I’m turning the mic over to Karen Boodey, who praised the librarians at Dover Public Library for working hard through a renovation and expansion project.

✨ Local Hero Spotlight ✨

“They are always so pleasant as well as knowledgeable, and accommodating. Much praise to the director of the library, Denise LaFrance. She has been overseeing this renovation and expansion project.”

Do you want to shout out a local hero or organization doing good? Reply to this email and we’ll feature them!

Here’s some other good news: 

Here’s what else is inside today’s newsletter:

📸 Check out this reader-submitted photo of sunflowers 

📰 What we’re reading, news from around the state

🏃‍♀️ Meet cancer fighter and runner Ali Feller 

📢 Question of the week: Is Ayotte doing enough to stand up to the Trump administration and advocate for NH?

🌞 The bright side: Your local good news roundup

💪 Nominate a local hero, and we’ll feature them in this newsletter

(Courtesy of Nancy Fiske)

Shoutout to Nancy Fiske, who shared a photo of last year’s Sunflower Festival at Coppalhouse Farm.

Love to see this. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers! 

If you have a photo to share—literally anything you want—send it my way to share in this newsletter! 

Ali Feller and her daughter. (Courtesy Ali Feller)

By Katy Savage

For Ali Feller, running started with four lamp posts in New York City.

She had just moved from New Hampshire to Manhattan after college, chasing a dream of working in magazine publishing. She wasn’t a runner yet. In fact, growing up in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, she actively avoided running.

Then she met her roommate.

“She had her half marathon medals hanging on her bedroom wall, and me being intrigued about why an adult would have medals and why they would display them,” Feller said. 

At the time, Feller was living on a magazine publishing salary that barely covered rent and meals. Dance classes and gym memberships weren’t realistic. Running, though, was free.

So she started small.

“I sprinted out my front door and ran the length of four lamp posts along the FDR Drive,” she said. 

The next day, she tried to make it one lamp post farther.

That tiny challenge became the foundation of a career and community that now reaches runners around the world.

Today, Feller is the creator and host of the wildly popular “Ali on the Run Show,” a podcast featuring elite athletes, celebrity runners, Olympians and everyday runners with close to 25 million downloads. She’s also become a familiar face at some of the biggest races in the country, announcing and working broadcasts for the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, and Chicago Marathon.

But over the past three years, her life has become defined not only by running—but by cancer.

Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte withdrew her endorsement of President Donald Trump in 2016 before later backing him again in 2024, saying he was the right choice.

Ayotte has since mostly stayed silent when it comes to Trump’s tariffs, rising gas prices, the Iran war, and a number of other issues.

So this week’s question is:

Is Ayotte doing enough to stand up to the Trump administration and advocate for NH?

“Ayotte will never stand up to Trump as long as it serves her political best interests not to do so. One-term Republican Gov. Craig Benson appointed her attorney general of NH at the end of his term, and Democrat John Lynch reappointed her because she acted as if she didn’t care about politics and was already the incumbent. However, she has been trying to climb the political ladder ever since. One of her first acts as governor was appointing Craig Benson to COGE — obviously returning a favor. She doesn’t actually care about the best interests of NH; she only sees it as a stepping stone to her next political position and will toe the line for whatever administration is in power to enable her to move up.” — Denise Veau

“Hell no! She and the Repubs in NH have shown time and again that they like what the fat orange pedophile is doing and have made no efforts to speak out against it. And now the NRA is trying to influence the folks in Concord so that guns on campus—an insane idea—can get passed. Plus, all the racist and antisemitic comments from some pols show that they’re taking their cue from him.” — David Masters

“No free-market ‘advocate’ can support non-market costs like the tariffs, and no Constitutionalist can support the constant disdain for, ignoring of, and usurpation of Congress’ enumerated powers. Ayotte proves herself a pure politician, not a public servant with principles.” — Keenan Pawley

“Actually, I would prefer she show more support for President Trump. We need to get all his policies in place for the safety of our country, as well as the economy. All the constant roadblocks are negatively impacting the country as well as NH.” — Susan Murray

The following briefs from around the region are presented in partnership with Granite Goodness. Subscribe today.

♻️ First up, one Massachusetts town just landed a massive win for recycling and composting …

Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, just won the largest federal recycling grant in Massachusetts history. A $2.7 million EPA award will launch townwide curbside composting, a new recycling facility, drop-off for hard-to-recycle items, and will divert up to 1,000 tons of waste a year from incineration. Massachusetts Municipal Association

🌱 And speaking of environmental projects getting a major boost …

Maine is about to get a lot wilder: $4.6 million is flowing to 10 wetland restoration projects, more than double last year’s funding. The funds will help remove dams and rehabilitate Acadia National Park’s largest freshwater wetland, strengthening ecosystems and improving flood resilience across the state. The Maine Monitor

👩🏻‍🌾 Meanwhile, while states invest in the environment, one Vermont farmer is trying to help backyard gardeners adapt to it …

Vermont farmer Charlie Watts just launched a seed company built to solve a problem every New England gardener has: a growing season too short for half the things worth growing. Homecoming Seeds in Northfield sells only open-pollinated varieties adapted to cold, fast-maturing conditions, grown on Watts’ own farm or contracted locally. They ship nationwide! Seven Days

💙 Know someone in New Hampshire who’s doing something worth celebrating? Whether it’s a neighbor, volunteer, small business owner, artist, or community leader, we want to hear about it!

Send us their name, what they’re doing, and why it matters to you at info@granitepostnews.com.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Katy Savage with stories from Granite Goodness and USA Today via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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