Features

Allison Rowley recently founded Rowley Wrench, an organization that offers free car-care education workshops.

“I just love it,” said Silver Circus participant Bronna Zlochiver, 77. “I’m doing things that I never thought I’d do.”

Members of the Ridgeline Outdoor Collective discuss the increasing popularity and importance of mountain biking in small Vermont communities.

Thetford Academy regularly sends teams to the VEX Robotics World Championship.

Stone carver Heather Milne Ritchie is mentoring a new generation of women artists.

As solar grows, so does Vermont’s capacity for agrivoltaics — the dual use of land on solar farms for agriculture.

Protesters engaged in an hour-long meditative sit-in to condemn the deportation of Vermont residents

Beloved by students and neighbors alike, the retired teacher continues to share the joy of music from her home studio.

After years of hardship, Alexander found home and harmony through street music and the community that embraced her.

Choral group preps for upcoming show

There’s no slowing down at 90 for Rutland resident Peter Chilos, who continues to work to make days easier and more fun for others.

After several weeks of searching, they found a 125-year-old farmhouse in Randolph that had enough space to convert into a bakery

Boys and girls teams both compete in the state championship

Caring Canines Therapy Dogs of Southern Vermont visit locations across the region and will begin monthly sessions at the Fair Haven Free Library on Nov. 18.

It’s part of a new civic education program led by the Office of the Vermont Secretary of State.

Vintage Market Days at the fairgrounds in Rutland saw streams of people hoping for the rare find or unique items for their collections and homes.

The Grammy-winning ’90s band Blues Traveler performed old hits, covers and new releases on Oct. 3

Winooski held Youth Vendors Day Sept. 28, inviting young makers to sell their creations

New Italian restaurant in Rutland offers spins on old classics and is named after the owner’s grandmother’s hometown in Italy.

“This event has been incredible, and it has served its time,” said executive director Dana Kaplan. “We are ready to pivot to what comes next.”

Robert Nickelsberg is a celebrated photojournalist whose work has appeared in various national galleries and global publications.

“Everyone likes a big tree,” Arborist and Milton Tree Warden Kris Dulmer said.

Vermont is aging and many operators are retiring. But even before this issue, there weren’t enough operators to go around. 

Attendees gathered for the River of Light last Saturday to celebrate one of Vermont’s most important ecological resources.

The course was designed and created by a host of local artists.

For two decades, Camp Agape has supported kids and families impacted by parental incarceration.

The Clark Sawmill Dam collapsed during the flooding that hit Vermont in 2023, punctuating years of back-and-forths about its future. 

“I remember sitting there thinking how big the world is and how small we are. I hear people say that all the time, but seeing that everything was down there, there’s so much more to Vermont and the world than what most people see,” said Cindy Griffith, club hiker and volunteer. 

Scientists say the fish are a reliable measure of lake and basin ecological health.

Community Supported Agriculture, also known as a CSA, has taken over the Vermont agriculture world. As farms deal with and adapt to climate change, their members are seeing how a warming world creeps onto their dinner plates.

Slow Birding, a meditative and insightful form of birding, is a new concept in Vermont and beyond. Birding enthusiast Bridget Butler has emerged as the reigning “Bird Diva.”

Swimming in natural waters, also known as open water swimming, has taken over the world recreationally and competitively. These Vermont swimmers talk about the serenity it brings them, but also how it empowers their connection to nature.

A St. Albans food digester that opened in May transforms organic waste into energy, fertilizer, and water. 

“These young people could have jobs doing other things, but they’re choosing to work really hard and they’re choosing to come out here in the elements and spend their time doing manual physical labor that then makes a strong change in their state” said Devon Cooke, director of development and community at Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. 

“One thing that I’d want to point out is the resiliency, the flexibility, the loyalty and passion that folks have in this industry. So many people have been in it for decades and we really believe in what we’re doing and making a difference in young people,” said American Camp Association New England Executive Director Michelle Rowcliffe. 

Branch out Burlington, a tree nursery located in the University of Vermont Horticulture Farm, has been providing trees to Vermont towns and organizations for nearly the last 30 years.

Vermont is not known for producing top-end baseball talent. But both hurlers know that playing for the hometown team can be especially meaningful on the Little Leaguers who sit in the stands. 

But there are ways to improve those roads that reduce pollution and strengthen against floods. 

The Telephone Gap Integrated Resource project had a historic level of public engagement, according to advocates, before it passed in June.

About 40 cheerleaders from across the county will come together in a few days to begin the new season.

“We are always looking for opportunities on the stream where we can feasibly drop wood,” said James King.

“They were lying on top of the hay bales staring up at the sky, watching for shooting stars.”

“From poetry, to movement, to film, to visual art, to music, the arts and storytelling are a way to deeply touch our, go into our psyche,” said Vermont painter Cameron Davis.

The Green River Reservoir State Park needed an alternative to a gas-powered boat. Park supporters gave them an electric canoe in order to maintain the land properly without causing a noise disturbance. 

“This spring, we collected 960 grams of seeds. That was mostly fluffy seeds, so that’s millions and millions of seeds,” said land steward Jess Colby. 

As plant species face population decline, herbalists teach foragers to be mindful of what they are taking

Many residents are familiar with recycling and composting — but one Vermont initiative focuses on making it easier to reuse.

“We want people to really just celebrate their local food system and come together to really recognize the strength of our community,” Development Director Melanie Guild said. 

In martial arts, battles are as much internal as they are external.

The storm rolled in during intermission at the noon performance.

According to Curt Lindberg, chair of the Waitsfield Conservation Commission, the project spans a cumulative 260 worksites across the region.

As an amateur team, the Lake Monsters have enjoyed a newfound flexibility to build rosters on the field that represent Vermont.

Strong winds meant most flights were delayed or cancelled the first two days.

Community members share their concerns about water quality through state grants that could clean up waterways

A food-start up bill exempts home based food producers from requiring state food safety permits if they keep their sales under $30,000.

As ash trees in Vermont face extirpation by the invasive emerald ash borer, residents come together to recognize the trees’ ecological importance and cultural history.

Researchers have studied how greenspace influences human health. These forest bathing participants find benefit in surrounding themselves with nature.

Watching the cheddar cheese–making process is the centerpoint of Shelburne Farms’ “Sun to Cheese” tour, which opened May 10 and runs into October. 

The Tiny Acorn plans to close its doors on August 15.

Do you know how to do a wheelie in a wheelchair? Mo does.

Palieri’s songs seem perfect for the protest line; like folk singers of the past, his pro-labor music works responds to a volatile political climate.

Amanda Wheeler hopes to show you don’t have to leave home to make an impact.

Ruth Stone House endures as a haven for writers and artists.

In a Vermont basement, a family tradition continues

Three Rutland area students are headed to Georgia next month to represent the area in the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference.

Simplicity, soil and sacredness at Green Mountain Monastery

Fair Haven annual fund-raiser leads to Duncan the dog serving as pet mayor of the town.

“What can I do more?” Abe Rosenberg asks

The USPS delivers mail to everyone, regardless of location, at an affordable price. And many postal workers want to make sure it stays that way.

The Mill River marching band has a long history of excellence that current students and leaders are continuing.

Someone’s grandparents always seem to remember one, and sometimes you can still find the scuffs and scrapes of shoes and boots on the floors. But where’d those hoedowns go?

Most of the people who go to college in Vermont — 57 percent — leave the state after graduation. That’s more than any other state.

The Champlain Longboats program has been introducing students in Addison County to boat building for 25 years.

With post-flood renovations in the basement and upgrades to the theater’s upstairs, the Savoy crew is hitting back against the streaming surge. 

Much of Greenleaf’s musical identity is shaped by a reverence for the live, social energy of group improvisation.

Vermont State University adjunct professor Burnham Holmes is retiring after decades of inspiring students to learn to love writing.

The goats’ milk is creamed into an increasingly popular treat in the U.S., velvety caramel.

Walleye season started this month. Almost 5 million of the fish have been stocked in Vermont’s waters since 2009, the state says.

In Randolph and Rutland, bowling centers are keeping up the sport — and the camaraderie it inspires.

Pre-K students at the Tinmouth Mountain School are learning traditional lessons in outdoor, natural classrooms as part of the Mill River Unified Union School’s Trailhead Initiative.

Artists across disciplines see their approaches as ways to rethink how materials are sourced, processed and consumed.

Katharine Ogden uses what she learned as a competitive skier as a clinician and coach.

The classes are part of a nationwide exercise program designed for people 55 years and up to help with osteoporosis and balance problems.

Elizabeth Nelson paints landscapes stretching from Iceland to the NEK.

“You always need that one thing that excites you”

Volunteers across Vermont gather to help herps traverse the roads. Most often, that entails people scooping critters into their hands and shuttling them to safety. 

Vermont native and Olympic Rugby star Ilona Maher captivated the world with her athleticism, bronze medal and social media prowess. Now she is joined by her two sisters in a new podcast called “House of Maher.”

Rutland area residents who have struggled with addiction are writing their way to recovery in a unique workshop.

What the pastor saw of his parish during those pandemic days showed how Greensboro United Church of Christ “helps the community be a community.”

The concert was the latest in a partnership between the Phoenix and performing arts nonprofit TURNmusic.

Two West Rutland High School musicians are gaining quite a local following, and they’re raising money for their senior class in the process.

A company with Rutland ties has developed a way to transform human urine into useable fertilizer in a process they refer to as “pee-cycling.”

For years, dams have been built to control river flow, power industry and prevent floods. Ecologists argue they just move the damage further downstream.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Nanci Gordon is a longtime Rutland area DJ with a passion for the Beatles, and preaching.

Mah jongg provides a community of friends, a safe space to come together and a mental challenge.

“Just a really, really neat guy”

One-time recipient works for Make-A-Wish

Here are four groups across the state that are fighting for a safer, more just Vermont.

The sport, in which people paddle in 40-foot-long canoes decorated to look like dragons, originated in China over 2,000 years ago.

Marko the Magician is still performing at Colatina Exit, 30 years after starting there.

Silas Loomis, who has been the Castleton constable since Richard Nixon was in the White House, is calling it quits and sharing lots of wild stories from his more than five decades in the position.

Native plants provide the preferred food source, habitat and host for native birds and pollinators, as well as prevent invasive species from moving in.

Wallingford area residents who fear the country is losing its democracy have been holding weekly rallies to raise awareness.

Said a co-curator: “It’s a way of recognizing someone’s humanity. Often in prison situations, we think the best way to do things is to deny people their humanity.”

For over 25 years, Stowe ski patroller has been collecting, documenting and archiving the history of the resort

With a background in environmental law, she steps into the role at a crucial time for the lake’s health.

The owners of Pine Grove organics cannabis dispensary are moving to downtown Brandon into a former restaurant space and expanding offerings.

A perfect storm — that’s how industry leaders describe the challenges Vermont developers face in 2025. 

For three decades, Special Effects salon in Castleton has been catering to locals, college students and Lake Bomoseen visitors.

Merchant’s Row in Rutland now has three thrift stores, offering thrifters lots of options.

Ted’s Pizza, a staple in Rutland for decades, has been sold to new owners after longtime owner Tony Romeo decided to retire.

The yoga routine of a Fair Haven woman sparked a business, aided by some like-minded friends.

“There’s been deaths, there’s been births and there’s been weddings,” said one regular. In the bar, familiar faces experience it all.

Young Vermonters often decide to leave their small hometowns for jobs elsewhere, but siblings Martin and Whitney VanBuren decided to stay put and make a difference in Poultney.

Pam Arel couldn’t stay retired. The Castleton Free Library librarian has had a variety of careers, but loves her current role, in part because she loves kids. She recently sat down with report Emily Ely to talk about her life and her role among the books.

A third of Vermont high schoolers described recently struggling with mental health when they answered the state’s latest survey of youth risk behavior.

Protesters described the event as anti-trans and the speakers as unqualified.

The Sparkle Barn, Wallingford’s artsy gift shop, has added an eye-popping “Bloom Room” event space and will soon be offering a mobile version.

In a state where about 47% of adults never attend religious ceremonies, spirituality is still fostered amid yoga studios, apothecaries, mindfulness retreats and in nature itself through pagan practices.

Toad’s Burger Bar in Poultney has become a go-to eatery for locals and a magnet for those passing through. Owners Andrew Breting and Caden Capman have been blown away by the success.

Former Rutland firefighter Ray Mooney now fills his days curating and sharing Rutland’s history through his Facebook page and YouTube videos.

Sustainable Charlotte connects a community that’s committed to sustainability.

VCIH has grown to serve and teach clients across the U.S.

A local business owner believes customization is a collaborative process.

Kenneth Hart is 104 years old and currently resides in The Pines nursing home in Rutland. He spoke about all the changes he’s seen in his life and what keeps him going.

Vermont State University’s DEI leader answers a variety of questions regarding new DEI challenges and personal questions about his life in Vermont.

Crumby the kitten was rescued by volunteers in Rutland and will be featured at halftime of Sunday’s annual Puppy Bowl on Animal Plant.

Brooke Olsen-Farrell sat down with CNS reporter Madelyn Nonni to discuss her life as a school teacher and administrator.

The Hislop family gives posthumous life to their mother’s work.

VT Dog Rescue continues its work after founder’s death.

Respecting a client’s autonomy includes knowledge of skin types, anatomy and how a tattoo will age, said one tattooist. It also means knowing your limitations as an artist.

It’s been over a year since the Westbury mobile home park in Colchester became the Village of Westbury, the first village established in Vermont in nearly a century.

The pair of co-owners started out with nine employees. Now, two years on, they have 22.

Almogalli sees herself in the students: Winooski is the only majority-minority school district in Vermont, and its students come from more than two dozen countries.

Sarah Jayne Kennelly creates showcases in South Burlington’s Public Art Gallery.

Dec. 11 was owner Dan Hock’s 38th birthday and Winooski Wheels’ second.

“Our whole mission is trails that go somewhere,” one org director said. “The whole point is that you could use it to commute.” 

Bob Murray and his wife, Carlie, bought the 60-acre plot of land and planted their first tree in 1976.

“The one goal I’ve had since the beginning was to open up wine to everyone,” she said.

The lieutenant governor-elect sits down with the Winooski News to talk about his upset victory, path in politics and what he wants to prioritize come January.

“She is amazing to work with and brings warmth to the stage that goes out to the crowd as well,” said a bandmate.

Her passion for inclusivity is apparent through her client closet, which has over 100 pieces ranging from XS to 6X for customers to try.

The state advisory group plans to keep monitoring research and policy around psilocybin nationwide.

The Greater Randolph Senior Center delivers about 45 meals per day to homebound people 60 and older, as well as adults with disabilities.

Following a population dip in the 1960s and 1970s, the muskellunge were seemingly wiped out after an untreated waste spill.

Guitarist Antara Catch and bassist Chris Cheney recently played at the Winooski Farmers Market.

The cycling crew that organizes bike rides around the city from mid-April to the end of September.

Hundreds of enthusiasts come every year in search of supernatural experiences.

“I don’t want to be a single-issue person in the Statehouse because of my background, so I always want to prioritize what’s important to Winooski.”

Both neighbors agree their aim is to call attention to the election, and they hope passersby will be reminded to vote. 

The July 2024 flooding was more destructive downstream while the December 2023 flooding resulted in higher flow because it involved snow and rain, said one scientist.

In a unanimous resolution, city councilors said Winooski had “greatly benefitted from his dedicated work and effective leadership” and that he made the city “a better place for years to come.”

“Music is one of the longest lasting forms of memory because it’s mapped in so many different parts of the brain. So even when there’s deterioration, music can stick,” an event co-founder said.

“The only way we know a lot of this stuff is because thousands of people have helped us collect data across the landscape,” one Vermont expert said.

The salon’s next gender-affirming haircut event is Oct. 6.

On a recent afternoon, entrepreneurs like Adriana Munch congregated in the warehouse, sinking their boots into disinfectant and slipping past each other as they hunkered down in kitchens.

“You can control a lot of things — but the one thing you can’t control is if the fish is gonna bite,” said the coach of last year’s state champs.

Chick’s is Winooski’s open early, one-stop shop for groceries, meals and great conversation.

Another approach to addressing climate crisis in Vermont? One grounded in spirituality.

Any Brattleboroean can benefit from MicroMoo2 but the influx of resettled refugees made the need even more urgent.

With their own kits, groups measure E.coli bacteria levels, the marker used by the EPA to measure how safe water is to swim in.

The pair ventured from Charlotte on May 6, pedaling west through several states and one province before heading north to Vancouver, where they celebrated with family.

The Vermont Mountaineers went 30–11, tops in the league, boasting a .732 winning percentage during the regular season before bowing out to their rivals in the playoff semifinals.

Martz describes her exhibition, which runs until the end of September, as an exploration of nature’s adaptability and how, over time, it erases human imprints to restore equilibrium

The mission is to reduce the distance pollinators like bees and butterflies must go to get nectar and pollen. The gardens, in effect, form a highway.

A number of Vermont vineyards and wineries practice regenerative agriculture — that goes beyond minimizing farming’s costs on land to instead help restore it.

“We want to bring to bear for good, but we also want to do that in a very humble and a servant style.”

The trail demands much of the rider and offers rewards. Its 301 miles are peppered with 30,300 feet in total climb — all on public dirt roads between a dozen rocky sections. 

“We’re not on the level of having gigantic fires in Vermont yet,” Dillner said. But officials believe Vermonters should pay attention and prepare to protect their homes and health.

Where can you buy a cheap hardware desk, find an antique embalming machine and pick up the pocket knife you had to give to security officials when you flew from the airport?

Her work shows how embedding a health care provider within the local government can help residents avoid the messy communication and confusing processes of hospitals.

Right now, around a dozen interns regularly assist about 30 people at three Cathedral Square locations.

Close to 500 landowners have expressed interest in being paid around $300 an acre, dispersed over a 20-year period, for preserving forestland.

The products, the Wisemans say, can boost immune systems, improve memory and energy and spur a range of other healthy body functions.

Former programming director at the Shelburne’s library, Broder took the Hinesburg position in October and said he tries to be funny and silly in an otherwise serious job.

It has become increasingly more expensive to keep and repopulate his hives, the vetoed bill’s sponsor said, because colonies are dying at faster rates in recent years.

These types of food pantries exist on college campuses across Vermont. And they’re fairly new — the one here didn’t exist until 2020.

The event included music, costumes and an auction to raise money to help a 9-year-old diagnosed with cancer last year.

The best player in Vermont girl’s hoops this year is set to play college baseball — get to know Elise Berger.

“She knows the sport intimately, she’s been doing it for I don’t even know how many years at this point, and she has a style that draws people in, gets them fencing quickly.”

While these big wins sound alluring, very few sports bettors leave with any profit. The average sports bettor has lost around 8 cents for every dollar they spent since 2018, according to a review of sportsbooks’ earnings last year.

Five years of data analyzed by Community News Service shows the state’s largest transit system is approaching an inflection point on the back of haywire trends.

It’s a conundrum with many variables and few easy answers. As Murdoch put it, “What other tools do we have in our toolkit?”

The honor caps his time as the youngest son in the state’s most-storied basketball family — and it comes in a year that marks the 25th anniversary of his father’s death. 

The institute, its partners and others in the sustainability industry see the practice — dubbed “peecycling” — as a cheap, easy and less-destructive method than synthetic fertilizer.

The brothers’ art-filled upbringings would take them from auditoriums in Randolph to arenas and stages worldwide, working with people like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Ryan Gosling and more.

In response to the challenges faced by asylum-seekers and others with special immigration statuses as vulnerable people, volunteer-based organizations in Vermont have a solution: raising money through the arts. 

He can’t fly or shoot lasers out his eyes, but he can do what many dread and few understand: taxes.

In a survey by the state after last summer’s flooding, 70% of farmers said they didn’t have crop or livestock insurance. Another 10% said the insurance didn’t apply to their industry — meaning only around one in five had coverage for those losses.

‘It was a constant battle’ to keep JetBlue in the Green Mountain State — a conflict that started long before the airline pulled out in 2023.

Montalban asked neighbors within a 3-mile radius to not use seeds treated with the pesticide, and he said many have been receptive to the request.

The garden metaphor has brought seven artists from different backgrounds to share and indulge in interpretations of paradise, privilege, boundaries and cultivation.

Vermont Huts is reaching out to groups and “saying, ‘Look, we have accommodation out there, and we have funding, and we can help you achieve whatever your goals are to access the space that is out there.’”

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Green Mountain Transit rides have been free.

More people aren’t getting the help they need for basic services, which has meant the library is asked to fill that gap.

The Sisterhood of the Dreaded Elevator Pitch is a free, interactive workshop for anyone who identifies as women to help them navigate some of the most intimidating aspects of running a business.

The space in the commercial center of Hinesburg, off of Route 116, is DandyLion’s first store.

Parkour offers an out-of-the-ordinary outlet that costs nothing. The sport builds on intuitive human movement — running, climbing, rolling, swinging — to move between two points in the most creative and efficient way possible.

Cultivating Pathways to Sustainability initiative at Shelburne Community School connects Vermont schools to coordinators at Shelburne Farms and Up for Learning, a national organization that helps educators increase student engagement, to teach the future generation about sustainability and climate change.

“Chicken Coop Chaos,” released in October, is Tavares’ first published book.

Westphalen has increasingly become a known name in Vermont, where he makes photographic subjects of moldering rural scenes.

Saville, a Winooski resident, buys old quilts and repurposes them into coats, mittens, hats and any other article of clothing you can think of.

Quacking ducks, the baas of sheep and bleats of goats, horses snorting, pigs and turkeys roaming about — another day for the crew of rescued animals who live new lives in this haven off Lime Kiln Road.

The group’s numbers have expanded to 150 women. “I was all by myself for 30 years, fly fishing,” one co-founder said. No longer.

The Collinses are putting the final touches on their manuscript, entitled “In the Name of Honor, Vows and Valor,” which is scheduled for release by Shadow Spark Publishing in January 2025.

On the final night of the Palace 9 movie theater’s operation, the hottest ticket was for the three-hour Martin Scorsese film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” costing only a dollar.

Inside Feeding Chittenden, a food shelf located in the Old North End of Burlington, colorful murals dot the walls. Baguettes and fresh veggies fill the shelves of the space, which looks like a small grocery store. Edi Abeneto, Feeding Chittenden’s supervisor, greets up to four families at a time and welcomes them into the food […]

Adelman and fellow PFAS activists believe that preventing further damage from the chemicals requires public education.

The building now has sections for woodworking, pottery, a variety of glasswork, textiles, metal machining, welding, printing and metal engraving.

Vermont Youth Opera is “an interscholastic varsity singing team” for high schoolers from across Vermont.

Guyette celebrated her 104th birthday earlier this month.

People in the industry believe the problems caused by the floods will worsen with winter weather soon setting in and, within the next few months, artists could be left wondering what they’ll do without accessible indoor spaces.

Virginia Barlow, Dave Mance, Amy Peberdy and Patrick White have worked together for decades now, creating and publishing the Northern Woodlands Magazine, a quarterly chronicle of the forests of the Northeast. For the past four years, however, they have dedicated themselves to something a little closer to home: the Vermont Almanac.

An outpouring of assistance followed the flood from volunteers within and outside of Waterbury.

“We rely on that water for training, and if those beaches are closed because of the quality of the water, that really impacts us,” said the Burlington diving center’s co-owner.

For the last decade Wear and several pals have worked to reunite families with their furry friends. When a pet goes missing, searching for it can be difficult and lonely –– Wear can help.

Treatment against rare form of cancer proves a “game changer” for young Vermont girl.

The leaves may be brighter earlier this year, meteorologists have suggested, because of the summer’s flooding and waterlogged tree roots.

Step by step, the Craft Beer Cellar has gotten back on its feet after the July floods hit their just-opened shop’s basement, causing thousands in damage.

Now, in its 25th year, the museum is looking to reflect the changes in Winooski — as well as help grow and support those changes — outside the walls where it illustrates its own immigration story from the past.

Our journalists interviewed 16 lawmakers about their environmental priorities ahead of the session.

The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Reducing personal use of gasoline powered vehicles is a top priority of state Rep. Mollie Burke, D-Brattleboro, heading into the next legislative session.  “The priorities have been so […]

Olivia Wilson reported this story on assignment for the Vermont Community News Group. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. Ariel Mondlak and Abbie Waite first embarked on their journey to visit every town in […]

Next month, Ekasala’s work will be placed on display at Burlington City Arts, where it will stay on exhibition until late January.

Maya Porter reported this story on assignment from the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost. The capital of an often self-styled progressive state might be one of the last places you’d […]

What looks like a new state-of-the-art shopping mall is actually the newly constructed home of Winooski schools. 

Farmers are grappling with what could soon be a hay shortage that threatens their livelihoods and the normal food routines of their animals.

With the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 came a rush of guidance on masks, testing, vaccines and social-distancing. But even with all the messages from the CDC and local communities, there was a communication issue.

More than 50 years, a slew of roadblocks and $45 million later, the controversial Champlain Parkway is set to push forward along Burlington’s southern edge.

With the flooding, the group has refocused back on crisis information, like how to recognize waterbodies now polluted with nasties like cyanobacteria.

With bear season starting Sept. 1, and rising reports of bear encounters in Vermont’s more urban areas like South Burlington, the state is faced with new discussions on how best to manage its bear population, if at all.

The story of the Waterbury Center Horseshoe League is a story of legacy.

Today the league consists of 16 teams of two who play games over the course of 16 weeks, starting in May and ending before Labor Day in September.

Now at 27, Trombly has been hired as the first full time, year-round editor of UVM student stories for the Community News Service—a program which provides student reported stories to local newspapers across Vermont.

A youth summer camp put on by BarnArts, a rural arts center in Barnard that, among other things, organizes plays for communities in Windsor County.

To prepare for the expansion, both the church and the food shelf team have been busy.

Even with these losses, and 10 of the 45 acres of pasture taking significant water damage, Sanford-Long considered herself one of the luckier farms last week.

Goss said that this year is the only the second time ever that loons have been observed nesting on the reservoir.

The show, which opened June 1, came together through a collaboration between South Burlington Public Art Gallery Curator Jessica Manley and a team of dedicated art teachers from the district.

Come next election, if you’re 16 and live in Brattleboro, you’ll get a say in your town elections.

The Vermont Journalism Exchange Conference last Thursday kicked off with news from University of Vermont Provost Patricia Prelock.

In 2010, Alejandra Perez decided to build her own community by cooking and selling authentic Mexican food outside her home.

A small group of folks made a series of weekly trips around the New North End this past winter to remove the stickers — often found on signs or poles — and the effort is set to pick back up this summer.

Schaner’s first time bringing students from RUHS to MarineLab, a trip she’d run with previous students at other schools.

On Friday, April 28, the Community College of Vermont held a town meeting on its Winooski campus with Senator Bernie Sanders.

About 20 volunteer came out to the 100-foot-wide strip of land at the Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington on April 18 for One Tree Planted Day, an event hosted by the Intervale Center, Winooski Valley Park District and the nonprofit One Tree Planted.

Rees, 48, has dedicated most of her life to serving the South Burlington community.

The sweet scent of maple rose with the steam from the Shelburne Sugarworks evaporator on a recent afternoon as Steven Palmer dipped a hydrometer into a metal cylinder holding newly boiled sap to measure the sugar content. The instrument read 66 percent sugar — the correct content for maple syrup. Palmer and two assistants released […]

On Saturday morning, a half-dozen volunteers with plastic bags, bright-colored buckets and claw-like scoopers scanned Wheeler Dog Park for dog waste, toy scraps and other garbage for an April Stools Day cleanup event.

Since 2017, the group of musicians known as SongFarmers of Hinesburg jams at the Hinesburg Library he first Thursday of every month. 

A novel experiment at Shelburne Farms aims to enhance that process along Lake Champlain by using fungi.

Tucked away in Burlington’s arts district on Pine Street, the Dojo gives independent music teachers a space to gather and teach lessons to students both in person and online. 

As the state pushes toward its solar goals, what environmental questions must be examined?

Lewack organized a kickoff meeting for the project March 14 to get people excited and recruit help. Groups with a presence on the website — such as Charlotte Library and Charlotte Recreation — were invited to the meeting to help get the ball rolling.

The Harwood Unified School District’s $45.4 million proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year represents 6.5% increase in spending for the coming year, although programs and services remain level with the current year. Voters in the district approved the request by a vote of 1,192 to 599, according to results released Wednesday.

For more than a month, members of the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (WNESU) community have told school officials they don’t want Principal John Broadley to leave.

When scientists detected a small, bug-eyed gray fish two years ago at the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers in New York, it set off alarms everywhere along the waters of Lake Champlain.

Last year at the Waterbury Public Library, Youth Services Librarian Cynthia Ryle started noticing more and more young people coming in and asking for books with queer characters.

“Fire Index,” set to release April 4, is the first book by the Indiana-born author, mother, educator and activist, who settled in Charlotte in 2019 after stops in Malibu, Boston and Atlanta.

Vermont lawmakers are seeking to give workers increased protections when it comes to collective bargaining and union organizing through a bill that has passed in the Senate with a number of changes since it was introduced. 

For the first time since 2007, properties in Winooski will be reappraised.

Officials are cutting back how many lake trout are released annually into Lake Champlain after finding, for the first time in decades, sustained successful reproduction in the species — exciting news for biologists and anglers alike.

As part of an ongoing recovery project, wildlife officials have announced the annual closings of cliffs where peregrine falcons nest across Vermont.

Vermont is the only state in the country where farmers cannot readily access a program meant to pay them back for restoring habitats around their farms.

A proposed solar farm in Charlotte would see about 12,500 panels lined in rows across 21 acres on Lake Road.

RANDOLPH — Students take over the basement in Keenan Hall after sunset nearly every night at Vermont Technical College, posting up in front of computer monitors with rainbow-colored keyboards and headsets.  Sophomore Luc Levesque, a regular, spent a recent weeknight explaining one game he and others come there to grind — first-person shooter Valorant — […]

This legislative session’s major housing bill drew a lot of attention last month for its impacts on Act 250 reform and single-family zoning.

The library’s board and staff is embarking on a new strategic plan for the library — the first update in seven years.

The EAP course intends to help multilingual students develop reading and writing skills expected in an English-speaking college. The course covers classroom culture, academic expectations, history, and design of U.S. collegiate institutions.

Whether towns and cities can charge farms for stormwater utility fees is at the center of a bubbling debate between state agriculture officials and municipal leaders around Vermont. 

Vermont continues to see spikes in housing prices with the median home price rising 15% in 2022, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Communities and state officials alike have spent a lot of time discussing how the growth of short-term rentals in Vermont has contributed to the state’s housing crisis.

Waterbury’s newest cannabis dispensary has gotten off the runway with a store featuring big windows positioned to maximize natural light, four separate kiosks prepared for product browsing and sliding glass hatches covering fresh bud for fragrance testing.

With mud season just beginning, experts warn that Vermonters should stay away from high-elevation trails for now to protect natural areas from erosion and further damage.

Vermont lawmakers launched the cross-party Future Caucus with the Millennial Action Project, a group focused on encouraging younger people to pursue politics, in 2015 to unify lawmakers under 45 years old and encourage younger individuals to run for office. But in June of last year, only 24 of the 150 state legislators were under 45. 

Julian Hackney’s journey in becoming the founder of Young at Heart ginger beer has been pretty serendipitous.

Lindsay Aldrich peered into the vat of syrup, getting a noseful of the sweet aroma.  It was a far trip from her home in Burlington to the sugarhouse in Bethel where she and Luke Briccetti now gazed at rows of bottled syrup perched up along the windowsills. But they were excited they’d made it.  They […]

On Town Meeting Day, Burlington will vote on a provision to allow all legal resident voting.

Earlier this year, the Hinesburg Town Forest Committee learned that Lyman had gone into the town forest with heavy machinery and destroyed three beaver dams.

The Lewis Creek Association is a local environmental group that has been working to protect and restore Vermont waterways since 1990.

Alarmingly high levels of E.coli were found in an early February sample from a small town wastewater facility outflow into the Missisquoi River, but local officials say the testing lab didn’t tell them until weeks later — meaning the bacteria could have continued to leave the plant for most of the month.

The read-a-thon is a way to track students’ reading, encourage them to read more and to raise money for the Shelburne Parent Teacher Organization.

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from familiar faces on a familiar policy last week: THC potency limits for cannabis concentrate products.

Now making the rounds across the state, “The Butterfly Queen” will screen in Bradford on March 8 at The Space On Main.

HAVERHILL—In 2020, Mallory Graham bought a gift – a commissioned “map of home” – for her partner in music and life, Scott Tyler. But the map didn’t depict a single place. It included Nashville; parts of Michigan, Maine, and South Dakota; and Bradford. For the duo behind the folk-Americana band The Rough & Tumble, each […]

A power outage Monday caused up to 500,000 gallons of partially treated liquids to flood out of the city’s wastewater treatment plant and into an outflow area near Stevens Brook, a waterbody that’s connected to Lake Champlain and flows downstream into St. Albans. 

Chemicals are discharged into the Winooski River

Shepherd Dave Martin, left, lends his sheep’s wool to Muriel’s of Vermont. Cyrus Brooks, right, owns the company with his mother, Laura Jacoby, and runs their whole-garment knitting machine to turn yarn into sweaters. Photos by Kayla Duvel Not all of Dave Martin’s sheep have names. He likes some more than others. He should probably […]

Local glassblower Sam Lightner has always liked fire. Now, that affinity finally has a home.

Before voters on Town Meeting Day say “yes” or “no” to proposed local and education taxes for the coming year, the numbers they see on the agenda go through a labyrinth.

With winter weather becoming harder to predict, Vermont’s skiing and outdoor recreation industry is looking at new ways to keep the season’s business going.

When the class of 2020 arrived at South Burlington High School four years ago, the students would be the first to encounter a new academic standard that administrators and educators had been working to prepare: proficiency-based learning. 

What started almost two decades ago as only a camp in a local barn has grown into a theater organization serving about 1,000 youths annually from northwestern Vermont.

Leitz stepped into his new role on Jan. 1, becoming the town’s first new municipal manager in nearly 35 years.

Winooski River’s Salmon Hole is part of Vermont’s list of impaired and threatened waters.

“A strong spirit transcends rules.”— Prince  Craig Mitchell stands before Mount Kilimanjaro, flanked by a friend. “You have to be ready for the mountain, and the mountain has to be ready for you,” says his friend, but Mitchell starts climbing. The two ascend at record speed. But when the peak is in sight, Kilimanjaro erupts, […]

The Memorial Hall event featured Fairfax dog trainer Deb Helfrich, who taught attendees a lesson on “Dog Talk 101”

The Dains are in their 19th year running the Waterbury shop

Volunteers are needed to help make the iconic Halloween in Winooski jack-o’-lantern display possible.

Kids have the opportunity to learn to code with the Charlotte Coding Club.

Anti-fossil fuel activists say officials have done too little to let people know about what’s going on.

Apple-picking season is back in Vermont, and orchards across the state are starting to come alive with visitors — and apples. The Other Paper checked in with three orchards across the Champlain Valley to see what their owners think about this year’s fall fun. Shelburne Orchards For Nick Cowles, running Shelburne Orchards is a family […]

Clear skies, wagging tails and happy smiles abounded on Sept. 24 at the new Dog Park in Elizabeth’s Park.

Visitors to Waterbury Center State Park this summer may have spotted an unusual sight on the shore.

After 20 years captaining Williston Central School’s mentorship program, Nancy Carlson has stepped ashore to let it sail on under new leadership. 

These tiny, all-weather libraries are built for neighborhood book exchanges where community members can take or leave a book.