Lehigh County News

The Lehigh Valley Zoo’s barnyard birds, waterfowl and penguins are off exhibit. A recent suspected bird flu outbreak in wild geese is to blame.

The weeklong 109th PA Farm Show is well underway. More than a half-dozen Lehigh County 4-H’ers already have competed in various categories, from swine and sheep to breeding and market beef.

The money, administered by the National Park Service, along with $1,850,000 already committed by Lehigh County, will be used to replace the Cast House roof. Other work will focus on water infiltration of the furnace and rehabilitation of related buildings.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is collecting public input about listing the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act. Officials estimate the eastern migratory population has declined by approximately 80%.

Unforeseen issues and obstacles have pushed the timeline for Lehigh Valley Breathes back. The regional air monitoring project aims to measure fine particle pollution.

Easton's Nurture Nature Center is searching for stargazers to join in the Hubble Night Sky Observing Challenge, where participants look out for some of the spectacles the legendary telescope has photographed.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and 433 other members of the U.S. House took the oath of office Friday afternoon following a dramatic roll call vote that awarded U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson the speaker's gavel.

A man was carjacked at gunpoint Thursday after arranging a deal on Facebook Marketplace to sell shoes to two men, according to court documents.

St. Luke's University Health Network and Grand View Health have confirmed a partnership which was first introduced in the summer of 2024.

Ryan Mackenzie is scheduled to take the oath of office Friday to become the Lehigh Valley's next representative in the U.S. House. But those plans may be put on hold if the chamber can't rally around a speaker.

There are 51 stops on this year’s trail. In its eighth year, the trail is focused on celebrating local creameries across the state while driving business during the summer months.

Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.

The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.

In a move that Santander Bank said aligns with the financial institution's digital shift nationwide, seven Lehigh Valley branches will be sold to Community Bank. Branches will remain open and employees will be offered continued employment during the transition, which is expected to complete by the end of the year,

South Whitehall Township's board of commissioners voted Wednesday to purchase upgraded radios for first responders in the township through a five-year payment plan provided by Lehigh County.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Allentown's Redevelopment Authority is applying for up to $2.5 million that could be used to rehab 10 single-family homes for low-income residents.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Newhard Farms Corn Shed opened Tuesday for sweet corn sales. While it opened a few days later than in recent years, there's expected to be a good supply this season.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.