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RI might get its first snowfall of the season. How to stay safe with your snow blower.

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RI might get its first snowfall of the season. How to stay safe with your snow blower.


If you haven’t already, go out to the garage, shed or barn and start your snow blower to make sure it works. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to know before the snowstorm that’s forecast to begin Saturday evening.

That’s advice from Merissa Siligato of the family-run All Outdoors Power Equipment, in Wakefield.

Fellow snow blower dealer Stephen Roy agreed, but took it one step further:

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“Drive it around now,” said Roy, of Stephen Roy Power Equipment, in North Smithfield. Make sure you know how all the controls work, how the machine feels before you’re battling the elements. “Make sure it’s ready to go now, before the storm shows up.”

Make sure your yard and driveway are clear of obstacles

And, while you’re out checking whether the machine starts, take a walk around the driveway and yard, anywhere you’ll be removing snow, and check for objects that could get ingested into a snow blower and render it inoperable, Siligato said. That includes things like balls and other sports equipment, life jackets and pool accessories, Christmas decorations and their power cords, and newspapers, which, when frozen, can become a snow blower’s worst nightmare.

Make sure you have spare parts

Siligato and Roy both said to make sure you have enough shear pins. Two-stage snow blowers have two active sections: an augur, which picks up the snow and grinds it into smaller pieces, and the impeller, which then throws the snow out of the way. If the augur gets its maw on a foreign object it can’t process, the shear pin snaps, so the augur stops turning and won’t feed the object into the impeller. It’s then fairly simple to clear the obstruction and put in a new shear pin.

“Never stick your hand in there to unclog it,” said Roy. Siligato agreed, cautioning everyone to shut off their machine before remedying any problems.

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Roy added that snow plows often pick up debris and deposit it at the end of driveways, which could jam the machine and cause a shear pin to snap.

They recommend having three or four spare shear pins.

Snow blower advice after the storm hits

While most of Rhode Island isn’t forecast to get more than 6 inches, bear in mind that snow should be cleared at least after every 6 inches of accumulation so it doesn’t overwhelm the machine, Siligato said.

Roy said that stones and other smaller objects can get picked up and thrown, so always make sure the blower is pointed away from people or breakable objects, such as windows.

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And, remember that it’s not a race.

“Take your time,” said Roy. “Don’t be in a hurry.”

When’s the best time to buy a snow blower?

While it logistically makes sense to buy before a storm so that you have it to use, Siligato said it also make sense to make sure you get what you want.

With the first snow of the season, people who were caught without one often head to stores to buy one. And the selection will diminish.

Siligato said the machines she carries sell for anywhere from $750 to $2,000 — or more. Roy listed a range of $799 to $3,300.

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick


WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.

Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.

According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.

The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.

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The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.

A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.

State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information


A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.

Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.

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McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.

“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”

“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”

The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.

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The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.

The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.

At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than $500K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than 0K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe


As the two-year anniversary of his wife’s death approaches, widowed single father Scott Naso is sounding an alarm to fellow parents across the country — and especially in Rhode Island, where he lives with his now 4-year-old daughter, Laila.



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