2022 delivered big and surprising news throughout the year, and some of the top stories will reverberate for years to come, from the midterm election results to the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade.
Here is a look at how NHPR covered those stories, as well as some others that resonated with our audience. Did you have a favorite story from 2022? Let us know: Email voices@nhpr.org.
First things first
The year began with an announcement from Secretary of State Bill Gardner, the longest-serving secretary of state in the nation, that he was retiring after 46 years in office. His deputy, David Scanlan, became his immediate successor. The Legislature elected Scanlan to a full term for the first time on Dec. 7.
As 2022 closed out, national Democrats advanced a plan, backed by President Biden, to upset New Hampshire’s leadoff role in the presidential nomination process. As the state’s chief election officer, Scanlan echoed Gardner and maintained that New Hampshire would continue to hold the nation’s first presidential primary.
All politics is local … and national
Politics in Concord continued to be a rough-and-tumble enterprise in 2022. The legislative session began with lawmakers adhering to social distancing measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic: The 400-member House of Representatives convened outside of the State House, holding opening day sessions at the Center of New Hampshire Expo in Manchester.
There were bread-and-butter policy fights, and some strikingly different ones – like a hearing on a constitutional amendment proposing, in part, that “New Hampshire peaceably declares independence from the United States and immediately proceeds as a sovereign nation.”
On Election Day 2022, it was something of an incumbents’ field day in the Granite State. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu won a fourth term. Democrats U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, Rep. Annie Kuster, and Rep. Chris Pappas all won reelection.
House Speaker Sherm Packard won another two-year term as Speaker. Former congressman Jeb Bradley, a Republican from Wolfeboro, became president of the state Senate.
Republicans enjoy a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, 201-198, to start 2023.
In March, the State House lost a long-term legislator, when House Democratic Leader Renny Cushing died from prostate cancer. He was 69.
Also in March, a long-shielded list containing the names of current and former police officers with misconduct on their records was publicly released. The “Laurie List” is formally known as the exculpatory evidence schedule.
The attorney general’s release of the “Laurie List” was advanced, in part, by legislative efforts, as well as criminal justice reform advocates who pushed for its disclosure.
Gunstocked
In July, managers of Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford abruptly resigned after clashing with libertarian-leaning members of the Belknap County legislative delegation. The controversy had been brewing for months.
“We couldn’t take it any more; we couldn’t take the environment,” Tom Day, Gunstock’s president, said at the time. “They had meetings to tell me that I needed to make sure to support them, and that they were in charge and I’m not. It’s just crazy.”
Gunstock reopened in early August, after the commission overseeing the county-run operation was overhauled. There were political consequences, with two of the state representatives in the eye of the stormlosing reelection in the fall.
Schools and school funding
Schools re-emerged as a political minefield in 2022. The town of Croydon, a small community in Sullivan County, found itself in national headlines when voters at a sparsely attended town meeting in March cut the school budget by more than half. In May, at a special meeting, voters rallied and restored the funding.
NHPR’s Sarah Gibson’s reporting on Croydon was also featured on This American Life: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Quorum.
Among policy fights, state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut accused teachers of “knowingly dismantling” family values. And parents and conservative activists flooded some districts with right-to-know requests.
Looking ahead, state lawmakers will be taking up some familiar debates in 2023, including how New Hampshire funds its public schools.
New Hampshire’s Executive Council once again denied Pamela Smart a sentence reduction.
In February, Gov. Chris Sununu ordered the removal of Russian liquor from New Hampshire’s state-run liquor stores, in what he called a symbolic move to show support for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. A company behind one Russian-branded vodka said it was being unfairly targeted, and that its product is not even made in Russia.
In an unrelated story, the New Hampshire attorney general in March cleared state liquor stores of any wrongdoing in connection with cash transactions with reported bootleggers.
Couple found dead in Concord
In April, a retired couple from Concord went missing, and police officers soon found their bodies in a wooded area near a walking trail not far from their home. Stephen and Wendy Reid were shot multiple times, and the case remained under investigation for another six months before authorities arrested a person in connection with the killings.
They were remembered as a warm and friendly couple.
Landmark Roe v. Wade struck down
In May, a leaked memo of the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that conservative justices on the high court would soon issue an opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights advocates held rallies and braced for the ruling, which would come in June.
The ruling galvanized Roe supporters, women shared personal stories of their abortions, and politicians debated to what length abortion remains legal in New Hampshire. It instantly became a key political and health care issue in the midterm elections.
Forecast and hot takes
New Hampshire once again saw drought conditions this summer, and residents and businesses alike stared down some soaring electric bills. In wide-swinging climate news, Mount Washington in April saw a day of record heat.
A plant species only found in New Hampshire was officially declared extinct.
The 93rd annual World Championship Sled Dog Derby was held in Laconia, and warming winters continue to be part of this competition’s narrative. Mushers encountered slushy conditions as they competed in this traditional race.
Health check: COVID to RSV
Health experts in late 2022 started expressing concern over a “triple pandemic,” with medical providers continuing to track COVID-19 transmission rates along with influenza and RSV, a respiratory infection that can be serious in infants.
RSV cases surged at New Hampshire hospitals at the beginning of December. “The sheer numbers of children coming in have been somewhat overwhelming,” said Dr. Neil Meehan, chief physician executive at Exeter Hospital.
The coronavirus did not dominate the news as much, but it coursed through so much of 2022. Coronavirus stories were some of the most-read posts on NHPR.org.
State education leaders began the year by trying to help school districts return to a sense of normalcy, in part by preventing schools from relying on remote learning. In February, New Hampshire dropped its indoor mask recommendation, and officials pushed schools to transition away from mask mandates.
COVID vaccinations continued with booster shot availability. And some residents previously opposed to getting a shot revealed a new embrace: How a near fatal case of COVID changed one N.H. man’s mind on the vaccine.
As of mid-December, New Hampshire health officials have recorded more than 360,000 known cases of COVID-19, and tallied nearly 3,000 deaths.
On Dec. 19, Gov. Chris Sununu and 24 other governors sent a letter to President Biden asking for an end to the national emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That federal public health emergency is set to expire by April. “While the virus will be with us for some time, the emergency phase of the pandemic is behind us,” the leader reads.
It wasn’t all hard news, or bad news, in 2022
Listeners and readers weighed in on a long list of tales. Are there more bobcats in New Hampshire? Or just more wildlife cameras? Something Wild explored that question.
Felix Poon, a producer with NHPR’s Outside/In podcast, went to the other side of the world for a story that garnered a national audience. His feature, “The So-called Mystery of Rapa Nui (Easter Island),” is worth listening to again.
Morning Edition host Rick Ganley and producer Mary McIntyre stretched their legs some to cover the story of Moose, a pet rabbit who likes to hike 4,000 footers.
To capture the feeling of what it's like to live and work in New Hampshire, NHPR's newsroom launched a series on odd summer jobs, like this feature story on the Storyland amusement park, where all the world's a stage, whether or not you're Cinderella.
And climate reporter Mara Hoplamazian flew on a mission with the “bug patrol,” a team of foresters who scan the tree canopy each summer for signs of sick trees, often harmed by insects.
