Gov. Kelly Ayotte has staked out her spot when it comes to taking advantage of a new federal grant opportunity under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

All states have until the end of the year to apply to receive some of a five-year, $50 billion program of federal support for rural health initiatives.

“I’m all over this,” Ayotte told reporters, pointing out she’s been holding private meetings with stakeholders and is planning a public forum about it on Sept. 4 in Littleton.

In this space, we reported two weeks ago that Councilors Joe Kenney , R-Wakefield, and John Stephen , R-Manchester, planned to hold the first public information meeting on the topic up in Berlin.

We were told that the governor had a private chat with both councilors, informing them that she’d be taking the lead.

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