was to allow the employer to judge an applicant’s character and qualifications without being hindered by stigma. The law, however, was repealed in the 2024 legislative session through an amendment added to the so-called budget trailer bill, House Bill 2.

Solutions and organizational help

Setbacks aside, some programs and resources help former prisoners to find not only a job, but a good job.

One is ApprenticeshipNH is a federally funded, workforce education program of The Community College System of NH (CCSNH). CCSNH has fully staffed apprenticeship hubs across the state, with one of the state’s seven community colleges a central part of each hub. 

John Knorr is the coordinator for the Northern and Western hubs – White Mountains Community College in the North Country and River Valley Community College, based in Claremont.

Tracey Jackson is the coordinator of the Southern and East-Central hubs, with the schools being Manchester and Nashua Community Colleges in the south, and NHTI in Concord, Great Bay Community College on the Seacoast, and Lakes Region Community College, based in Laconia. 

Knorr and Jackson work with employers, community partners, and career seekers to develop Registered Apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship pathways. They often work with individuals who have been previously incarcerated.

Knorr says transportation to the colleges for the required education can be a major barrier for potential participants. “Every apprenticeship program has a related technical instruction requirement that is most often delivered at one of our colleges,” he said. “Folks may live close to the colleges, but others in the region could have a minimum of a one-hour drive. That drive can be a challenge for all apprentices, but it can be a much larger burden for those formerly incarcerated who may not have the resources to travel.”

Jackson, who has worked with many employers to develop recruitment plans for apprenticeship opportunities, stated that many employers may be unaware of the talent and resources they are overlooking by not connecting with those who have been justice-involved.

“We want to help employers screen people into their programs by helping them identify potential barriers in hiring practices and provide solutions that employers may not consider,” stated Jackson. “There are several individuals who may be a good fit for the apprenticeship who need a little more support to enter the program. We can help employers connect with those supports.”

ApprenticeshipNH is connected to both large and small employers in the traditional trades, behavioral health, manufacturing, and business sectors across the state. “There is a great workforce need in these industries,” said Jackson. 

“We look forward to continuing to build partnerships and pathways to help meet these needs.”

Christopher Lalmond, Northern Hub developer for the ApprenticeshipNH team, also helps employers with recruitment. 

“When I build or expand a Registered Apprenticeship program with an employer, I address recruitment as part of my standard workflow, he said. “During the conversation about recruitment, I ask the employer how they might consider broadening their search for career-seekers. It is here that I talk about accessibility for various populations, one of which is justice-impacted individuals.”

 Employer’s incentives

There are also incentives for employers to hire someone who has been formerly incarcerated.

One is the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which is available to employers who hire individuals from groups facing significant barriers to employment, including those who have been convicted of a felony and are within a year of release from prison for that offense.

The tax credit is 40% of up to $6,000 of wages for a person in their first year of employment who works at least 400 hours (the maximum credit is generally $2,400). A 25% credit applies to people who work between 120 and 400 hours.

Several New Hampshire employers have used the credit over the last five years. According to the federal Employment and Training Administration, which oversees the Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, 14 employers claimed the credit; in 2021 and 2022 – at the height of Covid – eight and six employers, respectively, claimed the credit; and in 2023 and 2024, 17 employers claimed the credit in each year.

Another incentive is the Federal Bonding Program, which is designed to entice employers to hire candidates considered “at risk,” including those who were formerly incarcerated.

The bonds, offered at no cost to employers, reimburse them for losses of up to $5,000 from theft or fraud during an employee’s first six months. Since the program began in 1966, more than 52,000 bonds have been issued, with only 1% resulting in claims.

Of course, stigma is real, and getting employers to buy in isn’t an easy task. Julian Miller has faced his share in job interviews.

“It was frustrating,” he said. “But you keep going, hoping for someone to give you that chance.”

Fortunately for Miller and others, some employers have shown they are ready to take that chance. The goal is to connect with an employable pool of qualified people intent on succeeding in society. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with life after incarceration in the Manchester, N.H., area, there are organizations such as Mokse and O So Beautiful The Women’s Reentry Initiative that can assist.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative.Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

State Police settle lawsuit alleging ethnic profiling for $65,000

Plaintiff says troopers extensively damaged his truck and cargo in ‘targeted’ search

By Paul Cuno-Booth, Granite State News Collaborative

The New Hampshire State Police have agreed to pay $65,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging state troopers profiled the Latino owner of a moving company when they stopped and searched his truck in 2019.

In the lawsuit he filed in 2022, Mark Ramirez of Houston, Texas, says he was en route to Maine with a tractor-trailer full of furniture and other belongings he was transporting for a customer when state troopers stopped him, questioned him at length, accused him of trafficking drugs and impounded his truck for several days.

Troopers’ search of the vehicle found no drugs or other evidence of criminal activity, but caused extensive damage to the truck and its contents, according to the lawsuit, with some of the customer’s furniture “destroyed beyond repair.” Ramirez says his customer refused to pay him because of the damage and delay. Between the unpaid contract and other expenses, he says the troopers’ actions cost him well over $30,000. 

The lawsuit alleged the trooper who stopped him, Timothy Berky, did so “because [Ramirez] and his passenger appeared to be of Mexican heritage,” violating his constitutional rights.

“I felt we were targeted,” Ramirez said in an interview this month.

According to the terms of the settlement — which was reached in July and obtained through a public records request — State Police dispute the allegations and admit no wrongdoing. Claims against the individual troopers were dismissed before the settlement.

“The settlement document reflects our full position,” Tyler Dumont, a spokesperson for New Hampshire State Police, wrote in response to a request for comment. Dumont declined to answer questions about the case or the department’s current practices for vehicle stops.

Berky, who is now listed in the state’s employee database as a State Police detective, did not respond to a request for comment.

N.H. State Police recently paid $65,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Mark Ramirez, owner of a Texas moving company, who alleged he was profiled by troopers when they stopped and searched his truck in 2019.  ‘I felt we were targeted,’ Ramirez said. (Courtesy photo) 

At the time of the stop, Berky was a member of New Hampshire State Police Mobile Enforcement Team, a controversial unit that has frequently used traffic stops as pretexts to check for drugs. A previous investigation by the Granite State News Collaborative found at least 17 instances between 2016 and 2020 in which judges or prosecutors had thrown out Mobile Enforcement Team criminal cases because of illegal searches or seizures, a majority involving cars with Black or Latino occupants. 

The Ramirez case is the second lawsuit the state has settled involving allegations against the Mobile Enforcement Team. In 2021, the state agreed to pay a Maine woman $212,500 to settle claims that a different trooper, Haden Wilber, illegally detained her and searched her effects during a vehicle stop in 2017, then made unsubstantiated claims she was smuggling drugs inside her body that led to her spending 13 days in jail and undergoing an invasive body-cavity search. 

Wilber — who also aided in the Ramirez stop — was later fired after State Police determined he committed misconduct in connection with the 2017 case, including dishonesty and an illegal warrantless search of the driver’s phone.

State Police have defended the unit’s actions, calling those cases isolated incidents. A 2021 policy change required Mobile Enforcement Team cases to be periodically reviewed by lawyers from the state attorney general’s office. 

Dumont did not answer questions about whether that policy is still in effect and whether State Police have made any other changes in how the unit operates.

‘It was a state of devastation’

Ramirez said in his lawsuit that he was driving north on Interstate 95 the afternoon of Aug. 23, 2019, when he saw Berky pull out and follow him. At the time, Ramirez and his brother, who works for his company, LTD Moving, were transporting a load of expensive furniture, art and other possessions for a client moving from Houston to Maine.

Berky stopped the truck when it exited the highway to fill up on gas, allegedly for a lane violation. Ramirez said he’s used to being stopped for routine roadside inspections, but this stop almost immediately felt different — as if he was being interrogated. 

“He was just continuing to ask those same questions,” Ramirez recalled in the interview. “Where’d you come from? Where are you going to? Why were you here? What were you doing there? What did you drop off when you were there? What did you pick up?”

Ramirez added, “It just started seeming like he had other intentions.”

As the stop dragged on, multiple other troopers showed up. Ramirez said they questioned him about everything from his logbook to his brother’s tattoos. He said they wouldn’t let him use the bathroom despite repeated requests. One trooper, whom Ramirez understood to be a sergeant, berated him and his brother for interrupting his family dinner and daring to come into his state, he said. 

“He was telling me how I was a criminal, how my brother was a criminal,” Ramirez said.

Troopers searched the truck’s cab and claimed they’d found a “hidden compartment.” Ramirez said it was a standard feature of the truck — a removable panel that allows access to the air conditioner’s air filter. Troopers also ran a police dog around the truck and said it “alerted” to a potential odor of drugs. (Ramirez said he felt the dog was being coached.) 

Troopers then had the truck towed, leaving him and his brother stranded without a ride at night, at a truck stop “almost in the middle of nowhere.”

Because it was a Friday, troopers didn’t fully search the truck until Monday afternoon, after getting a search warrant from a judge. Records show nothing illegal was found. 

Ramirez and his brother went to pick up the truck the next day, having spent over $1,000 on hotels, food, clothing, rental car fees and other expenses. The towing company slapped them with a bill for nearly $3,000, according to records filed in connection with the lawsuit.

Ramirez was shocked when he saw the truck. “It was a state of devastation,” he said.  

The fuel-tank caps were destroyed. Wires were hanging in the engine compartment. The 1997 Peterbilt cab — a proud family possession that his father had just paid handsomely to restore — was “ripped apart.” The trailer and its cargo were in disarray.

“They ripped the trailer apart,” he said, choking up at the memory. “They tore up our client’s furniture. They threw stuff in there. It was bad. It was bad. I wanted to break down on my knees and give up.”

His client, seeing the damage, refused to pay what Ramirez estimated would have been at least a $25,000 bill.

Ramirez’s lawsuit alleged that troopers lacked the legal justification to detain him or search his truck and that they illegally singled him out because of his ethnicity.

“There was no reasonable or articulable suspicion, probable cause or other lawful basis for the stop, detention [and] seizure of the plaintiff nor for the impoundment of the truck and trailer,” the lawsuit states.

‘Concern about the tactics’

In his search warrant application, Berky did not explain his reasons for following the truck. Dumont, the State Police spokesperson, declined to answer a question about that. 

Berky wrote that the decision to impound the truck and search it was justified by the alleged “hidden compartment” and K9 alert, along with a handful of observations he claimed were suspicious, including the trailer being padlocked, recent upgrades to the truck, a seven-year-old possession charge on Ramirez’ brother’s record and religious items in the cab that he speculated could be an “effort to distract law enforcement.” He also suggested it was suspicious that they were coming from Houston, a city “heavily infiltrated with Mexican drug cartels.”

Records show the Mobile Enforcement Team’s commander at the time, then-Sgt. Mark Hall, signed off on the decision to impound the truck. Hall is now the head of the State Police. Dumont did not answer questions about whether Hall continues to believe the stop and search were justified.

Dumont also declined to say whether State Police investigated the incident internally after Ramirez's attorney, Michael Iacopino, filed complaints.

Iacopino said he’s satisfied with the settlement.

“I think it is good that the state saw fit to participate in a settlement here, because I think that demonstrates concern about the tactics that are used by the MET team and other police units on highway stops,” he said.

He said he’s not sure what the Mobile Enforcement Team’s current status is.

“Hopefully it’s a chapter in law enforcement history that’s over for New Hampshire,” he said. “I don’t know that it is, but it’d be nice to think so.”

Ramirez said the incident had a lasting impact on his family and business. The immediate losses alone totaled tens of thousands of dollars, and they lost additional income in the following months while the truck was off the road for repairs, he said. Even after repairs, the cab wasn’t fully restored to its previous condition, because that would have cost too much. 

Ramirez said he sees the settlement as vindication, but also feels there weren’t enough repercussions for the troopers involved. Part of his goal in bringing the lawsuit, he said, was to stop this kind of thing from happening again. 

“You cannot swear to uphold the law and do that,” he said.

Tourism in New Hampshire: Where does it stand in wake of the falloff in number of Canadian visitors?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Despite the state’s efforts to encourage tourism, New Hampshire saw a decrease in visitors this summer, especially when it comes to visitors from Canada. Tourism is one of New Hampshire’s main industries, and when there are fewer visitors to the state, its revenue suffers. What is going on, and what’s the state doing about it? Here to discuss that is Michelle Cruz, director of the N.H. Division of Travel and Tourism Development. 

Melanie Plenda:

Michelle, what can you tell us about how tourism has gone this past year here in New Hampshire? Let’s start with the summer season, but also talk about fall and look a little bit ahead to winter and ski season.

Michelle Cruz:

Right now we don't have research, so I won't be able to provide some real-time, up-to-date data for summer and fall, but I'll be able to provide what I'm hearing from the businesses and our partners. The way our contracts work is that we do need to have approval from the Executive Council. So right now, the Division of Travel and Tourism doesn't currently have an active research partner because we haven't received approval for that contract.

But what I do know from talking with our partners, around the state and in the White Mountains, there are 17 major attractions collectively welcoming visitors. This past season, what we've heard is that they welcomed about 1.3 million guests from May through October, and most reported being slightly up. There were some reported being flat or that they were a few percentage points lower compared to the previous year. What they shared with us is that food and beverage and retail performed well. Most attractions noted that there was an increase in spending in both areas. While we know that the beginning of the summer was a little bit of a challenge, just because of the consistent weekends of rain — it was a hard start and a slow start to the summer. But as that weather dried out, there were some upticks with visitors being here. They took advantage of the weather that was more in their favor, which helped to work out for vacations that were being planned. 

So while there were some moments where visitation may have been down, I think what happened is the season and the weather shift was in our favor for visitation.

Melanie Plenda:

I know that, especially at the beginning of the summer, there was a lot of concern that tourism was going to take a hit because of the issues between the U.S. and Canada. Did they play out this season? Were you hearing that from local businesses?

Michelle Cruz:

We did. We were hearing it from the Seacoast that they were about 30% down. We heard it from other areas too. I think what we were all trying to do was pivot. We were working with them to see what else could be done. We looked at our marketing initiatives and went beyond our core markets, which are the New England states, New York and eastern Pennsylvania. We were actually targeting about 60 million people east of the Mississippi, and this was based on why people are interested in visiting New England — so we went beyond to reach those visitors to entice them to come here.

Melanie Plenda:

What are your hearing and what are you seeing so far for the winter and skiing season?

Michelle Cruz:

Again, typically during this time, we would be releasing our winter seasonal forecast, and that includes project visitation numbers and estimated visitor spending. We don’t have that information right now because that would come with working with a research partner. But what we do know is that winter is an incredibly important season for New Hampshire's tourism economy. It consistently is the third busiest season, right behind summer and fall. It’s essential for businesses,  from ski areas to snowmobile operators to restaurants, lodging properties and retail. Winter brings a significant influx of visitors who support thousands of jobs, especially in our rural and northern communities

So we are looking for a positive winter, and I’m staying optimistic that we’re going to see snow.

Melanie Plenda:

Were there sectors or areas that were hit harder than others?

Michelle Cruz:

So there's always a challenge with weather. When we saw the rain hitting, there were attractions that might have been hit hard just because it was focused on outdoor recreation. When that happens, I hear from retail that they're doing well because people are staying inside. Same thing with dining, and vice versa.

When the weather changes to be more favorable for sunny, cooperative weather days, people are staying outside more. They're enjoying nature and the beauty and the reason why they come to New Hampshire. We're very weather-dependent, but we are a four-season vacation destination, so it's always looking at what's ahead, and how to be able to work with the weather that we're provided.

Melanie Plenda:

Why is tourism so important here in the state? Can you explain that to our audience? 

Michelle Cruz:

Tourism is the second largest revenue-generating industry. It plays a central role in driving the state's economy and quality of life. We hear that a lot about people being here because of the work-life balance. Every year, millions of people visit the state of New Hampshire from all over the country and around the world. They come for our natural beauty, outdoor experiences. They're looking for the rich history and that small-town charm is what they love, and it's what we can provide. And we have unique attractions that make this state so special.

So in our fiscal year 2024, what we were able to see is that we had about 14.6 million visitors who generated $7.5 billion in spending. So that's money spent at restaurants, hotels, shops, attractions, ski areas, our campgrounds, arts and culture venues and businesses all throughout the state. We're talking about our large and small businesses.

Another thing about tourism is that tourism supports 70,000 jobs in the state of New Hampshire, so that includes our seasonal and year-round hospitality jobs — restaurant employees, guide services, retail staff, lodging operators. Again, it impacts all of those small and large businesses, and it helps to keep the communities vibrant.

But what's really important for us to all keep in mind is that tourism doesn't just benefit visitors. It's going to benefit us — everybody who lives here in the state, because with the visitor spending, it helps keep the local businesses open, supports towns and the cities, and also strengthens our rural communities. So it helps to reduce that tax burden for our New Hampshire residents in many communities.

Tourism dollars make the difference between a business keeping their doors open or not. So tourism is definitely very important to the state of New Hampshire

Melanie Plenda:

You mentioned that research piece, and it sounds like maybe that might be in flux. What do you do if you don't have that research? How do you kind of make that plan going forward, and do you have a sense of what that plan is going to be going forward, even without the research?

Michelle Cruz:

We're looking at how to manage that and stay connected with our businesses and our tourism partners and leaders throughout the state. It is challenging — research is a key component when you're marketing. You're looking at effectiveness, but you're also looking at where people are traveling from, where they're going to, where they're staying, how long they're staying for, how much money they're spending, what that economic impact is. So it's a really key component in understanding visitation to any area in New Hampshire.

Melanie Plenda:

You’re kind of flying blind without a research partner, but going forward, what is your plan into 2026?

Michelle Cruz:

It would be great to be able to have a solid plan for research, so looking at having a research partner is going to be really key in being able to know if our marketing plan is working. It supports the state to stay front and center. We have momentum right now, and it helps to keep us moving forward, supporting our industry, supporting the business community and the residents of the state. It's something that's really crucial in making sure that we're staying ahead.

You know, there are reports of states who have had contracts like this pulled or are unable to market their state as need be, and it was a tremendous impact of not being in the markets they needed to be in and being able to promote their state. and the recovery from it would be years. We want New Hampshire to be front and center. We want to be able to support the tourism that helps to support our economy and then provides the quality of life for residents.

Again, this is something that’s not just bringing visitors here, but it's looking at when visitors come here, they're making their memories, they make their traditions, and then they come here year after year. Eventually, some relocate here, some may take the opportunity to move their business here, and that's through marketing the right way. It's through being able to have research and making sure that we're hitting on all those components to be a strong, competitive state, to be an innovative state, and that's what's really important.

Melanie Plenda:

Is there anything else that can be done, or any other help that's needed?

Michelle Cruz:

It's definitely getting the research, because this maximizes the impact of the strategy that we need to have reliable and up-to-date data. It's the research that tells us about traveling and where people are coming from. It's something that helps to look at the spending — where money is being spent, and the amount of money that's being spent that’s coming into the state.

That's really important, and we're doing the best we can with the tools that we have right now. We're dedicated, but having a dedicated research partner would really allow the work to be next-level. It helps to ensure every decision that we make is grounded in data and helps to keep New Hampshire continuing as a strong tourism destination. It's really important to be able to keep that message and move forward with that. 

Melanie Plenda:

What happens if New Hampshire can’t generate that interest, and bring people back?

Michelle Cruz:

Like I mentioned, I think the amount of the $7.5 billion in spending, which was such a support and it's a revenue generator, and if we don't see that, we take a hit as a state, and we're hoping that that doesn't happen.That's not what we want to see — we want to work towards being able to market and generate the revenue, but also keep New Hampshire front and center. It's not just tourism for visitors, but it's for our residents too.

Melanie Plenda:

Michelle, thank you so much for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

The ‘invisible’ hunger: The burden of food insecurity on Granite Staters

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Food insecurity. According to the 2025 Feeding America Report, one in nine New Hampshire residents face hunger. What does that mean? And how did those who rely on government assistance find help in the midst of the government shutdown? Here to discuss this and more is Elsy Cipriani, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you explain what the New Hampshire Food Bank is and how it functions?

Elsy Cipriani:

The New Hampshire Food Bank is the only food bank in the state. The simplest way to think about us is that we are the center of a network to relieve hunger. We are a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, and at the same time, we are one of more than 200 food banks across the United States that partner with Feeding America.

Something that probably people don't know about the New Hampshire Food Bank is that we don't do a lot of direct service because we are part of a big network of partner agencies, and these partner agencies are soup kitchens, emergency shelters and food pantries. Most of the food distribution takes place through our partner agencies, and we are making sure that they have enough food to feed their communities.

Melanie Plenda:

How did the Food Bank operate during the government shutdown? Did things change? Did you have to pivot in some way? 

Elsy Cipriani:

It was an incredible, challenging few weeks for us. When the federal shutdown occurred, the state's SNAP benefits, which is the food stamp program, were in jeopardy for the month of November. Thousands of families who relied on SNAP were in a state of confusion. One of the things that the state of New Hampshire did, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services, was put together a contingency plan, and they asked the New Hampshire Food Bank to execute this plan.

Then we rallied all our partner agencies across the state. We put together SNAP distribution points, either through mobile food pantries or through specific pantries and different communities, making sure that we cover different corners of the state. We did this for two weeks. 

This crisis showed just how many of our neighbors are just one emergency away from suffering from hunger, and from suffering from poverty or entering into poverty. We continued these efforts for another week, just to make sure that we provide extra relief for families and individuals in New Hampshire. But again, this is something that happens all year-round. Hunger is something that people in New Hampshire are experiencing.

As you mentioned in the beginning of the show, one in every nine people in New Hampshire are facing food insecurity, and the number is even worse for children. We are talking about one in every seven children in the state facing food insecurity. When we look at the North Country, we are talking about more than 20% of children are facing food insecurity.

Melanie Plenda:

What can you tell us about food insecurity in New Hampshire? How have things changed at all in recent months? 

Elsy Cipriani:

Food insecurity means that someone doesn't have consistent access to enough food to live a healthy lifestyle. What has changed is the pressure on families. Families and individuals across the state are faced with impossible challenges. They have to choose between heating, food, clothing for their children, and more. One of the things that we have seen, particularly this past year, is that all these challenges, federal cuts, cuts to the SNAP program and the government shutdown are just creating an incredible amount of stress and confusion for our most vulnerable populations. The people that are most affected by all these changes and all these events are our children, senior citizens and people living with disabilities. 

Melanie Plenda:

What does food insecurity look like, and who does it affect?

Elsy Cipriani:

One of the things about food insecurity is that it can be very invisible for people. Let's think about our family budget when we are going through financial hardship, the first thing that we cut from our budget is food, because it's the most flexible thing that we can play around with. We have to pay rent or mortgage, we have to pay utilities, but food is something that we can play around with. So a lot of people go to the stress of eating less, sacrificing themselves —- especially for parents, sacrificing themselves by not eating so their children have some food. We don't see that — they can be our friends, our neighbors, people in our community — but just because we don’t see it, it doesn't mean that they are not suffering from food insecurity. 

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell us more about the programs of the Food Bank? Let’s start with the New Hampshire Feeding New Hampshire Program, which purchases food from local farms. What does this process look like across the state?

Elsy Cipriani:

New Hampshire Feeding New Hampshire is one of our favorite programs. It's definitely a win-win situation. We use funds to help our partner agencies buy fresh and nutritious food, like produce, protein and dairy directly from local New Hampshire farms.

One of the things that we do besides buying nutritious food and supporting local farmers in New Hampshire, is that we also provide small grants to our partner agencies so they can do their own purchasing because we know that many of these local food pantries and soup kitchens already have their own partnerships and they all work in relationships with people in their community and the farmers in their community. So besides us purchasing all these nutritious food for local farmers, we also give small grants to our partner agencies so they can decide what to buy, how to buy it, and support the local communities.

Melanie Plenda:

What about the Cooking Matters program?

Elsy Cipriani:

This is a hands-on program that really empowers families and individuals to learn how to cook or to improve their cooking skills, and is mostly targeted to SNAP recipients. One of the great things about this is that we try to use, during our cooking demonstrations and our classes, anything that families will buy with their benefits. We try to show people that even if they are on a budget, on a limited budget, they can still cook healthy, affordable and nutritious meals. 

Melanie Plenda:

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was cutting the annual food insecurity survey across the nation. Since this data usually assists in predicting hunger demand and securing funding, how will the New Hampshire Food Bank pivot in the future without it?

Elsy Cipriani:

That was a significant loss — not just for us, for all food banks across the United States and for Feeding America, because the data that they produce every year relies a lot on the survey.

As a network, we have had some discussions this past September with Feeding America and many food banks across the United States about how we can overcome this challenge. One of the unique things about food banks is that we are in a position where we already gather a lot of data from the people we serve. We have the technology and we have the capacity to gather day-to-day data of how many people our partner agencies are serving and where the need is. So one of the things that we need to get better in New Hampshire is using that data now that we are not going to have resources from the USDA. But that's going to take time, so definitely, there is going to be a gap in information, and there is going to be a challenge until we can reach the point that we can make better use of our own data.

Melanie Plenda:

Is it true that in November and December that the Food Bank receives the most support and donations, due to the holidays? Is it enough? And what about the rest of the year?

Elsy Cipriani:

Yes, that’s true. We receive the most donations, volunteer requests and food drives during November and December. But the truth is, hunger is a 365-day-a-year problem. The need for food relief and hunger relief doesn't end on Jan. 1. In fact, our donations often drop significantly in the beginning of the year.

I also want to highlight the summer, because the summer is a very tricky and challenging time for us when we talk about food insecurity and the different causes for food insecurity. One of the main causes of food insecurity is disruption of some systems, and the school system is a great example. Many children rely on going to school to eat, and when the summer months come they don't have that access, and they may face food insecurity. So we do see donations usually drop during the summer, so we’d really welcome the community to take a look at that and think about that during the summer we do run a good number of summer programs across the state. We partner with the school districts to make sure that even during the summer, children still have access to nutritious meals.

Melanie Plenda:

What can New Hampshire residents do to support the New Hampshire Food Bank and their neighbors facing hunger, now and in the future?

Elsy Cipriani:

There are three specific ways in which people can help the New Hampshire Food Bank or their local food programs. Donate funds — go to our website or to the local food pantries. Volunteer — you can look at our website. We have many volunteer opportunities every week, and you can also host a food drive, and that food drive can benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank. You can contact us and you can drop the food drive items at our location, and you can also support your local food programs.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you Elsy, for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

When justice fails: How the system silences victims of abuse

Survivors of domestic and emotional abuse can be re-victimized by the very institutions meant to keep them safe

By Shamecca Brown-Granite State News Collaborative 

Across New Hampshire, too many survivors of domestic and emotional abuse find themselves battling not only their abusers but also the very system that is supposed to protect them. Within family and civil courts, survivors often describe experiences that leave them feeling unheard, dismissed, or even penalized for speaking their truth.

In many of these cases, emotional and psychological abuse – forms of harm that can be just as damaging as physical violence – are not always recognized or taken seriously. When this happens, it sends a discouraging message to victims: that their pain isn’t valid unless it can be seen.

Advocates across the state have long called attention to what they describe as gaps in understanding trauma within the justice system. These gaps can lead to inconsistent rulings, particularly in custody disputes and domestic cases where manipulation, intimidation, or financial control are involved. Survivors report feeling trapped in drawn-out legal battles that exhaust their resources and prolong their suffering.

Organizations such as 603 Legal Aid, the DOVE Project, and the N.H. Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence work tirelessly to assist victims, but their capacity is limited. Many survivors discover that even after reaching out for help, the options available often address immediate safety, such as shelter, while long-term legal protection and financial recovery remain out of reach.

The term “legal abuse” has been used by some advocates to describe how abusers may exploit court processes to maintain control, using litigation as another form of intimidation. It’s a cycle that continues to harm those already affected by trauma and can erode public trust in the fairness of the system.

Fairness is not a privilege

To create lasting change, New Hampshire’s legal system must continue to evolve. Training for judges, guardians ad litem and other court professionals on the dynamics of trauma and emotional abuse is essential. Stronger oversight, improved access to legal representation, and policies that recognize all forms of abuse, not just physical, would ensure a more balanced and compassionate approach to justice.

Justice should not depend on who has more resources, more time or more influence. It should reflect truth, fairness and accountability. Survivors deserve a system that listens, understands and protects, not one that leaves them to fight their battles alone.

Behind every case file is a real person, someone trying to rebuild their life and find peace. We owe it to them  and to the idea of justice itself to make sure no one feels invisible when they step into a courtroom. Fairness should never be a privilege; it should be a right.

Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. Her advocacy extends to a range of social issues, with a strong commitment to supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence.These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

New report gauges how New Hampshire women are faring amid the barriers they face

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The N.H. Women’s Foundation has released the fourth edition of its biannual report, “The Status of Women in New Hampshire 2025.” This report provides data on barriers women face in the Granite State and highlights several programs that aim to support New Hampshire’s women. How are New Hampshire women faring, according to the report? Here to discuss some of their findings is Devan Quinn, director of policy at the N.H. Hampshire Women’s Foundation. 

Judi Currie:

Why does the N.H. Women’s Foundation feel it’s important to release this biannual report? 

Devan Quinn:

The Women's Foundation invests in opportunity and equality for the women and girls of the Granite State through research, education, advocacy and grantmaking. We know that when communities, individuals, leaders and our legislature have adequate data broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, age, geography, income and parenting status, people can make better decisions about how to support women and girls in our community. We are focused on being a trusted source of data that people can rely on — not just our community members and our leaders, but also the organizations that are directly serving women and girls that we also provide grants to as well.

Judi Currie:

Why should all residents care about the status of women in New Hampshire?

Devan Quinn:

Half of New Hampshire is women. Women are vital to our economy, to our care economy, and to the thriving communities all across our state. Investing in women is investing in our state, and we know that there is an under-investment in women and girls. A very small percentage of philanthropic grantmaking goes to women and girls. So when we can uplift what's going on just below the surface of some headlines, we can see where those needs are and opportunities for investment.

Judi Currie:

Last year, we discussed the “Status of Girls in New Hampshire” report, and this year we’re discussing the status of women. What are some of the main differences in what women in New Hampshire face versus what girls face? 

Devan Quinn:

What we are seeing actually is, unfortunately, a parallel between what women and girls are facing. We reported last year that we were facing a mental health crisis, and particularly for girls. This year, in the release of the “Status of Women,” we're also seeing that women are much more likely than men to experience poor mental health, specifically depression and anxiety. The factors that go into poor mental health for girls are uniquely gendered, and the factors that go into that for women are also uniquely gendered. And so in fact, we want to highlight the opportunity to focus on the issues that we see with a gender lens.

Some of the differences in the report, of course, is that the “Status of Girls” also talks about education and how girls are doing in K through 12 and in college, and the “Status of Women” covers leadership in our elected representation of women.

Judi Currie:

Some things are still the same. The gender wage gap is still present, abortion laws are in flux, and child care remains expensive. What are some of the biggest differences in this report from the last “Status of Women” report, in 2023?

Devan Quinn:

It's important to notice the trends that have not changed. Things that have changed, I would say, are the outside impacts on these inequities on women.

We've heard the high cost of living impacts people across the Granite State, but it has a disproportionate burden on women. So what we know, from a headline type of standpoint, is that New Hampshire has a very low poverty rate. The poverty rate for adults in the nation is low, but when you look at the cost of living, that actually indexes New Hampshire much lower, to 11th, so that high cost of living is having a disproportionate burden on New Hampshire women because the costs of things are much higher, including child care, and it's more likely that women are paying those high child care costs, particularly among single moms. 

Also, it's a cost to women and their careers, because women are much more likely to leave the workforce entirely if they can't access or afford child care at all. We also know that access to programs that support families, and particularly women, are not being taken advantage of as much as we would like to see. There's an under-enrollment — the number of women who qualify for programs like WIC or SNAP, we don't have all those who qualify actually enrolled, which could really help them.

And then, of course, women are doing that all along the gender wage gap. So whatever men are earning, women who are in the same type of job and role and responsibility are earning less than men. So when all these things are combined, the new thing this year that we're talking about, is the high cost of living, that burden particularly being on women.

Judi Currie:

Why are these statistics important to highlight, especially during the government shutdown?

Devan Quinn:

It's so important to focus on the precarious position we are in when our systems are not working in a federal government shutdown. Certainly, we're feeling the impact of not having access to SNAP or the potential instability of WIC, or the lack of income from all furloughed workers. 

So one thing that we also want to highlight is that SNAP, WIC or Medicaid — none of these programs cover the cost of menstrual products. So when families have additional burdens of not having their SNAP benefits and having to pay out of pocket for things that SNAP would normally cover, that exacerbates the tightness on their budget and they already can't access menstrual products through SNAP, WIC and Medicaid. Now it's an additional thing in their budget. These are the things that particularly impact women when we talk about menstrual product insecurity or “period poverty.”

What we also want to highlight is that these are not luxury items. These are absolute requirements to live. We would never have this conversation about toilet paper or paper towels in public bathrooms and having access, but we do have to advocate for access to menstrual products, which are health and a dignity issue.

Judi Currie:

Another focus of the report is women in leadership positions. The report states that “39% percent of towns have zero women on their select board.” This percentage has decreased from the 2023 report by 3%, but it still is a prevalent issue. Why is there such a significant gender gap in women being elected for local-level municipal representation?

Devan Quinn:

So what we know, and what we're very proud of, is the women's representation we have at the federal level. At the top of our leadership is a lot of women — our two senators, one of two of our congresspeople and our women governor. We are so proud of that in New Hampshire. But, unfortunately, what we see is that as we look at the more local levels — at the state level and then the municipal level — that drops off. The trend actually reverses, and that is very important for our pipeline of women serving in office. 

One of the reasons we see that is because women need to be encouraged to run for office. It is more likely that women don't see themselves as potential elected leaders, and they are more likely to run when people encourage them to run. So that's something that we all can do right now. To take action is to think about the women in your life and encourage them to run for office.

This is especially important for all these issues we just talked about — from child care to SNAP benefits to mental health — because we know that when women are elected to office, regardless of what party they're in, they are more likely to support policies that benefit women and girls. They're more likely to support policies in health care, in education, in support of the things that we're talking about. We also know that women are more likely to reach across the aisle and be bipartisan and get things done. So it's not just about seeing women in office, which is very important for girls, to see women leading, but it's also important because women can fix these issues.

Judi Currie:

The report also highlights programs that are doing important work to support women in New Hampshire. What were some of the programs highlighted, and how are they helping women?

Devan Quinn:

Because of this opportunity to increase women's leadership we run the Women Run! program, which is the Granite State's only nonpartisan program that encourages and trains women to run for office at the local and state level. We actually had 15 alums this year run for municipal or citywide office, and we're so proud of all the positions they are in and have earned to be in and all of the people who are more likely to run in the future after attending our program.

This is something that we can all be part of. We can encourage women to run for office. Think about the women in your life — ask them to run. Oftentimes, the women who are looking for people to run for office and saying, “You should run for office” actually need a mirror to look at themselves and say that they should run for office.

Judi Currie:

What else can be done to help support women in New Hampshire? 

Devan Quinn:

We need to first be aware, and part of this report is an education effort. It is for people making decisions about investments in the programs that support women and girls. We will give this report to every single legislator. We'll send it around to many partner organizations, state agencies and our grantees. We provide grants to support women and girls, and they use this data as well to apply for grants, and that's how we can encourage more philanthropic giving to organizations that support women and girls. 

If you want to take action right now, give to the organizations in your community that are serving women and girls. Not enough money goes to organizations supporting women and girls. Reach out to your legislators and tell them about the issues that you care about. We have a volunteer legislature who wants to hear from you and really values your thoughts and is accessible to you via call or an email. They usually absolutely respond and think about what you have to say and consider running for office. 

We need more representation, more diverse representation, because we know that when a diversity of perspectives are in a room — whether it’s a hearing room or a community organization — the group is going to come up with better solutions when there is diversity of perspectives. So jump in and get involved and run for office.

Judi Currie:

Thank you Devan, for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

How will changes to federal health and welfare programs affect Granite Staters?

[Click here to watch the full conversation on The State We’re In]

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

What are the impacts of federal policy changes on health and welfare benefits and what changes we expect to see in New Hampshire? The N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute has issued briefs on health care cuts and other changes that affect New Hampshire residents, and here to discuss that is Phil Sletten, research director at the Fiscal Policy Institute. 

Melanie Plenda:

On Oct. 24, the N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute hosted an all day event that focused on the high cost of living in New Hampshire, titled “Working Hard and Falling Behind.” What is it that makes New Hampshire so expensive?

Phil Sletten:

What we really wanted to examine both at the event and in research that was led by my colleague Nicole Heller, was what has happened to the cost of living in New Hampshire over a 20-year period. So we looked at data from 2005-2015 and 2024. We looked at some key living costs, particularly housing, child care, health care, food and gasoline.  We also looked at what a median price single-family house would cost, including interest rates and property taxes, etc.

So those data allowed us to have insight into what these core living costs mean for Granite Staters, and how they have changed for Granite Staters over time. We see that, particularly in the last 10 years, it has become substantially less affordable to live in New Hampshire, especially for a household with median household income, than it was 10 years ago. 

Melanie Plenda:

There were four areas of concern presented at the conference. What is the connection between health care, housing, caregiving and a new term, “rurality”?

Phil Sletten:

We examined these four areas, because these are all cost areas that affect people in ways that, I would say, are difficult to avoid. All of us get sick at some point, so health care is going to be an expense that many of us face. Having health insurance is something that, because of the high cost of basic care and specific expenses, health insurance is something that people — either in conjunction with their employer, through individual means, or through public support — try to maintain. 

Caregiving is a cost that households with children often face or they take the tradeoff of, if you’re not active in child care of some form, then you’re maybe not in the labor force as much but we’re all going to need care at some point or provide care at some point, whether it’s to someone younger or someone older or whether we need care when we’re older ourselves, for example.

Housing is another one. Everyone needs a place to live, whether it’s owning a home or renting.

Then living in rural areas presents particular challenges as well. Some of those costs, particularly transportation costs and also the access to goods and services — not just moving them, but also what happens to them in the process of getting there, or do even often make it to where you live in a rural area. Those are all costs that are difficult to avoid, and all ones that we consider relatively core. There are some costs that you can sort of find inventive and creative ways around, and people do. But we wanted to focus on those areas, because we think there was a lot to unpack there in terms of both cost drivers and some of the potential solutions that our panelists brought forward in the conference.

Melanie Plenda:

Is there a connection between housing accessibility and health? 

Phil Sletten:

Absolutely. If we think about the social determinants of health — which is a fancy way of saying all the things that are sort of upstream of getting sick that may happen to you before you might consider yourself sick, having an illness or some form of disability. All those things are what researchers would call the social determinants of health, and that includes your built environment. Does your housing have all of the things that it needs? Something as simple as having the plumbing fixtures or kitchen fixtures available. Is there mold in the home? Is it difficult to keep your home at temperature when it's very cold outside, because it may not be as well-insulated? Those are all built environment characteristics that could interact with health and social determinants of health, which can also include access to food and other services such as education.

Melanie Plenda:

The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law in July, makes significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program known as SNAP. Who is most affected by these changes?  

Phil Sletten:

The changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the federal reconciliation law that passed back in July are ones that are direct, but some of them we're going to have to see how they shake out at the state level. That's because SNAP is a program in which all the benefits are federally funded, but there is a split in administrative costs and administrative responsibility between the federal government and the state governments, and that cost split is actually going to change. Both those administrative costs and states are more likely going to have to carry most of the cost of paying for those benefits. 

Melanie Plenda:

What is the state of New Hampshire doing to fill the gap in funding?

Phil Sletten:

Right now, the SNAP program is facing a gap in funding that's associated with the federal government shutdown. So there's two components here. One is the long-term reduction in funding associated with the federal reconciliation law. The other is what's happening immediately and has been happening since Oct. 1, which is that the federal government isn't technically open, or at least not all of it is technically open and funded. 

So the federal government pays for SNAP benefits in monthly installments, and the state will not be receiving its monthly installment for November. That means that the roughly 76,000 people in New Hampshire, including about 26,000 children, who are enrolled in the SNAP program in the state won't receive assistance to afford food from the federal government in November, at least until the federal government reopens. So what the state is doing is finding ways of additional resources and contracting with the New Hampshire Food Bank. 

[Editor’s note: Since this interview took place, the Trump administration agreed to partially fund SNAP, providing 50% of the normal amount.]

Melanie Plenda:

Let’s turn now to Medicaid. More than 180,000 New Hampshire residents are on Medicaid. Who is at greatest risk of losing their benefits with changes to Medicaid enrollment eligibility?

Phil Sletten:

There are both federal and state changes here. The state passed its state budget on June 27, and the federal government passed the federal reconciliation law on July 4. The two pieces of legislation didn't really have a clear vision of what each other was doing as they were being changed. Indeed, the federal changes were happening relatively late in the process, and they weren't watching all the state budget changes. 

So there's a couple of different layers of changes here. The largest one is work requirements. Medicaid, unlike SNAP — which has work requirements currently to maintain enrollment — doesn't have work requirements. Arkansas, New Hampshire and Georgia have all conducted experiments with work requirements in the past, over the last seven years or so, but those have been stopped because of federal law or have been maintained as just a small pilot component because of federal law.

Now that federal law has changed, there are work requirements that are part of the Medicaid program and they affect particularly Medicaid expansion enrollees, who are adults with poverty-level or near poverty-level incomes who are enrolled in what we call in New Hampshire, the Granite Advantage program. The state version of those requirements would have about 100 hours a month of work or community engagement requirements that fit the approved list. The federal government has a somewhat different approved list and identifies 80 hours per month as the threshold for maintaining coverage. It's not clear exactly which of these versions is going to be the dominant one in New Hampshire. 

But that's not the only change for enrollees. There are also going to be co-payments for Medicaid enrollees, and the state passed a version of premiums — payments that people make to the state to remain enrolled in Medicaid, when previously they didn't have to make payments, or at least not payments of this scale. The state implemented premiums, and the federal government implements co-pays in its new law, and those will probably override at least some of the premiums for some populations. 

There are also some certain lawfully present immigrants in the United States who are currently eligible for Medicaid as well as Medicare, SNAP and health care premium assistance tax credits that will no longer be eligible for those services. This includes refugees, asylees, victims of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking who are lawfully present in the U.S., currently eligible, who will no longer be eligible starting next year.

There are also limits on what are called provider taxes, in this case taxes on hospitals. It's very complex, but the basic upshot of it is that the state raised about $280 million in the state fiscal year 2024 through these provider taxes and federal matching funds to fund the Medicaid program. When the federal limits that are new are fully put into place, that $280 million wouldn't have been able to be raised that way, so it would have to be raised through some other fashion. So that will likely change the Medicaid program in New Hampshire, but we don't know how.

Melanie Plenda:

Do we have a sense or there data that might show, with all of these changes, what might happen as a result in our state?

Phil Sletten:

There are two categories of what might happen. One is disenrollment, and the estimates that I’ve seen from KFF projected that with, all the changes in the federal reconciliation law — just what happened federally, not counting what we might see with the federal-state policy interactions that are a little harder to predict at this point — that was about 27,000 fewer people would have health coverage in New Hampshire in 2024 than would have otherwise if the federal reconciliation law had not passed. That number changes if you include the premium tax credits that are up for discussion at the federal level currently. That would boost it to about 32,000 people.

There’s also a set of unknowns related to fiscal pressures on the state that may prompt state policy decisions because of changes at the federal level.. We don’t know how those are going to shake out in the coming years because those will be a series of state policy decisions that will be implemented at the time those provisions are implemented.

Melanie Plenda:

Phil Sletten, research director at the N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute, thank you for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

After already saying no to keno, N.H. municipalities have to do it again

New ‘opt out’ law overrides prior local votes to prohibit it

 By Daniel Sarch, Granite State News Collaborative 

 A new law is compelling some New Hampshire communities to consider once again asking voters to decide whether to prohibit bars, restaurants and grocery stores from offering Keno 603, a lottery-like gambling game, to patrons.  

While the communities have voted multiple times to bar Keno 603 since its inception in New Hampshire, a new state “opt-out” law automatically authorizes it in all cities and towns — unless a community’s voters decide not to allow it. If there’s no vote by 2027, Keno 603 will automatically be authorized in a community. 

Under the previous law, municipalities had to “opt in” to allow keno at local establishments.

Keno, first legalized in New Hampshire in 2017, allows players to choose numbers between one and 80. After a bet is made, a set of numbers from a ball machine or random number generator determines if the selected numbers are a match, and gives earnings based on the wager.

In Keene, for example, voters have already been asked to allow keno — in 2017 and 2019. Both times they rejected it. City Councilor Jacob Favolise is spearheading the latest effort to let voters weigh in on the keno question in this year’s municipal election. Favolise emphasized that he has no stance on the game itself, but believes it’s important to let his constituents make their voice heard.

David Yeo, sits at the bar drinking his Moxie cocktail playing pull tabs with the KENO game behind him at the Elks Lodge 1280, in Franklin, N.H., on Oct. 24, 2025. While Yeo has been mostly unsuccessful with KENO, he claims to have once previously won a $55,000 prize. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

“It's less about keno than it is about local control and communities having a say over what happens within their city limits,” he said.

Now, nine cities and 84 towns allow keno. Along with Keene, Concord and Portsmouth — both of which have also voted twice to prohibit the game — have the question on their ballot in November.

Most Granite State towns do not hold their town meetings until March, and at this point it is unclear which of them will be considering the keno question. The only city that does not have keno and is not voting on it in November is Lebanon, which holds municipal elections in March.

Lebanon Deputy City Manager David Brooks explained that the city council has voted three times from 2018 through 2020 to decline putting the question on the ballot. But Brooks said that, while he had heard about the latest legislation, he was unfamiliar with the new law’s language.

“Speaking for myself, as opposed to the city, it feels a little underhanded for the communities that decided they didn't want to put it on the ballot, didn't want to support it, and now it's forced on us, and we're obligated to put it on the ballot in order to opt out,” Brooks said.

Growth of gambling in N.H.

Margaret Byrnes, executive director of the N.H. Municipal Association, says she is grateful for the two-year decision window, but has concerns over the law’s opt-out nature.

“When it comes to making decisions locally, we want the voters or the legislative body to have to take an affirmative vote or make an affirmative decision on something, rather than allowing something by default because they did not act,” she said.

The continued growth of gambling in New Hampshire concerns Ed Talbot, president of the board of directors of the N.H. Council on Problem Gambling and a gambling addict in recovery for 47 years. He estimates 8,000 people in the state are compulsive or pathological gamblers, and 65,000 have a lesser gambling problem. According to a press release in July on a survey conducted by the National Council on Problem Gambling, nearly 20 million U.S. adults report problem gambling behavior. 

But Talbot is not as concerned with keno as he is with other forms of gambling, such as sports betting, particularly among young adults. He said that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most popular gambling outlets were the lottery, casinos and sports gambling. Since then, with increased access and popularity of wagering through apps like Draft Kings and FanDuel, sports betting has leaped to the top of his list of concerns.

“The state has been very slow to address it. They provide little funding, and New Hampshire was really way, way low in the services available” to address problem gambling, Talbot said. “That's going to change this year. They're really making an effort to address things.”

He pointed to a bill that would allow people recovering from gambling addiction to choose to be voluntarily barred from entering gambling locations. It didn’t pass in the last legislative session, but is expected to be revived for the upcoming session.

Claremont City Councilor Nicholas Koloski is a co-owner of Time-Out Americana Grill, which makes keno available for its customers.

“We have some people in the community that still like to come down, and when they grab dinner, or even to-go, they'll grab a few keno tickets,” he said. “It's more of a convenience item for people.”

Allan Beetle, co-owner of Patrick’s Pub and Eatery in Gilford, said he prefers not to have keno in his establishment. Gilford rejected the game in 2019.

“I never really liked the atmosphere as much when people are playing that game while sitting around at a bar,” Beetle said. “I prefer the bar being a more social area, where people are chatting with themselves and others and the staff.”

Money for education 

Under state law, the net profits of all NH Lottery products, including keno, are earmarked for education funding. As of May, the NH Lottery has contributed $3 billion toward education. 

A keno machine at the Elks Lodge 1280 in Franklin, the first municipality in the state to approve KENO. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

In the 2024 fiscal year, the lottery generated an all-time high of $207 million in revenue for public schools. In the 2025 fiscal year, $11,790,000 was earmarked for education through Keno 603 alone, according to Maura McCann, the lottery’s director of marketing.

The N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute recently noted that, in 2019, NH Lottery funds comprised between 6% and 10% of Education Trust Fund expenditures. In the last two years, NH Lottery contributions made up almost 17% of the fund.

While the new keno opt-out law is expected to increase funding for public education, Policy Director Alexandra Tilsley of Reaching Higher NH said lottery money is also used for private education programs such as Education Freedom Accounts, which provides vouchers to help families pay for private school tuition and needs. It was estimated that the EFA program will cost about $50 million, leaving less money for public schools.

And despite a N.H. Supreme Court ruling this year to increase base adequacy aid for education, this year’s state budget showed little increase in public school funding. And with lottery games being a voluntary expense, stable funding is not always certain.

“It's unlikely that expanding Keno is going to meaningfully move the needle in the way we need,” Tilsley said. “I think we hope that lawmakers continue to explore other, more stable sources of funding that can really help promote success in the schools.”

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

New Hampshire startups: How Launch 603 has connected small businesses

 By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about 97% of New Hampshire's businesses are small businesses that together employ nearly half of the state's private-sector workforce. A relatively new annual event, Launch 603, brings key startup resources into one space for a half-day of learning and connecting, while also recognizing some of the leading startups in the state. To talk about Launch 603 is Matt Mowry, co-publisher and executive editor of Business NH Magazine.

Melanie Plenda:

The 2025 Launch 603, which took place on Oct. 28, was the second time that you have brought together startups and key service providers. What inspired you to go from writing about startups to creating this event? 

Matt Mowry:

We saw an explosion of startups during the pandemic. It was “The Great Reassessment.” People were stuck at home, and they were wondering, “Is this really what I want from my life?” For some, that meant changing jobs, some for changing careers, and for others, it was taking control of their own destiny and finally starting that new business. 

One of the things that I was commonly hearing from these startups as they moved along is that they didn't realize the resources that we had here in New Hampshire that were either free or low-cost, that could provide them with everything from funding to coaching. So we started producing a guide for startups in our July issue, which is our Business Resource Directory. It's chock full of great information and statistics about the state for businesses. We thought that was a perfect place to put our startup guide, and it received such a phenomenal response, we thought, “Let's take this rich learning we're providing out of the magazine and put it into the real world, where people can interact with these experts and ask questions and have just a full day learning experience that they can emerge from to move their startups to the next level.”

Melanie Plenda:

You had as one of your featured speakers, Brian Gottlob, director of the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. When startups are often at the mom-and-pop stage, how important is it to understand the labor market? 

Matt Mowry:

Well, it's one aspect of the economy, and even if you don't have employees, it's good to understand what your customers are going through and what those indicators mean for the economy. Brian's a well -known economist in our state, and he offers an overall look at the economy of New Hampshire to really give some context to our startups about what they're going to be facing in the coming year.

We're entering a stage of economic uncertainty that's going to be a challenge for any business, but particularly for startups who are vulnerable, who don't have the history, the capital and the customer base built quite yet. So we want to give them all the arsenal that they can have at their disposal and Brian's helped set the table for our discussion for the day.

Melanie Plenda:

What about New Hampshire’s business climate makes it a good place to launch a startup?

Matt Mowry:

One is access to people. You have access to things like the Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center, SCORE. There's a lot of organizations, and some of them are national, but here in New Hampshire it's very easy to get in touch with them, to get access to experts. We're a state where you can have access to our leaders. If you're having a problem, it's easy to reach out and find someone that can help you solve it. So I think that's one of the really key advantages that we have here in New Hampshire. 

That isn't to say we aren't without challenges but we do have a rich startup culture. We;re ranked 13th overall, according to U.S. News and World Report, for business creation. So we have a lot of entrepreneurial spirit here in the state. But Wallet Hub ranked New Hampshire 45th for conditions that support startups, due to our business environment, business costs and our access to resources, such as funding. So there are challenges of being in a small state and doing a startup, but because of the access that we have to folks to help a startup succeed, I think that makes us a really great place to be.

Melanie Plenda:

We hear often about the “New Hampshire Advantage,” mainly touting lower business taxes, being a draw. Does this really make a difference for small shops?

Matt Mowry:

When you are starting up, you are resource-poor and expense-rich. You're spending a lot of money and at the same time you're not bringing in probably as much as you would like. So any savings is a help, especially when it comes to tax situations. But it's not the only advantage here in New Hampshire. It's the access to people being able to make those connections that can get you to whatever it is that you need.

Melanie Plenda:

It seems as though new banks are entering the New Hampshire market every week. Are they all after the big fish or does this translate to capital startup? 

Matt Mowry:

New Hampshire has been a rich market for banks. We have attracted a lot of out-of-state banks. We've seen a lot of mergers and acquisitions. There's a reason they're attracted to what would appear to be a small marketplace, but we have a lot of businesses here. There's a lot of opportunity. We have a lot of wealth here in our state. So banks are attracted to that.

But different banks are attracted for different reasons. Some of them are going after those big fish, but big fish are a small part of the New Hampshire economy. Small- and medium-sized businesses are an important part of the marketplace in who they want to attract. Startups, depending on the bank, may not be on their radar yet. Startups come with a lot of risk, and especially with the economic uncertainty that we are entering, banks are not going to be willing to take as many risks without some backups. So that's where it's important, where startups can make those connections to things like the Small Business Administration that can provide loan guarantees that make it more attractive for banks to want to do that.

But startups are having to bootstrap more. They're having to go to friends and family. There's crowdsourcing. There's a lot of different options that startups have to look at before maybe they get to the stage where banks are going to take a closer look at them,

Melanie Plenda:

From cybersecurity to the potential for violence in the workplace, how are these challenges different for a small business?

Matt Mowry:

For small businesses, cybersecurity is actually a huge issue. Most people think that it's the big guns out there that really have to worry about it, and while they are targets, they also are more savvy. They have better protection against cyber threats. That's why we're seeing an increase in cyber attacks on small- and medium-sized businesses that don't have as many resources to protect themselves against such attacks. So as a startup, it's something that they really have to consider and look at what they can do to protect themselves. 

Violence in the workplace is an issue for any business. That may not be as much of an issue for a small business because they just don't have employees as a startup, or have a small number of them. But, those attacks are coming from all over. Any concern that a larger or medium-sized business may have, startups are going to have those same concerns. It's just more compounded because they are just getting off the ground, and they just don't have the resources, perhaps, to address all those issues yet.

Melanie Plenda:

What do businesses need to know about AI?

Matt Mowry:

For startups, it's a real opportunity here, and for small businesses, AI can become that extra employee that fills in some of the talent gaps you may not have or expedite some of the things that you're doing as a startup, as an entrepreneur. It can be a real advantage, but there's a lot of pitfalls to AI that people need to know about. There's legalities involved with it too. So there's a lot of catching up to do in a market that's changing very quickly due to AI.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you talk about some of the startups honored at your event? 

Matt Mowry:

So in our July issue, we did in addition to providing information, we wanted to be aspirational, and so we selected some startup stars from those who applied to us for it, as well as working with our partners, the SBA, the SBDC and the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, to identify great startups that are here in the state.

There is a real range of them. Everything from Big Dog Sauce Company, which makes a variety of barbecue sauces and hot sauces and we have New England Sports Hub, which is a large sports dome in Somersworth. That came out from an idea of someone seeing a hole in the marketplace where such a facility might be needed. 

We also have The Printing Press in Dover, started by a woman who used to work for more corporate ‘big box’ printing and copying providers. She wanted to do better for her customers, and decided that she could do so and started her own little, small, independent business.

We had a lot of great companies that we honored as examples of the type of startup and entrepreneurial spirit we have in New Hampshire.

Melanie Plenda:

Matt Mowry, co-publisher and executive editor of Business NH Magazine, thank you for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Who’s under the mask? Tricks, treats, and the real monsters among us

By Shamecca Brown, Granite State News Collaborative

Let’s talk, people. I don’t have any tricks, but I do have a treat, and that treat is finding out who’s really under these masks. I’m not talking about the plastic vampire fangs or the dollar-store Spider-Man costumes. I’m talking about the real masks people wear when lining up with racial profiling, discrimination and being flat-out racist. 

I say this because I’ve seen it with my own eyes: a line of people in ski masks on Main Street, holding signs telling others to “go back to where you came from,” “no gays allowed,” “we hate Jews” – and the list goes on. Is that their “trick”? To show up, hide their faces, and try to scare people with their hate? Because, honestly, it looks less like a trick and more like cowardice dressed up as protest.

Now if we’re keeping with the Halloween theme, I’ll admit I’ve got a trick too. My trick would be to make them disappear and reappear in a land just for them. Picture it: They’re all stuck together, forever trapped inside a crystal ball like some spooky snow globe of hate. They can yell their nonsense all they want, but no one has to hear it. Out of sight, out of mind. A little abracadabra, and poof –  they’re gone. But let’s keep it real. That’s not how life works and, unfortunately, hate doesn’t vanish with a magic spell.

Here’s the shame of it: When people act like this, they aren’t just hiding their identities; they’re sending a dangerous message. Hate groups love to mask up because they want to intimidate without accountability. They want the attention without the consequence. But you know who suffers the most from this kind of public display? Kids.

October is supposed to be about children having fun, dressing up, collecting candy, and maybe getting a little spooked by fake skeletons on a neighbor’s lawn. Not by adults in ski masks spewing hate on Main Street. I hope kids are safe this season, and that no one messes with them – or anyone, for that matter. Because when children see that kind of behavior, it plants seeds of fear, confusion and division. And if we aren’t careful, those seeds grow.

The irony is Halloween teaches us more about humanity than these masked protestors ever could. On Halloween night, we knock on strangers’ doors, we greet one another with kindness, and we share. You don’t need to know who’s under the mask to hand out candy; you just give it because that’s what the holiday is about – treats, generosity, fun. Imagine if life worked that way year-round.

Instead, we’ve got grown folks using masks – not for fun, but to cover up their hate. They’ll say it’s about “freedom of speech,” but when your words are so ugly that you have to hide your face to say them, is it really freedom, or is it fear?

Here’s the truth: Racism, antisemitism, homophobia – these aren’t costumes people put on for a night. They’re masks some people wear every day to avoid confronting their own ignorance. And while I can joke about trapping them in a crystal ball, the real power lies in unmasking them. Naming the hate. Calling it what it is.

So this October, I’m asking: What kind of mask are you wearing? Is it one that hides prejudice, anger or fear? Or is it one of courage, compassion and accountability? Because at the end of the day, masks come off. And when they do, the real you shows.

I’ll keep my treat simple: I want a world where kids can trick-or-treat without worry, where families don’t have to explain why people are chanting hate in the streets, and where we can all laugh at spooky decorations instead of cringing at the real monsters hiding in plain sight.

And to the ones still hiding behind ski masks with hateful signs, here’s a little Halloween tip: the scariest costume isn’t the one you put on. It’s the one you live in when your heart is filled with hate. Boo.

Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

$1,800 for a one-bedroom apartment? No wonder people are losing their homes

By Shamecca Brown, Granite State News Collaborative

Wow. A one-bedroom apartment starting at $1,800-a-month rent with nothing included. Who’s really surviving this? I can tell you right now – for many of us, it’s not easy. And I’m personally living it.

I’m working, taking care of my family, paying every bill on time, and still feeling like I’m drowning. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to do – showing up to work, being a good neighbor, helping my community, yet I’m sitting here wondering how I’m supposed to afford another rent hike without something else falling apart.

When I first saw my new rent prices, my stomach dropped. $1,800 for a one-bedroom apartment – and that’s before utilities, food, car insurance, gas, or even the basic things families need to get by. It’s like no matter how hard you work, it’s never enough. When did surviving become this expensive?

I know firsthand that homelessness doesn’t always start on the streets; it starts with one rent increase too many, when someone’s paycheck can’t stretch any further, when a single parent has to choose between paying rent or buying groceries for their kids. I work with individuals who receive help through Section 8 or other programs, and even they’re facing rent prices that make no sense. Some of them are still paying hundreds out of pocket just to keep their homes, even with assistance. And what’s worse, I’ve seen landlords take advantage of them just because they hold a voucher. A voucher is supposed to give people a fair chance at decent housing, not turn them into targets for discrimination or price manipulation.

The prices keep going up, but wages aren’t following. It’s like there’s this huge disconnect between what people earn and what landlords expect. And when management companies or landlords keep hiking rent, no matter what’s going on in your life, it feels like greed is winning over compassion.

People talk about homelessness like it’s a personal failure. The truth is, for many families it’s the system that’s failing them. When you’re paying $1,800 just for a roof over your head, how are you supposed to save for emergencies, for your kids, or even for a future? One unexpected bill, a car repair, a medical expense, a lost shift  and you’re in trouble. The worst part about all this is the emotional toll. When your rent goes up, your peace of mind goes down. You start questioning everything – should I move, should I get a second job, will I even qualify for another place if I leave? You feel trapped.

Every time I look at my rent statement, I feel like I’m being punished for trying to live decently. I’m not alone. I’ve seen friends pack up their homes because they can’t afford another increase. I’ve seen families split up because one person had to move in with relatives while the other stayed behind just to keep the lease alive. This isn’t just numbers on paper, it’s people’s lives being rearranged because of unaffordable housing.

Landlords and management companies have a right to make money, but not at the expense of human dignity. We shouldn’t have to work ourselves into exhaustion just to keep a roof overhead. We’re not asking for handouts, just fairness – a system that remembers people are behind those rent checks. Teachers, nurses, shelter advocates, cashiers, drivers are the backbone of the community, yet  many of us can’t even afford to live in the same communities we serve.

Rent shouldn’t be a luxury. Housing is a human need, and when it’s priced out of reach, that’s when homelessness begins. Not because people gave up, but because the system gave out. Staying silent helps no one. It’s uncomfortable to admit that I’m struggling, but it’s the truth. Too many of us are quietly holding on by a thread, afraid to say it out loud. But maybe if more of us do, someone will finally start listening.

We need accountability. We need laws that protect tenants from unreasonable increases. We need rent caps that reflect real life, not corporate greed. And we need more people in power to understand that stability shouldn’t be a privilege; it should be a right. Because at the end of the day, homelessness isn’t just about losing a home, it’s about losing peace, safety, and a sense of belonging. It’s time we start connecting those dots.

Shamecca Brown is a New Hampshire-based columnist who is family-oriented and passionate about serving underserved communities. These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Education takes center stage in first year of New Hampshire’s data privacy law

While complaints have been filed, the focus is on making affected businesses aware of the statute

By Daniel Sarch

Investigative Paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson, left, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack of the state’s new Data Privacy Unit stand in front of the data server in the Office of the Attorney General in Concord. The three- member unit is tasked with enforcing New Hampshire’s new comprehensive data privacy law. The third member of the unit, Investigator Frederick Lulka, was unavailable for a photo due to preparing and participating in several grand jury proceedings. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

Nearly a year after New Hampshire’s comprehensive data privacy law took effect, the state’s new enforcement unit has received 27 consumer complaints — a sign of early awareness of the new law.

However, officials say much more work is needed to educate consumers and businesses about the new protections and obligations.

The law, which took effect on Jan. 1, gives consumers more control over how their personal data is used and puts certain responsibilities on businesses. For instance, consumers have the right to learn whether a business is storing their data, and if so, to request access to it, to obtain a copy of it, to correct inaccuracies, and to request that the data be deleted. 

They can also opt out of targeted advertising, and the sale of their personal data or any profiling based on that data.

The law applies only to businesses that process the data of at least 35,000 consumers each year.

With the new law in effect, the Attorney General’s Office has formed a Data Privacy Unit that’s responsible for enforcing the law and responding to complaints. 

Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack, who heads the state’s new Data Privacy Unit. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

“Not only are we receiving consumer complaints, but also as part of our work, we're going out and we're doing proactive data privacy enforcement by reviewing business policies and making sure that everything that they're publishing in terms of privacy notices and their business processes generally are operating properly,” said Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack, who heads up the unit.

Other members of the three-person unit are investigative paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson and investigator Frederick Lulka. Cormack had previously worked in the AG’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, focusing on general consumer protection matters. Hutchinson previously worked as a paralegal in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and Lulka spent much of his career as a detective with the State Police major crime unit.

Investigative Paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson, left, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack of the state’s new Data Privacy Unit shown in Office of the Attorney General in Concord, Sep. 23, 2025. Investigator Frederick Lulka was unavailable for a photo due to preparing and participating in several grand jury proceedings. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

The trio are “sort of the tip of the spear” of the state’s data privacy enforcement efforts, said Michael Garrity, director of communications and external affairs at the N.H. Department of Justice. “If you have cases that need resources, you certainly would be able to pull other investigators in, or other agencies — partner agencies.” Those agencies include not just New Hampshire’s, but data privacy enforcement units in other states, too. 

Working to ‘reach out’ to businesses

So far, Cormack said, the typical complaint involves concern that a business has a consumer’s information and is not deleting it as the new law requires, even after the consumer has filed a deletion request with that business. 

For example, he pointed to a complaint involving a property management company. The consumer alleged the company was keeping their personal information beyond the date they left the apartment. The data privacy unit reached out to the business, which resulted in revisions in its privacy notice to include consumer rights, and the consumer’s data was deleted.

Investigative Paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson, left, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack of the state’s new Data Privacy Unit stand in front of the data server in the Office of the Attorney General in Concord. The three-member unit is tasked with enforcing New Hampshire’s new comprehensive data privacy law. The third member of the unit, Investigator Frederick Lulka, was unavailable for a photo due to preparing and participating in several grand jury proceedings. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

“When we reach out, it tends to be that they work with us really well,” Cormack said. “We're able to get a good result for the consumer and also put businesses in a better position to be able to honor those rights requests that are required under law now.”

So far, the Data Privacy Unit has not sued anyone as part of its enforcement efforts. During the unit’s first year, the law only requires the state to give notice of possible violation to any company and asks it to find a “cure” before bringing legal action. Companies are given 60 days to do so. But, starting in 2026, the state will not be required to allow companies that “cure” period.

Like any new law, there are growing pains. Since its formation, the Data Privacy Unit has been working to educate the public about the new law, including through Data Privacy FAQs for consumers and businesses.

But the main problem with the law’s rollout is that it remains relatively unknown, said attorney Cameron Shilling, director of the litigation department and chair of the cybersecurity and privacy group at the Manchester-based law firm of McLane Middleton.

“The majority of businesses are unaware of this law, and an even greater majority are unaware of what this law does, or how to comply with it,” Shilling said.

Investigative Paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson, left, and Assistant Attorney General Warren Cormack of the state’s new Data Privacy Unit shown in the Office of the Attorney General in Concord on Sept. 23, 2025. A third member of the unit, investigator Frederick Lulka was unavailable for a photo due to preparing and participating in several grand jury proceedings. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

With something as abstract as data privacy, Shilling said, some businesses are slow to realize that they must comply with the law. Some businesses have budgetary concerns, he said, and while they allocate money for marketing, client outreach, sales and capital expenditures such as new computers and servers, the benefit of investing in data privacy compliance is not always so clear.

“Businesses prefer to buy things that are tangible,” Shilling said. “Businesses believe that cybersecurity and privacy, at least superficially, is not making them any money. That's just going to cost them money.”

Some businesses have not built data privacy into their management structure. It doesn’t belong in the job description of a chief executive or chief financial officer or a vice president of sales or operations or quality control. Nor does it fall neatly within the IT department. 

But Cormack said the law need not require most businesses to go through a major restructuring. Sometimes t’s as simple as handling rights requests through email.

“As long as you're doing it within the statutory timeframe, and you're doing it in response to consumer concerns, and you're doing it in compliance with the statute … that's a totally reasonable way of operating,” he said.

Easier to comply

Investigative paralegal Isaiah Hutchinson, a member of New Hampshire’s new Data Privacy Unit staff. (Photo by Daniel Sarch)

Shilling compared what is happening with data privacy with the dawn of cybersecurity awareness in the early 2000s, when businesses began switching from paper to digital records. It didn’t become a serious consideration until the 2005 data breach of ChoicePoint, one of the nation’s largest data brokers, that compromised the personal information of more than 163,000 consumers, and resulted in 800 cases of identity theft. 

A settlement in 2006 required the company to pay $10 million in civil penalties and $5 million in consumer redress. That incident also led the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse to begin tracking data breaches in 2005. It has since documented over 75,000 data breaches.

Data privacy awareness has been on a similarly slow track. The first widespread data privacy law was enacted by the European Union in May 2015, but didn’t become effective until three years later. The United States had few regulations on data privacy until California passed the California Consumer Privacy Act in June 2018, which took effect in 2020. Since then, 20 states have now enacted their own data privacy laws.

Shilling believes it was the data breaches that led businesses to pursue proper cybersecurity measures, and worries that it might take a similar crisis to bring about adequate data privacy responsibilities. 

“At some point in time, we might see plaintiffs, lawyers and class action lawsuits enforcing privacy laws,” he said. “But we're not there yet, and I'm not sure whether or not we're going to be there anytime soon.”

 But with more and more states passing these acts, businesses will become more aware, Shilling said, and because New Hampshire’s law is like many other states’ laws, it will be easier for businesses to comply.

 “New Hampshire did a good thing by choosing to adopt a law that comes from other states,” he said. “Instead of having a patchwork of state laws, you have a synergy of state laws. It also is good in that it's fairly detailed.”

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative.Don’t just read this. Share it with one person who doesn’t usually follow local news — that’s how we make an impact. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.