In Vermont, many dairy farmers don’t seem immediately concerned about losing their workforce. But farmworker organizers say they’re worried about increased immigration enforcement worsening poor conditions on farms.Από τον Elodie Reed

Vermonters bet just over $140 million in 2024, the first year of legal sports gambling in the state. During that time, the state has worked to grow its resources for people with gambling problems.Από τον Bob Kinzel, Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

Death is one of the few sure things in life, but few of us talk through how we want our final days to go, or who we want to help us through them. Formalizing those things in an advance directive may be easier and more important than you think.Από τον Nina Keck

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch says the U.S. has a role in helping rebuild Gaza, and he hopes the ceasefire clears the way for long-term work on a two-state solution in the Middle East.Από τον Mitch Wertlieb, Adiah Gholston, Kevin Trevellyan

Rutland’s historic public library and City Hall both need lots of repairs. City officials are seeking public input on what could be a much less costly option: creating a joint downtown civic center.Από τον Nina Keck

Vermont is rolling out its first-ever standalone incentives to help people upgrade their electrical systems to accommodate new, more efficient appliances — with the goal of cutting carbon emissions.Από τον Abagael Giles

Increasingly common public campus closings face political and community hostility.Από τον Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report, Liam Elder-Connors

Garden design author Gordon Hayward has been writing a series of profile pieces for the Brattleboro Reformer. He thinks knowing more about our neighbors is one way to address the global challenges we all face.Από τον Howard Weiss-Tisman

It happens to all of us, but isn't a topic that's easy to broach: death. Then New Hampshire entrepreneur Laura Cleminson founded a social club to do just that.Από τον Mary Williams Engisch, Adiah Gholston

Lena Ashooh is Vermont's 43rd Rhodes Scholar, and the state's first since 2006. After earning Harvard University's first ever animal studies degree, she'll head to the University of Oxford to study legal philosophy.Από τον Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

A gas pipeline that once generated a lot of buzz in Addison County has largely faded from the headlines. But a few years ago, investigators identified several issues with the line’s construction. And now, reenergized by a recent Supreme Court ruling, some neighbors are still fighting.Από τον Sabine Poux

The road to getting anything big accomplished this year in Montpelier is going to require collaboration between Democrats and Republicans. Here are some of the key issues to watch.Από τον Peter Hirschfeld, Jenn Jarecki, April McCullum

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Petroleum Institute have sued Vermont over a landmark climate law that seeks damages for climate change from big oil companies, and is modeled after the federal Superfund program.Από τον Abagael Giles

Where Vermont gets its energy, and how many tons of greenhouse gas emissions it generates, will be one of the most pressing policy questions for lawmakers and the governor when they return to Montpelier on Wednesday.Από τον Peter Hirschfeld

Despite delays, Killington town and ski resort officials along with developers say the proposed ski village is going to happen.Από τον Nina Keck

Rep. Becca Balint discusses her priorities around housing issues, as well as how she hopes to work across the aisle and be fearless as she enters her second term in the House of Representatives.Από τον Bob Kinzel

"You don't get up at 7 o'clock in the morning and spend the whole day stomping around outside, freezing to death or getting soaking wet, unless it's something you're really committed to," said Sally Laughlin, who has organized the Christmas Bird Count in Woodstock for 50 years.Από τον Lexi Krupp

According to an oral health equity report recently published by the nonprofit Voices for Vermont’s Children, people without legal immigration status face particularly big barriers to dental care. But there are local efforts to overcome these challenges.Από τον Elodie Reed

Kyle Dodson of Burlington and Jason McConnell of Sheldon met for a One Small Step conversation about politics, education, family life, racial dynamics and bridging the political divide.Από τον Vermont Public Staff, Karen Anderson

Vermont’s largest city has launched a new initiative that allows first responders to administer opioid addiction treatment medication at the scene of overdoses. Research indicates it’s an effective way to get more people who struggle with opioid misuse into treatment.Από τον Liam Elder-Connors

A downtown apartment building stitched Plainfield together. On July 10, floods washed it away. The Heartbreak Hotel was the kind of place where neighbors saw each other every day, where generations of people, from all walks of life, found belonging and someone to wave to in the morning. Twelve people were living there at the time, and they all surv…

"Uncomfortable conversations need to happen." Raneen Salha and Sarah White discuss their thoughts, feelings and personal connections to the war between Israel and Hamas.

More than four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the state judiciary is still struggling with an enormous backlog of criminal cases and competing public pressures around how justice should be pursued. To better understand how the system is working, Seven Days and Vermont Public embedded two reporters at the Burlington criminal courthouse for…

Two Abenaki First Nations are continuing to call for Vermont institutions not to work with state-recognized tribes, and to reconsider the process that led to the state recognizing those groups as Abenaki tribes. Those nations — Odanak and Wôlinak — are receiving a mixed response. 2024-04-02: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect th…

John Harrison traveled Vermont as a preacher in the 1880s. A racist name in town records preserved his memory. Note: This story contains sensitive material, including racial slurs. Please listen with care.

Ashley Messier is the co-chair of the Corrections Monitoring Committee in the Vermont Legislature, and she’s the reentry services program manager for Vermont Works for Women. She grew up in Essex with an abusive father and with little money, and she found herself repeating the cycle in early adulthood. This is a story about multigenerational povert…

Many people don’t want to talk about class, because class differences are the source of cultural division and tension. In this story, Erica talks with old friend Susan Randall, a private investigator based in Vergennes, about the luxuries of growing up upper middle class. "What class are you?" is an occasional series from Vermont Public reporter Er…

In 2023, around 70% of the total wealth in this country was owned by the top 10% of earners. The lowest 50% of earners only owned 2.5% of the total wealth. In this story, Vermont writer and poet Garrett Keizer, who has written extensively on the history of labor unions, talks about what happens when we address gender and race equity, but we ignore …

Stephanie Robtoy works as an account manager at Working Fields, a staffing agency that helps people with barriers gain and maintain a job. She grew up in St. Albans in a huge family of Robtoys, some of whom are pretty notorious in town for criminal activity. In this story, Stephanie talks about what it was like to grow up poor, with a last name tha…

Irfan Sehic and his family fled the war in Bosnia and arrived in Barre when Irfan was 17. He worked a number of jobs, went to college and started his own insurance agency, which he still runs out of his house. And for the last few years, he's been a club soccer coach. Irfan lives with his wife and son in Milton, and in this story, he describes the …

Who gets to decide who is Abenaki? Vermont’s four state-recognized tribes — and the state recognition law — have different definitions and criteria for what it means to be Indigenous than many Indigenous Nations. In this episode, we look at this disconnect, and lay out what’s at stake, including power, money and authority. This is Chapter Three of …

After the original group of self-proclaimed Vermont Abenaki failed to gain federal recognition, Vermont lawmakers created a state recognition process of their own. One theory in particular informed the state’s consideration: that Abenaki peoples hid in Vermont to avoid persecution, including statewide eugenics policies. In this episode, we look at …

Two Abenaki First Nations in Canada contest the legitimacy of the four groups recognized by the state of Vermont as Abenaki tribes. This is a dispute that goes back at least two decades, and has gained more prominence in recent years. In this episode, we trace Abenaki history up to 2003, when Odanak First Nation first denounced Vermont groups claim…

University of Virginia researchers say the complaint line run by the grassroots workers’ rights program Milk With Dignity improves conditions for both farmworkers and farm owners. But the program currently only covers one-fifth of Vermont’s dairy industry. Read more from Vermont Public's Elodie Reed.…

Giuliano Cecchinelli is part of a long legacy of Italian stone carvers in Barre, craftsmen whose skill transformed an industry and made the small central Vermont town the “Granite Capital of the World.” In the early 20th century, Barre was a booming industry town. Thousands of workers spent their days making monuments. The railroad chugged into tow…

How the events of last year changed Vermont schools and law enforcement. Also - where's Jack?

How do you know if a young person is plotting a school massacre? And what do you do then?

How a Republican governor who had been rated "A" by the NRA decided that Vermont, one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation, needed gun control laws.

When does planning a school shooting become attempted murder? The question went all the way to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Jack Sawyer’s journal contained a startling confession. It landed him in jail, and sent shockwaves through the state of Vermont.

Who is Jack Sawyer, and why did he want to kill his former classmates?

Coming September 6 from Vermont Public Radio.