Vermont news

• 'Trumped'

  25-07-2017 00:17
  
  Do Trump supporters have a voice in Vermont? We put out the call and many of you answered, telling us you feel silenced as a Trump supporter in progressive Vermont. 
  
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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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• Vermont nurses raise alarms about proposed federal loan limits

  04-02-2026 00:03 via vtdigger.org
  Michelle Wade of the Vermont Nurse Practicioners Association speaks with a lobbyist in the cafeteria at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerA coalition of nearly 150 nurses descended on the Statehouse Tuesday morning, filling the House gallery, meeting with lawmakers and congregating in the cafeteria.Though an annual affair, this year’s visit had added urgency, arriving on the heels of federal changes that have heightened many nurses’ conc
  
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• Proposed Senate bill would make plug-in solar easier to own

  03-02-2026 22:38 via vtdigger.org
  Ben Edgerly Walsh of Vermont Public Interest Research Group showing legislative committee members the plug-in solar system on Jan. 7, 2026. Photo courtesy Anne Watson/CNSKate Kampner is a reporter with the Community News Service, part of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.Sen. Anne Watson, D/P-Washington, wants Vermonters to generate their own power. She said S.202, a bill that would loosen the reins on solar plug-in installation, would do ju
  
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• Michael Drescher to serve on Vermont Supreme Court after lieutenant governor breaks tie 

  03-02-2026 18:35 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Supreme Court nominee Michael Drescher speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, January 13. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerUpdated at5:08 p.m.MONTPELIER — Lawmakers narrowly confirmed Michael Drescher’s seat on the Vermont Supreme Court after Republican Lt. Gov. John Rodgers cast a rare tie-breaking vote in the divided chamber Tuesday. The contentious vote on Drescher came after senators weighed their ethical questions in
  
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• Michael Drescher appointed to Vermont Supreme Court after Lt. Gov. John Rodgers breaks tie 

  03-02-2026 18:35 via vtdigger.org
  Vermont Supreme Court nominee Michael Drescher speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday, January 13. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDiggerMONTPELIER — Senators narrowly confirmed Michael Drescher’s seat on the Vermont Supreme Court after Republican Lt. Gov John Rodgers cast a rare tie breaking vote in the divided chamber Tuesday. The contentious vote on Drescher came after senators weighed their ethical questions in appointing him. Many
  
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• Jordan Hepburn: What we lose when we close rural schools

  03-02-2026 16:16 via vtdigger.org
  Dear Editor,On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Calais and Worcester residents will be asked to vote on whether to close their elementary schools as part of a broader consolidation effort.
  I choose to vote no because I value a small school in a rural farmland setting. In my view, the benefit of access to a chorus, art, a librarian and a nurse does not outweigh the value of Calais Elementary School’s physical, social and cultural setting.In a very rural town in the Northeast Kingdom, I attended a multigr
  
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• Jack Mayer: Health care delayed is health care denied

  03-02-2026 13:04 via vtdigger.org
  This commentary is by Jack Mayer, a retired Vermont pediatrician and public health epidemiologist and cancer researcher at Columbia University. My young patient — let’s call him Brian — had been sick for a few days and was getting worse. His dad’s job at the local mill didn’t provide health insurance, and the family paid out of pocket.  Their financial situation was difficult. Brian’s mom was trying to treat him at home, but finally called
  
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• Amid outcry, Montpelier council scraps proposal to gain veto power over citizen petitions

  03-02-2026 01:13 via vtdigger.org
  Montpelier City Hall. Photo by Carla Occaso/The BridgeThis story by Marisa D. Keller was first published in The Bridge on Jan. 30, 2026.A city charter change proposal was removed from the Jan. 21 Montpelier City Council agenda after an outcry from residents. The proposed change, submitted by District 2 councilor Pelin Kohn, would allow the council to veto non-legally-binding ballot items brought by citizen petition. If the councilors had voted to pass the proposal, it would then have appeared o
  
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• Calais, Worcester residents will vote next week on whether to close their small elementary schools

  02-02-2026 22:46 via vtdigger.org
  Doty Memorial School in Worcester. Photo courtesy of Christina Pollard/The BridgeCalais and Worcester residents will be asked to vote next week on whether to close their elementary schools as part of a broader effort to consolidate operations in the Washington Central Unified Union School District.Under the plan, the Doty Memorial School in Worcester and the Calais Elementary School would close by the end of the school year. Residents will vote in person on Tuesday, Feb. 10.The district current
  
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• Rutland County assistant judge resigns, plans to run as independent for Vermont Senate

  02-02-2026 22:34 via vtdigger.org
  David Wolk. Courtesy photoLong-time public official Dave Wolk stepped down from the role of Rutland County assistant judge on Monday, ahead of a bid for state senate. After more than a three-decade hiatus from the legislature, Wolk plans to run as an independent for one of the three Rutland County state senate seats.“I’m not really in step with some of the very loud voices on the far right or even the far left,” Wolk said. “I make decisions on the issues.”Wolk
  
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• Why therapeutic schools matter for Vermont

  02-02-2026 17:26 via vtdigger.org
  When traditional schools aren’t working, what comes next?When “Ethan” arrived at Kindle Farm School, he had already experienced years of disruption in school. Suspensions were frequent, frustration came quickly, and staying in class for a full day was impossible. At home, his parents were exhausted and worried, fielding constant calls, wondering what would happen next, and fearing their child was running out of options. Like many students who come to Kindle Farm, Ethan wanted t
  
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