Vermont news

• Car Collides with Train

  21-07-2017 13:24
  
  Two people are said to be okay this morning after their car collided with a freight train in Colchester. State police say it happened on East Road around 11:30 last night, just under a mile from the Milton town line. Investigators say Sophia Knox was traveling northbound when she tried to turn around and her car got lodged on one of the rails. Knox and her passenger were able to get out of the car before the car was pushed 81 feet. Police say parts of East Road were closed down for ab...
  
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• Lake Champlain ice is all it’s cracked up to be

  07-02-2026 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  Rescue personnel bring a boat onto the ice of Lake Champlain to rescue skaters who were trapped by a widening gap on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Photo via City of Vergennes Fire DepartmentJohn Rosenthal finds skating across the deep-blue ice of Lake Champlain at bike-level speeds to be “dramatic and exciting.” But the 75-year-old Charlotte resident has long known that ice skating on such a large, natural surface is not without risks. “We never say ice is safe, only skateable, b
  
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• John Steen: Deliver us from privatization

  07-02-2026 02:09 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,In c. 500 B.C., Herodotus wrote, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The iconic phrase often called the Postal Service’s motto — adapted from Herodotus and famously inscribed on New York City’s main post office — has long symbolized the reliability of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). It pains me to see that proud institution now being reduced and distorte
  
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• Vermont’s US senators celebrate more than $58 million in earmarks for local projects 

  07-02-2026 01:18 via vtdigger.org
  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, left, and U.S. Senator Peter Welch, D-Vermont, speak during a press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, February 6, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — Vermont’s congressional delegation plans to funnel more than $58 million in federal funds to projects around the state including housing and infrastructure projects, technical school programs and construction for Vermont Air National Guard facilities. U.S. S
  
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• Cold snap expected to hit Vermont, exacerbating risks of heating fuel shortages 

  07-02-2026 01:08 via vtdigger.org
  Marie Devaney clears snow from a car on Wallace Street in Waterbury on Jan. 26, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs Vermonters prepare for another frigid weekend, a season of multiple cold snaps has led to heating fuel and firewood shortages. Beginning Saturday, a blast of arctic air will drop temperatures across Vermont, with windchills causing lows down to feel like minus 20 to minus 35 degrees, according to Matthew Clay, a meteorologist at the Burlington office of the National Weath
  
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• Vermont pursues junk food ban for 3SquaresVT recipients

  07-02-2026 01:00 via vtdigger.org
  Photo via PexelsTheo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Vermont officials are pursuing a ban on some “non-nutritious items” for recipients of the state’s largest food assistance program. Recipients would no longer be able to use funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called 3SquaresVT in Vermont, to purchase certain goods. Elsewhere, such restrictions have ranged from only “soft drinks” in Color
  
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• Vermont hospitals say collaboration is saving them money. Now, they’re joining forces. 

  07-02-2026 00:49 via vtdigger.org
  Michael Costa, CEO of Gifford Health Care in Randolph, speaks during a press conference at the Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin on Oct. 31, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerWhen Michael Costa came aboard as CEO of Randolph’s Gifford Hospital in 2024, he couldn’t help but notice that the hospital’s inpatient beds were relatively empty. Meanwhile, Dartmouth Hitchcock’s and UVM Medical Center’s beds seemed to be overflowing. “So, we started
  
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• Neighbor to Mountain Top in the crosshairs of cross-country trail dispute  

  06-02-2026 23:05 via vtdigger.org
  The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of Mountain Top Resort — a well-known cross-country skiing spot in Chittenden — in the latest development of over a yearlong legal fight with an adjoining neighbor, who altered the route of two of the resort’s ski trails.  The clash with Mountain Top began in the summer of 2024 when the neighbors in the dispute, John and Deborah Gerlach, relocated two trails without consulting the resort, according to the original lawsu
  
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• As Act 250 overhaul takes shape, some question whether it strikes the right balance

  06-02-2026 22:45 via vtdigger.org
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Two years ago, lawmakers set in motion a transformation of Act 250, the half-century-old development-review law that many credit with keeping Vermont looking like Vermont: compact towns and cities surrounded by fields and forests. Now, those reforms are beginning to come into focus.We’re taking a look at how the changes enacted in 2024’s Act 181 are mat
  
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• Vermont jails publish immigrant detainee data

  06-02-2026 22:27 via vtdigger.org
  The Immigration Detainee Dashboard provides information on people detained in Vermont jails on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Screenshot via Vermont Department of Corrections
  Vermont correctional facilities have held more than 900 detainees apprehended by federal immigration authorities since January 2025, according to new data released by the Vermont Department of Corrections Friday. The numbers, compiled in a dashboard on the de
  
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• Investing close to home: how Vermonters are putting their money to work locally

  06-02-2026 15:44 via vtdigger.org
  What if your investment portfolio included the childcare center down the street, the new affordable housing development in your county, or the local restaurant opening downtown?For a growing number of Vermonters, that’s exactly what investing looks like. Instead of sending their money to distant corporations and abstract funds, they’re choosing to invest close to home by supporting projects that strengthen their communities while still earning a financial return.This approach is kno
  
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• Obsolete IT systems have cost Vermont child services funding — but no one knows how much

  06-02-2026 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.Vermont is missing out on huge opportunities for federal money for child welfare services — perhaps millions of dollars, lawmakers fear — because of a 43-year-old IT system. And due to flaws in that very system, officials say it’s also impossible to know how much funding Vermont has lost out on.“The total monetary impact remains unknown,” said Family Services Division head Aryka
  
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• Vermont’s school enrollment is declining. Students needing special education are on the rise. 

  06-02-2026 00:30 via vtdigger.org
  Education Secretary Zoie Saunders at the Statehouse in Montpelier on April 23, 2024. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s special educators have a unique problem. Students with individualized education programs, or IEPs, are spending more time in regular classroom settings than the national average — a positive for the state’s public education system.But concurrently, Vermont sends those students to out-of-district schools at a rate more than double the national avera
  
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• House lawmaker’s proposed school consolidation map would combine 119 districts into 27

  05-02-2026 23:46 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, chair of the House Education Committee, speaks during a press conference at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerRep. Peter Conlon, D-Cornwall, the House Education Committee chair, on Thursday introduced the first concrete proposal presented this legislative session to consolidate Vermont’s dozens of school districts.The proposal would merge the state’s 119 districts — and the 52 entities that g
  
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• Prosecution and defense push for delay in slain border agent case 

  05-02-2026 23:24 via vtdigger.org
  The I-91 highway southbound lane in Coventry on Jan. 29, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerProsecutors and defense attorneys are jointly seeking to delay proceedings in the case of a murder suspect accused of fatally shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont, a crime that could carry the death penalty.Federal Judge Christina Reiss had set a Thursday deadline for lawyers to file motions in the case against Theresa Youngblut. However, Youngblut’s legal team and federal
  
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• Prosecution and defense push for delay in murdred border agent case 

  05-02-2026 23:24 via vtdigger.org
  The I-91 highway southbound lane in Coventry on Wednesday on Jan. 29, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerProsecutors and defense attorneys are jointly seeking to delay proceedings in the case of a murder suspect accused of fatally shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont, a crime that could carry the death penalty.Federal Judge Christina Reiss had set a Thursday deadline for lawyers to file motions in the case against Theresa Youngblut. However, Youngblut’s legal tea
  
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• Prosecution and defense push for delay in murdered border agent case 

  05-02-2026 23:24 via vtdigger.org
  The I-91 highway southbound lane in Coventry on Jan. 29, 2025. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerProsecutors and defense attorneys are jointly seeking to delay proceedings in the case of a murder suspect accused of fatally shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent in northern Vermont, a crime that could carry the death penalty.Federal Judge Christina Reiss had set a Thursday deadline for lawyers to file motions in the case against Theresa Youngblut. However, Youngblut’s legal team and federal
  
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• Vermont is overhauling Act 250. Here’s what the development maps look like so far 

  05-02-2026 21:16 via vtdigger.org
  This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.Two years ago, lawmakers set in motion a transformation of Act 250, the half-century-old development-review law that many credit with keeping Vermont looking like Vermont: compact towns and cities surrounded by fields and forests. Now, those reforms are beginning to come into focus.We’re taking a look at how the changes enacted in 2024’s Act 181 are mat
  
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• Mary Alice Bisbee: Health care costs are breaking Vermont schools

  05-02-2026 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Those of us who have long pushed for universal, single-payer health care for every Vermonter are well aware that health insurance costs for education staff — including teachers, maintenance workers and other school employees — represent the fastest-growing expense in education funding.There is a simple solution. If health insurance funding were removed from education budgets and instead covered through a statewide universal health care system run by the state, or by a si
  
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• Health care costs are breaking Vermont schools

  05-02-2026 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,Those of us who have long pushed for universal, single-payer health care for every Vermonter are well aware that health insurance costs for education staff — including teachers, maintenance workers and other school employees — represent the fastest-growing expense in education funding.There is a simple solution. If health insurance funding were removed from education budgets and instead covered through a statewide universal health care system run by the state, or by a si
  
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• Gina Galfetti: Vermont’s conservation math doesn’t add up

  05-02-2026 01:32 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Rep. Gina Galfetti, R-Barre Town, who lives in Barre and serves on the House Committee on Institutions and Corrections.Vermont has committed itself to ambitious conservation goals through Act 59, the Community Resilience and Biodiversity Protection Act, often referred to as the state’s “30×30 and 50×50” initiative. These goals aim to conserve 30% of Vermont’s land by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Achieving them, however, will be impossible
  
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• Fast food wage bill would raise minimum pay to $20 an hour in 2027

  05-02-2026 01:30 via vtdigger.org
  The state’s coat of arms inside the Vermont Statehouse. Courtesy photoMona Abou is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.Vermont lawmakers introduced a bill this month that would increase the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. If approved, the new pay rate would take effect in Jan. 2027. The bill, H.713, would also create a new state council to study and recommend wor
  
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• Will Vermonters be able to get their cars inspected every other year? 

  05-02-2026 00:30 via vtdigger.org
  Photo by Nati Harnik/APVermonters don’t drive rust buckets for no reason. When people are avoiding a $200 repair on their car, it’s because they don’t have $200 to spare, Sen. Andrew Perchlik, D/P-Washington, said Wednesday in the Senate Transportation Committee. He’s among the lawmakers considering a bill, S.211, that would allow Vermonters to get their vehicles inspected every other year instead of annually. Some senators hope the change could make the inspection
  
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• Vermont Conversation: How Sen. Bernie Sanders went from ‘political loser’ to progressive trailblazer

  05-02-2026 00:13 via vtdigger.org
  
  
  Dan Chaisson’s new book is “Bernie for Burlington: The Rise of the People’s Politician” (Penguin 2026). Cover art by Alison Bechdel. Photo by Lisa AbitbolThe 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 wherever you get podcasts.Young Bernie Sanders arrived in Vermont in 1964 as part of a counter-cultural w
  
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• Ugandan minister Steven Tendo, who faced brutal torture abroad, detained by ICE

  04-02-2026 19:07 via vtdigger.org
  Steven Tendo, a refugee from Uganda seeking political asylum in the U.S., speaks with supporters after receiving a letter announcing a year-long stay of his deportation in St. Albans on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated 5:51 p.m.Steven Tendo, a Ugandan minister and nursing assistant who moved to Vermont in 2021 while seeking asylum, was detained in Shelburne on Wednesday morning by federal immigration agents, according to the union he’s a part of and the a
  
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• Ugandan asylum seeker Steven Tendo detained by ICE

  04-02-2026 19:07 via vtdigger.org
  Steven Tendo, a refugee from Uganda seeking political asylum in the U.S., speaks with supporters after receiving a letter announcing a year-long stay of his deportation in St. Albans on Tuesday, November 15, 2022. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerSteven Tendo, a Ugandan minister and nursing assistant who moved to Vermont in 2021 while seeking asylum, was detained in Shelburne on Wednesday morning by federal immigration agents, according to the union he’s a part of and the advocacy group Mig
  
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• Gov. Phil Scott calls on Sheriff Palmer to resign 

  04-02-2026 19:03 via vtdigger.org
  Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer answers questions from members of the media after his arraignment in Rutland County Superior criminal court in Rutland on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER —- Gov. Phil Scott said Windsor County sheriff Ryan Palmer should resign amid the slew of sex crimes charges he is facing. Scott’s call for Palmer’s resignation came the day after all nineteen Windsor County lawmakers publicly released a letter tha
  
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• A childhood accident inspired Noah to pursue a career as a physical therapist

  04-02-2026 15:56 via vtdigger.org
  When Noah Paquette was 13, he hyperextended his knee in a trampoline accident. A torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus meant surgery and extensive physical therapy. “I’m fully healed now, thanks to PT,” Noah shared. “But it was a really important part of my day and my week, that time I took to get better. And it was so hard. I loved it though and it’s what really inspired me to pursue exercise science in college,” he added. Now a junior at the University of Vermon
  
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• Vermont Senate president wants state dollars to cover policing costs if anti-ICE protests break out

  04-02-2026 00:30 via vtdigger.org
  Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerWhen Vermont lawmakers set aside $50 million in this year’s budget to help plug feared future federal funding cuts made by the Trump administration, they weren’t sure exactly what that pot of money would be used for, or when. Now, a year into Trump’s second term, they
  
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• Rutland City prepares for rare write-in election after mayor resigned

  04-02-2026 00:10 via vtdigger.org
  Rutland City Hall on Dec. 1, 2021.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThe timing of Rutland City mayor Mike Doenges’ resignation plan announced last week created an unusual dilemma for residents who wondered what would come next. Now, the smoke has cleared, with a write-in election underway.   Doenges’ resignation, planned for Feb. 27, came halfway through his term and five days before the next Town Meeting Day, sending Rutland residents reeling with the news and wond
  
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