In May, the Department for Children and Families unveiled a plan to build a new secure youth facility in Vergennes — partially on land that once housed the Weeks School, a former youth detention center with a troubled history. Some advocates say it’s a physical reminder that the state hasn't done enough to reckon with the past.…

Vermont’s Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas recently sat down with Vermont Public's Bob Kinzel to discuss the growing use of AI in politics and potential changes to stop the spread of disinformation.Από τον Bob Kinzel, Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

The Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets runs a program in the summer testing mosquitoes for Eastern equine encephalitis and West Nile virus. The stakes are raised as EEE is detected in more bugs around the state.Από τον Howard Weiss-Tisman

Removing the residency requirement has brought an influx of out-of-state interest to Vermont's program.Από τον Mikaela Lefrak

Vermont has a reputation for being a place that is relatively safe from the worst impacts of climate change. However, the latest series of climate fueled flooding disasters is raising questions about whether that’s the case.Από τον Abagael Giles

The elder Lydia Clemmons was one of the original owners of Clemmons Family Farm, an icon of African American cultural heritage in Charlotte, Vermont. She died at the age of 101.Από τον Elodie Reed

Cases are on the rise in Vermont, but a new COVID-19 booster is on the way. Vermont will have doses of both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available in the next couple of weeks through health care providers, pharmacies and some free or low-cost clinics.Από τον Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

After a month of asking questions, Karen Meisner and Pär Winzell are learning that no one has adequate answers.Από τον Erica Heilman

With only 15 students when it closed, Windham is an extreme example. But the dynamics at play in this tiny southern Vermont town are nevertheless emblematic of widespread trends.Από τον Lola Duffort

The Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles recently unveiled the Blue Envelope Program. The program intends to make routine traffic stop interactions between drivers on the autism spectrum and law enforcement officers easier.Από τον Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center released two polls of Vermont voters. One found a large partisan divide on a question regarding financial conditions. Another saw politically diverse support for incumbent Gov. Phil Scott.Από τον Bob Kinzel

Vermont has a new law that allows former foster care children to see their records — which were previously locked to them and only available to some state employees, and birth and foster parents. Vermont is one of few states in the U.S. to allow this access.Από τον Howard Weiss-Tisman

Janet Bailey shares her memories about growing up in an intentional faith community in Paraguay, and then moving to the states, to a farm in Brattleboro.

A series of catastrophic floods over the past 14 months is raising new questions about how, and whether, Vermonters can coexist with the rivers they live by.Από τον Peter Hirschfeld

The union is asking for higher pay, better staffing ratios and more sustainable work schedules.Από τον Elodie Reed

The National Truck Driving Championships feature written exams, truck inspections and driving challenges.Από τον Mary Williams Engisch, Adiah Gholston

A handful of colleges and universities are trying to address what has become — along with food — the fastest-growing cost of college: student housing.Από τον Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report, Liam Elder-Connors

The 10th Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival kicks off on Wednesday. Lloyd Komesar, the festival's outgoing executive director, sat down with Jenn Jarecki to reflect on a decade of work, and what comes next.Από τον Jenn Jarecki, Nathaniel Wilson

With few teaching candidates applying, especially in more rural districts, administrators are being forced to get creative — like walking the streets of Barre City to find applicants.Από τον Lola Duffort

The youngest Vermont delegate in Chicago is Addie Lentzner of Bennington, who will be entering her sophomore year at Middlebury College.Από τον Bob Kinzel

"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.