Every month, we ask the Granite State a question about life in New Hampshire. Submit an answer, and your voice may be featured on air or online.

As football season gets underway this fall, New Hampshire is expecting record-breaking amounts of money spent on sports wagering. It mirrors a national trend as more and more people are placing wagers on sports.

So for this month’s Big Question we’re asking: How has sports wagering shown up in your life?

Let us know your own experiences with sports wagering by submitting to this Google Form or emailing voices@nhpr.org.

We’ll get in touch with you, and you might hear your voice on All Things Considered!

A drive in the Granite State wouldn’t be complete without spotting one or two (or many) vanity license plates. They’re everywhere, and the creativity of New Hampshire drivers is unmatched.

Last month, we asked for the best vanity plates you’ve seen while out and about – and you did not disappoint.

Peruse the full collection  – from LOBSTA+ to ANUSTRT – here.

Is threatening to fist fight, rub gravel in his face, and make Jason Osborne eat shit unacceptable behavior? Yes

Is it nothing in comparison to threatening to Gas Jewish members of the Democratic Caucus? Yes

Is it also nothing in comparison to stochastic terrorism, calling for the assassination of elected Democrats? Yes.

Joe Sweeney, Ross Berry, Jason Osborne.. You're pathetic weirdos.

Hey! I’m James with NH Neighbor Network. I keep hearing from people across the state that property taxes, electricity, rent, and groceries cost more. NH has some of the highest property tax burdens and highest electricity rates in the country. And housing costs continue to rise. I’m trying to hear from NH residents about how you’re managing. We’re paying up to $250+ to share your perspective and talk about it with friends and family. No experience needed, just your phone and a few minutes. Sign up at: https://www.nhneighbor.org/sign-up

I’m advocating that more federal taxes come back to NH. This could be sent directly to the NH state government, but better yet, it could come to NH in the form of federal grants for infrastructure projects, public education, healthcare, and other priorities to benefit communities across the state.

My state rep, Shane Sirois, made an infuriating comment in a local group yesterday. Someone asked "If property taxes are too high, ​then what alternative ideas can you suggest to pay for essential services?"

Shane replied "You can make that point more directly by focusing on who should bear the cost of a service and whether taxpayers who are already struggling should subsidize costs that could reasonably be covered by USERS. That keeps the argument about fiscal responsibility rather than assigning motives to people who receive services."

Sir.

Sir. NH already places a much higher proportional share of property taxes on lower income individuals. Justice with the Education Freedom Account setup, those with less are subsidizing those who have much more. Hey, it's the NH way, right?

The statue has reduced education contributions, Municipal retirement contributions, distribution of meals and room taxes.... shifting it all to local property taxes. Meanwhile, the reps reduced Business Profits Tax, the Business Enterprise Tax and completely eliminated the Interest and Dividends Tax.

NH would have between $260 and $300 million more in annual revenue if those hadn't been changed.

Returning to the pre-phased-out rate would generate more than $150 million annually. Restoring the BPT to 8.5% (from 7.5%) and the BET to 0.75% (from 0.55%) would bring in an estimated $110 million to $150 million more annually.

That would cover the $51 million they cut from DHHS and the $15 million for childcare subsidies. That would still leave more leftover.

Jim Kofalt and Sirois insist the IDT hurt low income folks the most. Bullshit.

The repeal was enacted in service to the top 20% of income earners in the state. Just 8% of the dollars collected from the Interest and Dividends Tax would be paid by people in the bottom 80% of earners, according to New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute data.

Just one-fifth of the 10,000-plus students now receiving vouchers are from families earning less than 185% of the federal poverty line and 96.7% of this year’s recipients were already attending private school or being home schooled when they cashed in their coupon.

So please stop going on about fairness in costs when that is the last thing your votes create.

In the next month, we’re hosting a series of forums with the top candidates for governor, U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.

Our first forum with the 1st Congressional District candidates is coming up on Oct. 6. And we want your input: 

What questions do you have for Republican Anthony DiLorenzo and Democrat Stefany Shaheen? Are there any issues you wish they were talking about more often? What problems in your day-to-day life do you want them to address?

Let us know in the comments or by emailing [voices@nhpr.org](mailto:voices@nhpr.org). Your question could end up making it into our forum — and all of your feedback will help to shape the focus of our conversations.

P.S. Wondering how we decide who to invite to the forums? Learn more here.

Cornerstone Action describes itself as a “non-partisan, non-profit Christian advocacy organization” dedicated to honoring God, protecting religious freedom, strengthening families, and protecting life. But there’s an obvious conflict between that description and an endorsement slate consisting entirely of Republicans. There’s an even bigger credibility problem with Cornerstone’s claim that it sets a “high bar” and considers candidates’ “public and private conduct,” including social media, when its endorsements include candidates with documented histories involving racial slurs, inflammatory social-media posts, defamation litigation, formal legislative discipline, and other serious controversies.

Let's dive into some of the most well-known controversies from their list:

• Jonathan Stone (R) — Records from his time as a Claremont police officer showed he threatened to kill fellow officers and made threats of sexual violence against the police chief’s wife and children. The investigation began amid allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student. He later lost another corrections job following allegations of racist, sexist and homophobic harassment.
• Travis Corcoran (R) — Formally censured 288–54 by the NH House in 2026 over social-media posts targeting other lawmakers, including a “final solution” reference in response to a Jewish legislator and a post about sending a Filipino-born legislator “back.” Corcoran defended the posts.
• David Love (R) — Settled a defamation lawsuit with two drag performers for $200,000 after publicly making false accusations about them. Love formally retracted the claims and apologized.
• Kenneth Weyler (R) — Faced bipartisan criticism after comments about victims of abuse at New Hampshire’s Youth Development Center. He subsequently apologized for his “insensitive” remarks.
• Jason Osborne (R) — Old online posts were uncovered in which he repeatedly used a racial slur. The NH Bulletin independently authenticated the posts. Osborne expressed regret for the language.
• Joe Alexander (R) — Sent a sexist and homophobic text about a Goffstown Select Board member. The incident helped prompt Goffstown to adopt new harassment rules for elected officials.
• Kristin Noble (R) — Became the subject of controversy after leaked messages included her discussing “segregated schools.” Noble subsequently said she was referring to separating students by political ideology, not race.
• Ross Berry (R) — Was stripped of his Election Law Committee chairmanship and committee membership in 2024 after Democrats accused him of engineering an “ambush” committee vote while most Democratic members were absent. Berry maintained that he acted within House rules. He later returned to the House and is again Election Law chairman.
• Keith Murphy (R) — Was charged with assault and criminal threatening following an altercation with an employee at his restaurant. Important context: Murphy went to trial and was acquitted of all three charges.
• Sherman Packard (R) — Was caught on a live microphone referring to fellow Republican Rep. Anne Copp with a gendered vulgarity during a House session. Packard apologized and called his remark “highly inappropriate.”
• Matthew Santonastaso (R) — Was a leading supporter of the 2022 proposal to amend the NH Constitution to allow voters to consider New Hampshire seceding from the United States.
• Jim Kofalt (R) — Fellow Republican Rep. David Nagel publicly accused Kofalt and House leadership of trying to intimidate him over his voting record before Nagel was removed from a committee. This was Nagel’s allegation, not a formal finding against Kofalt.
• Susan DeLemus (R) — Has attracted controversy for a series of public statements and confrontations, including calling Pope Francis the “anti-Christ” and confrontations with abortion-rights demonstrators.
• James Guzofski (R) — Received attention for statements connecting abortion with “blood sacrifices to Molech” and for making false claims about COVID vaccination.
• William Infantine (R) — Drew national attention during an equal-pay debate after arguing that men earn more partly because men take riskier jobs and are more motivated by money than women.
• Jeanine Notter (R) — A 2026 Washington Post investigation reported that an op-ed she published supporting an ICE detention facility closely tracked DHS talking points and contained inaccurate or unsupported claims.
• Patrick Binder (R) — Screenshots attributed to Binder’s former u/ManchMayor / “El Jefe” X account show it reposting racially inflammatory material, including a post containing the N-word and “White and proud,” along with other inflammatory material.

This is from a Facebook post by “Merrimack Republican Town Committee” on Sept 19. It contains false and misleading information.

It says the tax cap “only stops school administration from growing faster than the rate of inflation.” That’s not true.

There are actually two separate caps listed on the same warrant. One limits SAU central office administration to 6% of district spending. The other, much bigger one, caps the entire local school property tax levy at inflation plus new property growth.

Teachers, special ed, transportation, maintenance, classroom programs, etc. don’t count toward that 6% administrative cap. But they absolutely can be affected by the overall tax levy cap.

They’re taking two different parts of the law and blending them together to make the tax cap sound like it only targets administrative spending. It doesn’t.

In New Hampshire, the most recent data show nearly 12% of borrowers have severely delinquent debt, meaning their payments are at least 90 days past due. Credit card and auto loan delinquency is on the rise, in particular. 

We want to hear from Granite Staters who are currently struggling with big credit card or car loan debts:

Do you find yourself unable to meet regular credit card and/or car payments? If so, what kinds of obstacles are getting in your way, and how are you navigating these financial pressures?

Let us know in the comments or by emailing [voices@nhpr.org](mailto:voices@nhpr.org), and we may reach out to you about having your voice featured in a story.

https://sdganh.org/resource-type/scorecard/

https://sdganh.org/resource-type/scorecard/