Vermont news

• Morgan Walker Brown

  24-12-2025 18:09 via vtdigger.org
  Died Dec. 16, 2025Colchester, VermontMorgan Walker Brown died peacefully surrounded by love on Dec. 16. A person of enduring determination and wise compassion, to the very end he used his prose and his voice to advocate for people in need. Morgan inspired many to follow in his example of empathy, kindness and compassion. Among the many hats that Morgan wore, he was primarily a writer and activist in the Montpelier community. In recent years, he even began to show up around the communi
  
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• Vermont’s litigious climate superfund law pushes forward

  26-12-2025 12:56 via vtdigger.org
  Sue Minter. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerFor Sue Minter, Vermont’s newly appointed climate superfund specialist, the floods started early.Back in 2011, when Tropical Storm Irene thrashed Vermont, Minter — serving as the state’s deputy secretary of transportation — helped rebuild the 600 miles of destroyed road and hundreds of damaged bridges. Just over a decade later, as executive director for Capstone Community Action, a regional anti-poverty nonprofit, she helped low
  
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• Michael Gaughan and Katy Hansen: Vermont needs to get on the road to risk reduction

  25-12-2025 13:02 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Michael Gaughan, the executive director of the Vermont Bond Bank, and Katy Hansen, the director of the Rural and Small Cities Program at the Public Finance Initiative.Vermont municipalities face a stark reality. The federal support that communities have relied on after disasters may be dramatically reduced in future years. The public will soon see the FEMA Review Council report, which is expected to recommend shifting more disaster response costs to states while also raisi
  
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• Springfield telecom company donates to 10 rural food pantries 

  25-12-2025 12:53 via vtdigger.org
  Outreach coordinator at Grafton Community Church Mary Howard Hall, left, received a $500 check from Andrea Spaans and Kristen Bruso from the Vermont Telephone Co. this month. The church runs a food pantry which is one of 10 rural recipients of VTel’s seasonal donation this year. Photo courtesy of David HallA telecom company based in Springfield has donated $5,000 among 10 rural food pantries in Vermont this month.“Supporting local food pantries has long been important to us,”
  
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• Residents opposed to Trump’s National Guard deployments plan local actions

  24-12-2025 22:25 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont National Guard soldiers on Sept. 11, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerAs new legal battles challenge President Donald Trump’s National Guard troop deployments in U.S. cities, Vermonters have been amping up efforts to express their public opposition.From handing out flyers at the Vermont National Guard headquarters in Colchester to meeting monthly to discuss local efforts, a small group of residents said they are finding growing interest and solidarity to the cause of figh
  
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• Marcel Andrew Lapierre

  24-12-2025 17:38 via vtdigger.org
  Born Jan. 29, 1937Shelburne, VermontDied Dec. 13, 2025South Burlington, VermontDetails of servicesA graveside service at Resurrection Park Cemetery in South Burlington, for both Joyce and Marcel, will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your favorite animal rescue.Marcel Andrew Lapierre, 88, passed away peacefully at home on Dec. 13, 2025.Marcel was born on the Lapierre Dairy Farm in Shelburne on Jan. 29, 1937 to Euclide and Yvonne (Roy) Lapierre
  
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• Linda Kelliher Samets

  24-12-2025 17:27 via vtdigger.org
  Born March 8, 1946Lowell, MassachusettsDied Dec. 9, 2025Lincoln, MassachusettsLinda Kelliher Samets of Charlotte, Vermont, and New York, N.Y., passed away peacefully in Lincoln, Massachusetts on Dec. 9, 2025, following complications from recent surgery. A beloved wife, mother, sister, artist, horsewoman and friend, she was 79.Linda was born on March 8, 1946, in Lowell, Massachusetts. The fifth of nine children, she attended Concord-Carlisle High School, where her artistic gi
  
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• Jill Martin Diaz: Gov. Scott’s silence fuels immigration chaos — and harms Vermonters

  24-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Jill Martin Diaz, executive director of Vermont Asylum Assistance Project, director of Legal Services for Connecting Cultures/New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma and a lecturer in the University of Vermont’s social work department.This Thanksgiving, President Trump had us primed to panic when news broke of a Winooski second grader’s violent detention by ICE.Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) advocates were already being inundated with new calls fo
  
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• Needled by the big holiday fuss? The Vermont Country Store has a little something to pine for.

  24-12-2025 12:56 via vtdigger.org
  Charlie Brown Christmas Trees stand ready in boxes at the Vermont Country Store in Weston. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDiggerWESTON — In the New England state that grows the most Christmas trees, the Vermont Country Store offers a seeming galaxy of ornaments and add-ons, from floor-hugging skirts to ceiling-grazing stars.“Evergreen trees are a universal symbol of the season,” the third generation of Orton family storekeepers writes on its website.So why has the $100 millio
  
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• Rep. Becca Balint says she would ‘seriously think’ about running for Senate if Sen. Bernie Sanders retires

  23-12-2025 21:38 via vtdigger.org
  U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt, at the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps farm in Richmond on Aug. 13, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerThis story was produced in partnership with NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. VTDigger has partnered with NOTUS to cover federal actions affecting Vermont.U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt, said she would consider running for independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ seat should he decide not to run for reelectio
  
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• Will Patten: Baby boomers racking up bills Vermont can no longer afford

  23-12-2025 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Will Patten of Hinesburg. He is a retired business executive and author of the book, “Saving Capitalism, Vermont Shows a Way.”Growing up, we baby boomers were steeped in the idealism of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and the minimalist hippie ethic. But Watergate, Vietnam and assassinations would turn idealists into cynical self-serving uber-consumers.  Our manufacturing economy transitioned to a marketing economy that taught us to always crave m
  
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• Vermont Department of Mental Health offers free training for clinicians to address problem gambling issues

  23-12-2025 12:54 via vtdigger.org
  The DraftKings Sportsbook & Casino app. File photo by Shaun Robinson/VTDiggerWhen Vermont legalized sports betting in 2023, it established the Problem Gambling Program, which tasked the state Department of Mental Health with expanding resources and support for those with problem gambling issues. As part of this effort, the department is rolling out a free 30-hour program to train the state’s mental health clinicians.“Because this is a new product and offering within the sta
  
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• Prosecutor accuses retiring Rutland chief of suppressing damning report into officers’ action in deadly pursuit

  22-12-2025 19:52 via vtdigger.org
  Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen, second from left, on Jan. 9, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerRutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan has issued a Brady letter against retiring Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen and retired Rutland City Police Commander Sam Delpha, accusing them of suppressing a report critical of officers’ action in a deadly chase.Sullivan’s letter stated that the two had improperly failed to disclose the findings of the internal af
  
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• Julie Wasserman: Hospital care is in Vermonters’ best interest

  22-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Julie Wasserman, MPH ,of Burlington. She is an independent health policy advocate who worked for Vermont state government for over 25 years..First and foremost, hospitals need to be responsive to the needs of their community. As non-profit tax-exempt entities, Vermont hospitals are obliged to provide essential services such as maternity, pediatric and primary care. Yet, hospitals are making decisions that deprive their community of critical services as they prioritize reve
  
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• Vermont’s largest health insurer tells you to avoid the state’s largest hospital in new marketing campaign

  22-12-2025 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont headquarters in Berlin and The University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Photos by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerIn a new public awareness campaign, BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont has joined four independent Chittenden County healthcare facilities in urging clients to seek less expensive care outside of Vermont’s large academic medical centers.The newly launched website, VT Affordable Care, offers a simple cost comparison for common medical procedures in
  
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• All gifts matched to keep Vermonters warm and informed

  21-12-2025 23:00 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Readers,There are just days left in our Warmth Support Program partnership, and right now, your gift can do double duty for Vermont.Until midnight on Dec. 25, every donation is matched dollar for dollar and helps provide two days of emergency heat to a Vermont household in need through the Warmth Support Program of Vermont’s Community Action Agencies.
  2X your gift and warm homes
  Local news helps Vermonters understand what’s changing on the local, state and federal level —
  
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• Nine Vermont dams were removed in 2025. There are many more to go. 

  21-12-2025 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  The landscape before and soon after the removal of Newport’s Sleeper Pond Dam in Oct. 2025. Photo courtesy of the Missisquoi River Basin AssociationThere are at least 140 dams in the Winooski River watershed, according to Michele Braun, executive director of the Friends of the Winooski River. Three of those dams help with flood control. Fifteen provide hydropower. A “handful” contribute to local recreation. But the rest? They “aren’t doing anything but causing
  
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• Then Again: Christmas during wartime — Vermont in December 1942

  21-12-2025 12:52 via vtdigger.org
  The Lions Club of Rutland commissioned a film in 1941 that showed scenes of daily life in the city and sent it to local men stationed at Camp Blanding, an Army training base in Florida during World War II. Photo from the Vermont Historical SocietyAmerica had been dragged into the world’s war and daily life had changed. Perhaps at no time was that more obvious than around Christmas. “New Englanders will observe their second Christmas of World War II tomorrow under far more strin
  
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• Young Writers Project: ‘Fall In’

  21-12-2025 12:50 via vtdigger.org
  “Amazon After Hours,” by Meredith Rocke, 15, of West RutlandYoung Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at 
  
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• Rutland City police chief steps down after report criticizing officers in deadly chase

  21-12-2025 00:18 via vtdigger.org
  Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen on Jan. 9, 2023.File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerRUTLAND – Rutland City’s Police Commission said Saturday that the police chief would retire early, in an announcement that follows the disclosure of an internal affairs probe that criticized the actions of the police department in a vehicle pursuit that resulted in the death of a young officer.The action follows news articles earlier this month by VTDigger and other media on the probe&rsquo
  
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• Keep rural Vermont stories in the spotlight

  20-12-2025 19:00 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Readers,Some of Vermont’s most important stories begin in its smallest towns. Part of VTDigger’s mission is to surface those stories and make sure the issues shaping rural communities are visible to the entire state.Because readers support our nonprofit newsroom, we can do that work. There are only 11 days left in our year end member drive. Will you chip in?
  Donate now
  Recently I reported on the revival of freight service into the village of Gilman, where trains are soon expect
  
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• Paula Marks: Artificial intelligence vigilance is sorely needed

  20-12-2025 13:03 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Paula Marks, of Guilford. She is a retired American Studies professor.AI has not crept but crashed into our lives, and it has its benefits. Yet there are three big reasons we should be wary of how it is being developed, and how quickly.First, while AI can provide a good summary or outline on a topic or a welcome reassuring presence, it also can present fiction as fact or as garbled and simply weird when it takes on a topic or a relationship. For example, those relying on C
  
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• ‘On the cusp of something very special.’ In Q&A, Vermont’s education secretary ponders the challenges and opportunities of ed reform.

  20-12-2025 12:55 via vtdigger.org
  Zoie Saunders, interim secretary of education, speaks during Gov. Phil Scott’s weekly press conference held at the Central Vermont Technical Center in Barre on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerVermont’s Education Secretary Zoie Saunders says the state is “really on the cusp of something very special,” as lawmakers gear up for what will be a critical legislative session in determining the future of public education reform.In an interview with VTDigge
  
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• Northfield signs a severance agreement with its town manager

  20-12-2025 02:55 via vtdigger.org
  The Northfield municipal building on Friday, August 1, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerTown Manager Jeff Schulz is no longer an employee of Northfield. Charlie Morse, the town’s selectboard chair, confirmed that Friday was his last day.The five-member selectboard passed a severance agreement at a special meeting Wednesday. Morse was the lone dissenter on the 4-1 vote taken in executive session, according to the meeting minutes.Unlike prior board meetings, the meeting was not str
  
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• Beds are back: Recovery center reopens Vergennes location for people needing low level treatment

  19-12-2025 23:37 via vtdigger.org
  Valley Vista’s headquarters in Bradford. The organization maintains 99 inpatient treatment beds for substance use disorder at two locations in Vermont. Courtesy photoOn Wednesday, Valley Vista reopened the doors of its previously shuttered Vergennes facility and nearly doubled the state’s capacity for low-level substance use residential treatment services. The 27 new beds at the Vergennes location will offer less-intensive treatment for people who do not need around-the clock m
  
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• Federal judge orders release of Afghan trucker detained 104 days in ICE custody

  19-12-2025 23:28 via vtdigger.org
  Enayettullah Walizada and members of his legal team walk out of the Federal Building in Burlington on Friday, December 19, 2025. Walizada, a refugee from Afghanistan, has been released after spending 104 days in detention after being arrested by ICE in Derby Line. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at 7:49 p.m.BURLINGTON – An Afghan man held for 104 days without access to counsel or family was released Friday after a federal judge granted bond.A long-haul truck driver living in Oregon
  
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• Afghan man released after 105 days in ICE custody

  19-12-2025 23:28 via vtdigger.org
  Enayettullah Walizada and members of his legal team walk out of the Federal Building in Burlington on Friday, December 19, 2025. Walizada, a refugee from Afghanistan, has been released after spending 105 days in detention after being arrested by ICE in Derby Line. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — An Afghan man held for 105 days without access to counsel or family was released Friday after a federal judge granted bond.A long-haul truck driver living in Oregon, Enayetullah Waliza
  
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• Afghan man released after 104 days in ICE custody

  19-12-2025 23:28 via vtdigger.org
  Enayettullah Walizada and members of his legal team walk out of the Federal Building in Burlington on Friday, December 19, 2025. Walizada, a refugee from Afghanistan, has been released after spending 104 days in detention after being arrested by ICE in Derby Line. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerBURLINGTON — An Afghan man held for 104 days without access to counsel or family was released Friday after a federal judge granted bond.A long-haul truck driver living in Oregon, Enayetullah Waliza
  
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• Pediatric asthma worsened in Vermont following Canadian wildfires, UVM study finds

  19-12-2025 21:54 via vtdigger.org
  Smoke billows from the Donnie Creek wildfire burning north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada on July 2, 2023. File photo by AP Noah Berger/APWhen deciding where to live when beginning her PhD, Anna Maassel was drawn to UVM for Vermont’s relative respite from climate catastrophes. Then, the summer before she moved here, the state was slammed with historic flooding and coated in a hazy smoke from Canadian wildfires. Just over two years after the fires of 2023, Maassel, a docto
  
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• Madeleine Connery: What it feels like to realize your country won’t protect you

  19-12-2025 13:01 via vtdigger.org
  Madeleine Connery is a junior at Brown University and lifelong resident of Shelburne.At 4:05 p.m. on December 13, I received the text that every American student fears yet none predict. My 21-year-old roommate sent a message to our group chat “guys I just ran out of the engineering building there were sounds like gunshots.” Over the course of the next 17 hours, my life unraveled.At 20 years old, I became a school shooting survivor, along with my 7,800 peers who hunkered do
  
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