David Sommerstein
David Sommerstein, a contributor from North Country Public Radio (NCPR), has covered the St. Lawrence Valley, Thousand Islands, Watertown, Fort Drum and Tug Hill regions since 2000. Sommerstein has reported extensively on agriculture in New York State, Fort Drum’s engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lives of undocumented Latino immigrants on area dairy farms. He’s won numerous national and regional awards for his reporting from the Associated Press, the Public Radio News Directors Association, and the Radio-Television News Directors Association. He's regularly featured on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Only a Game, and PRI’s The World.
Sommerstein started his career in radio as a sit-in jazz and Latin DJ at Buffalo NPR affiliate WBFO. He’s a huge baseball fan, speaks fluent Spanish, and hosts a bilingual music show featuring funk, hip hop, Latin and world beats, called The Beat Authority.
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Massena, N.Y., has hemorrhaged factory jobs over the past decade. Now, digital currency mining firms have come to town, promising jobs and investment. -
One of the fastest Olympic events is the luge. Lying down, feet first and traveling at speeds faster than 90 mph. The difference between winning and losing is tiny and a man from New York is doing his part to help athletes win gold.
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Most of the ice wine in the Unites States comes from Canada and Germany. But now, American wineries in places like upstate New York and Michigan are also starting to produce some of their own. -
A new survey found that nationwide, three-quarters of Native Americans believe there is discrimination against their group today. -
For people living on a reservation that sits on the U.S.-Canada border, there are many struggles to overcome — including stereotypes and discrimination. -
They emigrated after the Trump administration said it might end the temporary protected status granted after Haiti's massive 2010 earthquake. The influx has led to some soul-searching in Canada.
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Lake sturgeon have been around since the dinosaurs, and they can live as long as humans, or longer. Overfishing and pollution has decimated populations, but biologists are learning to help them breed.
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Dairy farmers rely on thousands of immigrants, most of them undocumented, to milk the cows. They fear Trump administration policies will cause their labor pool to dry up.
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The plan is on hold while a legal battle plays out. Even if it's upheld, the Trump administration is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, states are looking at energy alternatives. -
Biomass was rising a decade ago as a carbon-neutral energy. But the industry is sputtering as oil and natural gas booms, and some scientists are questioning if it's actually good for the environment.
