New Hampshire 

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Latest news on New Hampshire, covering NH politics, the Granite State economy, housing, education, Concord, Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth.

New Hampshire, known as the Granite State, is a New England state of about 1.4 million people, bordered by Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and the Canadian province of Quebec. Concord is the capital and Manchester the largest city, with Nashua, Portsmouth, Dover, Derry, Keene and Hanover also well known. The Seacoast, the Lakes Region and the White Mountains define its landscape.

New Hampshire has an outsized national profile as home of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Its General Court, with a 400-member House of Representatives and a 24-member Senate, is among the largest legislatures in the world, and a five-member Executive Council weighs in on state contracts and judicial appointments. Elections for governor, Congress and the state legislature are held every two years.

Housing affordability, childcare, education funding, property taxes, healthcare, mental health services, immigration and the opioid crisis are recurring themes in state news. New Hampshire has no broad-based income tax or sales tax, which draws residents and businesses from neighbouring states while putting pressure on local property taxes and public services.

The state motto, Live Free or Die, reflects a strong tradition of individual liberty. Town meetings, maple syrup and autumn foliage are part of local life, while Mount Washington, Franconia Notch and Great Bay draw visitors. Dartmouth College in Hanover and the University of New Hampshire in Durham anchor education and research.

Settled by Europeans in the 1620s, New Hampshire was one of the original thirteen colonies and set up its own government in January 1776. It was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution in 1788, the vote that brought it into force. Textile mills along the Merrimack River in Manchester and Nashua powered its industrial age, before technology, healthcare and finance took on greater roles.

The NewsNow New Hampshire feed gathers the latest headlines from across the Granite State, from Statehouse politics in Concord and NH elections to housing, the economy, education, crime, healthcare and the environment, giving residents and anyone following NH current affairs one constantly updated source.