Franconia, N.H.

Hiker collapses, dies near summit

Officials say a 65-year-old hiker died after having a medical emergency near the summit of a New Hampshire mountain. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department says Maxim Raykin of Nashua had been hiking with four companions when he collapsed near the summit of Little Haystack Mountain on Saturday morning. Officials say efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. His companions carried him down the trail and met up with a rescue team. An autopsy was planned . (AP)

SWANTON, VT.

Body found near submerged vehicle

Vermont State Police say a body was found about 150 yards from a vehicle that had gone through the ice on Lake Champlain in Swanton. Police say they presume it is 23-year-old William Fournier of Swanton who had been reported missing by friends. Police say Fournier had been ice fishing with friends in the area of Campbell’s Bay on Saturday evening. Swanton police received a call about a missing person around 11 p.m. Saturday. Law enforcement agencies found the vehicle in the water. Police say due to safety concerns, the search was suspended until daylight on Sunday. Swanton police say when the search resumed, Vermont State Police troopers and Vermont Fish and Wildlife officers found Fournier’s body about 100 to 150 yards from his vehicle. (AP)

Montpelier, VT.

State seeks to cut goose population

Vermont is again offering a spring hunting season for snow geese aimed at reducing the growing population, which officials say is destroying habitat. The season runs from March 11 through April 22. Officials say the breeding snow goose population has grown from about 50,000 birds in the mid-1960s to 820,000 birds now and that has resulted in damage to crops and marsh vegetation from Quebec to North Carolina. Vermont is one of eight states to hold such a hunt. Snow geese usually move through the Champlain Valley in late March and early April during the spring migration. The daily bag limit is 15 snow geese. (AP)

AUGUSTA, MAINE

Maine governor says no new parks

Maine Governor Paul LePage says the state doesn’t need another national park, especially when there’s a $12 billion backlog of maintenance. Burt’s Bees founder and conservationist Roxanne Quimby proposed donating land east of Baxter State Park for a new national park in 2011. Her son, Lucas St. Clair, hopes to win support this year. LePage, however, says it ‘‘defies logic’’ that another park would be created when the park service can’t fund its existing properties. (AP)

TOLLAND, CONN.

Highway closed as chicken truck burns

Part of Interstate 84 in Tolland was shut down early Sunday morning after a tractor-trailer carrying frozen chicken caught fire. The highway was shut down between exits 67 and 68 while firefighters battled the blaze. Fire officials say bitter temperatures made it difficult to extinguish the fire. The driver of the truck was not injured. WVIT-TV reported that the truck was carrying chicken from Mountaire Farms in Millsboro, Del. (AP)

Hanover, N.H.

Summit to examine Nepal earthquake

Dartmouth College is hosting a summit to examine last year’s earthquake in Nepal from a variety of perspectives. The April 25 earthquake killed more than 8,000 people and leveled villages across many remote regions of Nepal. The summit, being held Feb. 18-20, will bring together member of the Nepalese government and representatives from a variety of disciplines, including technology, medical relief, and anthropology and the visual arts. Participants will talk about the disaster and what they have done individually or as organizations, and make connections to continue the conversation in the future. (AP)