Research shows that rural zip codes have lagged behind urban cities since the recession when many metro areas have seen an economic upswing.

The 35-and-younger crowd is getting involved in local politics and sifting through myriad issues, which are sometimes connected to the rural nature of the region.

It’s the golden age of craft spirits, both nationwide and right here in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Given the emotionally charged election cycle, I thought a review of the past performance of our political parties might be useful.

Congress isn’t failing to solve the country’s problems because of party polarization or gridlock. It’s failing because it’s not in its own best interest to do so. Our legislators uniformly rely on big money to keep them in power.

This is the second installment of a three-part series on how to get the country back on track. I avoid saying “making America great again” because that’s both a political trigger and blatantly wrong. Although I may rail against the country’s direction, America remains the greatest sovereign …

Trump “The Disrupter” was elected because voters grew weary of the Washington status quo. They got it partially right: Change is needed. But expecting Donald Trump to facilitate that change was a miscalculation.

Will Silverstein-Belden graduated from Keene High School in 2014 and traveled to the West Coast for college. But after one semester at the University of Puget Sound, he returned to the Granite State to get degrees in English literature and environmental and resource economics from the Univer…

Cody Hall, 27, and Max Rowe Beebee, 26, have known each since eighth grade at Keene Middle School. They drifted apart after high school, but one day, during a fateful walk around Goose Pond, they rediscovered their friendship and realized they could be the perfect partners to start a busines…

Before December 2018, Ingrid Aho a 2017 graduate of ConVal Regional High School was known for her pipes, singing in musical theater and choirs. After she graduated she thought about getting serious about her singing or going to college for music, but then life happened. Or more specifically,…

Kat Wood and Aaron Shields describe themselves as partners in life, work and play. Both are transplants to Keene who have settled in and are growing roots, both in their business, Mudita Massage & Wellness on Emerald Street, and in a community of young entrepreneurs that has sprouted in …

Name: Debra Caplan

NAME: Katherine McLaughlin

Name: Holly Miller (daughter) 

Halvorson New Media

Dear Helaine,

Dear Helaine,

Dear Helaine,

At Antioch University New England, ecological stewardship and social justice are two of the cornerstones of the educational foundation that underlies the school’s graduate programs. Perhaps the other two cornerstones are the university’s faculty and the people from around the world who trave…

Five towns in the Monadnock Region — Peterborough, Sharon, Rindge, Hancock and Fitzwilliam — were the first participants in Monadnock Energy Hub’s “Solarize Monadnock” campaign. Solarize Monadnock is a community-based solar energy group purchasing campaign that makes solar more accessible an…

Tedd Benson knows it is not enough to build sustainable homes. The manufacturing process that creates those homes must also walk the “green” talk.

Ever since I was 10 years old, I’ve been known as “The Green Up Girl.” I grew up in a small Vermont town and each year, on the first Saturday of May, our state would celebrate “Green Up Day” — a day when everyone would come together in their community to walk up and down each road, river and…

It seems like passive investing — index and exchange-traded funds — have won the performance battle in today’s financial market. Trillions of investment dollars now rest in massive pools, while investors question why they pay active managers anything for investment advice.

High stress workplaces are like psychological Petri dishes; they are perfect places to grow nasty things.

At the end of June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, or the “internet sales tax case,” which overturned its prior case law that required “physical presence” before a state could subject a retailer to its sales tax collection and remittance l…

Press release submissions should be one of the communication options in the public relations arsenal of a business or nonprofit. One of the advantages of submitting a press, or news, release is that the business itself frames its story. Another is that the same story has the potential of bei…

Darci Hammer

On a pleasant spring day a few years ago, Jill Carson was enjoying some outdoor play time with her granddaughter. The focus of the play: bubbles. It was fun, but with her instinctive sense of quality control, Carson noticed that the bubbles and the medium of play were generally deficient. Th…

Suzanna Kamphuis’ startup, TotumVos, produces and sells multi-collagen chews in Keene. Collagen, if you weren’t sure, is the most common protein found in the body, offering support to everything from bones to skin.

Teresa Cadorette is a self-described “conscious capitalist.” And her inspiration for founding Chrysalis blends a moral intuition with a novel idea for the provision of medical services.

When people talk about downtown Keene, they use words like “vibrant,” and “vital.”

A small New Hampshire downtown fights back rising tide of online shopping, absentee landlords and years of Main Street vacancies

While Webster might associate “malaise” with depression, dejection and good old ennui, Marlborough’s Malaise is having quite the opposite effect.

It’s all about the bones. The bones of the old buildings in Bellows Falls, Vermont. That’s what’s bringing back this town in Wind­ham County that went through some bumps, scrapes and bruises for almost 100 years.

It’s a great story: New England woodworkers carry on an age-old craft for 115 years right here in Cheshire County. But can you guess the company? Not to worry if you are stumped. Whitney Brothers remains one of Keene’s best-kept secrets, despite its reputation for designing, building and sup…

Architects and designers who are focused on the sustainability of their projects have depended on one organization since 1985 to help guide their efforts.

The maker movement began 15 years ago and gained momentum about a decade ago with makerspaces popping up in cities. Today, the phenomenon is worldwide and there are 700 such spaces around the country — a dozen in New Hampshire alone.

Companies report a small pool of job applicants as the region maintains its low unemployment rate. In the meantime, programs at colleges and universities are exploring ways to bolster the workforce.

With a shift in consumer demand to more locally grown and produced food, the number of large national farms is decreasing while local farms are on the rise. An early 2019 article in Fortune Magazine reported that local foods generated $11.7 billion in sales in 2014, are expected to climb to …

Though the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Index has been indicating a contraction in manufacturing over the last several months, many local manufacturers see a different trend based on their industries.

At the end of a productive year in the Monadnock Region’s nonprofit sector, it is clear these organizations will thrive as long as they are valuable to the communities they serve.

In Winchester, an economic development corporation is nearing construction on a business park. In Peterborough, a “hub and spoke” network is facilitating communication on topics ranging from the nonprofit sector to local food. Plans for a downtown arts corridor in Keene are underway. The cit…

How do you capture the beauty and offerings of diverse resources in a 25-word “elevator speech?” For Eric Lorimer, owner of Jack Daniels Motor Inn in Peterborough and member of the Monadnock Travel Council, you can’t.

The Savings Bank of Walpole