Special Reports: 2003

Audio Slideshow High Steel" Prowess at Ironworker Festival Mohawks and other Native Americans have built the world's most famous buildings and bridges, including the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. They work the "high steel," a dangerous profession practiced high above the ground. The skill and craft of ironworking took center stage last month near Syracuse in a sort of ironworker olympics. Audio Slideshow The Joy of Junk: Beachcombing with Captain Honk A North Country angler and artist who spends most of his time on Lake Ontario turns junk found along the shoreline into fish sculptures. It's just one of the hobbies that keeps Tom Bintz, aka Captain Honk, busy as he divides his time between fishing, travel, art and demolition derby competitions. Audio Slideshow Sights & Sounds of the Dairy Princess Parade We go to the sidelines of one of the big events on the annual dairy calendar, the St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess Parade in Canton. Fire engines, tractors, and floats rolled down Main Street on Saturday. Audio Slideshow A Walking Tour of Sackets Harbor: Battlefield, Bay and Barracks Todd Moe tours historic Sackets Harbor, one of five villages hosting Seaway Trail Walks this summer. Photo Audio Essay Children's Camps in the Adirondacks The Adirondack Museum opens today for the summer season. A major new exhibition looks at the history of the region's summer camps. Audio Slideshow Music Hall Restoration in Heuvelton A group of residents and historians in Heuvelton is trying to preserve Pickens Hall, one of the oldest buildings in the village. And the building's restoration has sparked a renewed interest in the career of Bessie Abott, a granddaughter of the original owner of Pickens Hall. Bessie took the opera world by storm in the early 1900s. Todd Moe reports. Photo 'Blog A Fan's Journey to the North Country Viggo Mortensen, (Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings movies), returned to his native North Country to open an exhibition of photographs and read poetry at his alma mater, St. Lawrence University in Canton. Fans of Viggo followed in droves, including Lorraine Murphy, a fan from Vancouver also known as Evil Elf. Photo Audio Essay Rally and Walk for Peace in Iraq Hundreds turned out in the zero-degree chill in Canton NY as part of an international day of protests supporting peace with Iraq on Saturday, February 15, 2003. Audio includes complete addresses of rally speakers, and conversation with walkers and onlookers. David Sommerstein reports.

Audio Slideshow 90 Miles by Canoe… in a Single Day The 90-mile Adirondack Canoe Classic takes paddlers from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. Race organizer Brian McDonnell paddled the entire course in a single day—a journey he describes as the "90-mile cannonball." Photo/Audio Essay A Trek up Mt. Adams A land deal will add thousands of acres to the state forest preserve, but it will almost certainly mean the removal of an antique fire tower that sits on Mt. Adams, near the town of Newcomb. Brian Mann made the climb. Audio Slideshow Adirondack Rail: on the Old New York Central Line For seventy years, the New York Central carried passengers to Malone and Lake Placid and points in between. The old line is all but abandoned now. But trains still make the run a few times each year, bringing supplies and equipment to the tourist railroad in Lake Placid. Brian Mann made the trip this spring. Audio Slideshow The Mikado: Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra The Crane Opera Ensemble and Orchestra presented the classic Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, The Mikado, a spoof of all things imperial, in Snell Music Theater at SUNY Potsdam. NCPR Morning host Todd Moe is beneath the great hat. Audio Slideshow Lysistrata Project Reading in Canton North Country residents joined more than a thousand groups worldwide in readings of the Greek antiwar comedy Lysistrata on March 3, 2003. Photo 'Blog Bengt and Polly Ohman in Quito, Ecuador Bengt and Polly Ohman traveled to Quito, Ecuador to perform service work at the Working Boys Center, a haven for poor working children and their families. Photo Audio Slideshow International Rutabaga Curling Championship Behind every winter sport, there’s probably a founder who was just trying to stay warm and alert through the dark months. That’s the history behind one of the more obscure sports – Rutabaga Curling. David Sommerstein came across the 5th Annual International Rutabaga Curling Championships in Ithaca. He sends this tuber-tossing postcard.

Award-Winning News

2002-2003:

Ft. Drum's 10th Mountain Division, NCPR News
First Place, Division B, Continuing Coverage: Public Radio News Directors, Inc

Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, Brian Mann
First Place, Best news special/documentary:
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association
Second Place, Division B, Documentary: Public Radio News Directors, Inc

St. Lawrence Seaway, David Sommerstein
First Place, Best continuing news coverage:
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association

Priest Shortage Reshapes North Country Life, Brian Mann
First Place, Best enterprise reporting:
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association
First Place, Division B, News Feature: Public Radio News Directors, Inc

Winter Camping in the High Peaks, David Sommerstein
First Place, Best feature:
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association

Lake Placid Ironman: Drama and the Danger, Brian Mann
First Place, Best sports coverage:
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association

Literacy and Illiteracy in the North Country, NCPR News Department
First Place, Best news series
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association

Ft. Drum: Mission in Kosovo, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 David Sommerstein
First Place, Best news series
New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association
Second Place, Division B, Series: Public Radio News Directors, Inc

GM Landfill Cleanup, David Sommerstein
First Place, Best Feature Story, Individual Non-Native Radio:
Native American Journalists Association

Mohawk Ironworker , David Sommerstein
Second Place, Best Feature Story, Individual Non-Native Radio:
Native American Journalists Association

PCBs in the Upper Hudson, Brian Mann
Silver Reel, Local Public Affairs Programming: National Federation of Community Broadcasters
First Place, Division B, Series: Public Radio News Directors, Inc

Bears Versus Humans in the High Peaks, Brian Mann
First Place, Division B, Enterprise: Public Radio News Directors, Inc.
Special Merit, Local News Coverage: National Federation of Community Broadcasters

The Village and the Grid, Martha Foley
Second Place, Division B, Interview
Public Radio News Directors, Inc.

The 8 O'Clock Hour, NCPR News
Second Place, Division B, Daily Program: Public Radio News Directors, Inc.