Vermont news

• Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer denies sexual misconduct charges, says he won’t resign

  28-01-2026 23:47 via vtdigger.org
  Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer appears at his arraignment in Rutland County Superior criminal court in Rutland on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerRUTLAND — Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer has pleaded not guilty to several criminal charges accusing him of sexual misconduct and stalking.Palmer’s arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Rutland County Superior criminal court came a day after Vermont State Police announced they had summoned him to court to f
  
  Read more

• Rutland County sheriff deputy fired for racist messages, misconduct letter says

  28-01-2026 22:38 via vtdigger.org
  Rutland County Sheriff Department on January 28, 2026. Photo by Greta Solssa/VTDigger
  A Rutland County sheriff’s deputy was ousted from the department this week after he sent racist text messages, an internal affairs investigation found.In a group chat with other officers, former deputy Ryder Paskevich sent an image of officers in Klu Klux Klan garments taking Black people into custody, according to a Brady letter sent on Tuesday by Rutland County States Attorney Ian Sullivan. Paskev
  
  Read more

• Vermont Conversation: Local clergy see Minnesota as ‘testing ground’ for Trump’s immigration crackdown

  28-01-2026 22:32 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Rabbi David Fainsilber of the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe and Rev. Dr. Becca Girrell, pastor of the United Community Church of Morrisville, at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL, on a visit during an interfaith civil rights trip in 2025. Photo courtesy of Rev. Becca GirrellThe Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or
  
  Read more

• Esther Charlestin, Gov. Scott challenger in 2024, launches lieutenant governor bid

  28-01-2026 18:09 via vtdigger.org
  Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Esther Charlestin speaks with other attendees at a party function in Burlington on October 4, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerEsther Charlestin, the former Democratic nominee for governor of Vermont, launched a bid for the state’s second-highest office on Wednesday.Charlestin is the third Democrat to join this year’s race for lieutenant governor. Molly Gray, who held the office from 2021 to 2023, announced her bid just after Ne
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Kim Fitzgerald: Healthy aging starts with housing

  28-01-2026 01:08 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Kim Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of Cathedral Square, a Vermont nonprofit affordable housing organization.Vermont has one of the oldest populations in the nation, a severe housing shortage, and rising health care costs. As the legislative session begins, new research offers evidence about an investment that addresses these realities: age-specific, affordable housing with supportive services for adults 55 and older.A recent study from NORC at the University of Chicag
  
  Read more

• South Burlington students start school food pantry for classmates

  28-01-2026 01:06 via vtdigger.org
  Seniors Ally Leduc, left, and Katie Williamson, at South Burlington High School’s new food shelf, which they launched shortly before the school’s winter break. Photo by Sophia BalunekThis story by Sophia Balunek was first published in The Other Paper on Jan. 22, 2026.j28% of students this year in the South Burlington School District qualify for free or reduced lunch, which means they are living at or below the poverty line, according to data presented at a November school board meet
  
  Read more

• What happens when the state and towns clash over reservoirs

  28-01-2026 00:49 via vtdigger.org
  Berlin Pond is the City of Montpelier’s water supply on Nov. 7, 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSometimes, the law is a head scratcher.Take, for example, the Thurman W. Dix Reservoir, a little over 100-acre pond in Orange that serves as Barre City’s water supply. The Granite City owns all the land around the reservoir, allowing fishing access at two designated points and granting hunting permission through permits. But because the reservoir provides clean water to tho
  
  Read more

• Windsor County Sheriff charged with soliciting prostitution, other sex crimes

  28-01-2026 00:35 via vtdigger.org
  Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer’s walks through the former state prison on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.. (Valley News – James M. Patterson)Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer is facing 12 criminal charges after he was arrested Tuesday for a slew of sex crimes.The Vermont State Police began investigating Palmer in July after receiving anonymous tips about possible mismanagement of funds within the sheriff’s office, according to a state police press release. “During the
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Vermont clergy travel to Minneapolis to observe and protest Trump’s immigration crackdown

  28-01-2026 00:00 via vtdigger.org
  People protest against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in downtown Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 25. Photo by Adam Gray/APMore than a dozen Vermont faith leaders traveled to Minneapolis last week to see the impacts of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown first-hand and bolster the ranks of people there who have protested against the government’s actions.The group of 14 clergy were invited on the trip by local religious leaders. Some of the Vermont leaders were on t
  
  Read more

Follow @NewsVermont_ on Twitter!