Reporting from the places that don't always make the front page.
Education Minister Erica Stanford says a nationwide programme upgrading small and remote schools has completed its 800th school upgrade, putting school property back into the regional infrastructure conversation.
Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says rural communities will benefit from three new investments aimed at training more frontline clinicians, improving urgent-care decisions and strengthening recruitment for rural health providers.
The Department of Conservation is investigating after two pohutukawa trees beside Hahei Beach on the Coromandel were found with signs of illegal poisoning, in a case that turns a local beach incident into a wider reminder about coastal protection.
Taylorville Resource Park's controversial industrial landfill near Greymouth has hit another procedural barrier, after the West Coast Regional Council put a consent application to expand the operation on hold while the site continues to operate.
Hastings City Business Association chair Craig Riddiford says local businesses are extremely disappointed after the council confirmed a rating structure that will leave some commercial properties paying up to 50 percent more.
Taranaki Police Acting Sergeant David Bentley says a Mount Taranaki rescue could have ended tragically if the weather had not cleared and community alpine teams had not been able to reach three stranded trampers.
Upper Selwyn Huts residents have secured a new 30-year deed of licence after years of uncertainty, ending a long fight over whether the small Canterbury lakeside settlement would have to leave land it has occupied for generations.
Hokitika's famous driftwood sign has been destroyed in a suspected act of vandalism, turning a small West Coast landmark into a larger story about community ownership, tourism identity and what happens when public places rely on informal care.
Palmerston North Hospital's loss of its last permanent gastroenterologist has pushed a regional health workforce problem into public view, with Health New Zealand preparing to front a community meeting.
Rawene residents have been asked to keep saving water after a major leak severely depleted the Far North township's reservoir, leaving parts of the community without normal supply.
A Westport resident has turned frustration over coastal fly-tipping into a large-scale clean-up, raising wider questions about who carries the cost of illegal dumping.
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