Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont gets millions in new Appropriations as Leahy casts final vote; November tax revenues surge ahead of targets; Vermont’s unemployment rate increases to 2.5% in November; Governor Scott launches voluntary paid family and medical leave; ‘Visionary’ Vermont entrepreneur Will Raap dies, 73; Blue Cross to halt relationship with OneCare Vermont in 2023; GlobalFoundries cuts 148 from Vermont plant.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center (VMEC) has announced the results of its December 6, 2022 annual election of VMEC Advisory Board members. Newly elected to the VMEC Advisory Board for two-year terms were Melissa Bounty, Assistant Director, Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation (Montpelier) and Cristin O’Donnell, Director of Training and Development, Cabot Creamery Cooperative/ Agri-Mark Inc. (Waitsfield). Dr. Parwinder Grewal, Ph.D., President, Vermont State University (Randolph Center) was designated an ex-officio Advisory Board member.

Saint Michael’s College students planning careers focused on the environment – or those hoping to better understand humans’ impact on the natural world – will directly benefit from federal funding included in the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, thanks to the hard work of alumnus and now-retired Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy ‘61. The approximately $6.5 million funding – the largest direct grant ever received by the College – will fund the continued growth and development of the College’s Center for the Environment. The Center, which was officially launched in 2019, creates and supports interdisciplinary, project-based, and place-based education in, for, and about the environment.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont’s state-wide Free Ice Fishing Day is Saturday, January 28, 2023.

Free Ice Fishing Day is held annually on the last Saturday in January. The day is geared toward giving new ice anglers an opportunity to try ice fishing before purchasing equipment, but any angler may ice fish on any waterbody open to ice fishing statewide without a fishing license on Free Ice Fishing Day.

To celebrate, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is holding an Ice Fishing Festival at Silver Lake State Park in Barnard—its first since the start of the pandemic. The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all ages as well as families with kids.

Vermont Business Magazine Switchback Brewing Co, home to Switchback Ale — Vermont’s #1 draught beer, has released their cult favorite, Dooley’s Belated Porter, in 16oz cans for the first time. The move marks the first of many Switchback Specials that will transition their way from 12oz bottles to cans throughout 2023. Dooley’s Belated Porter (named after the brewery’s first employee) was first brewed in 2009 and quickly became an annual favorite for die-hard Switchback fans.

Vermont Business Magazine Sunsoil, a certified organic hemp farm and vertically integrated CBD brand based in Burlington, has announced price cuts of up to 40% - a move that runs counter to its major competitors and economic inflation at large. This comes on the heels of a successful new product launch into the edible CBD segment with Sunsoil’s first-ever organic, vegan CBD gummies. In a recent survey of 2,500 Sunsoil customers, 40% of respondents reported cutting back on their CBD use due to financial concerns. In response to the findings, Sunsoil accelerated its plans for price reductions and announced sweeping changes to their product line.

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry's fans who have long lamented the loss of Oatmeal Cookie Chunk have a new reason in the new year to celebrate as the Vermont-based dessert dream maker has unveiled its newest flavor: Oatmeal Dream Pie. The concoction is an Oatmeal Crème Pie Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert with Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies - by Partake, the allergy-friendly food company - and Marshmallow Swirls. The certified vegan dessert is shipping now to appear on shelves across the country.

Vermont Business Magazine Fishers Island Lemonade, America’s craft lemonade canned cocktail, has partnered with Farrell Distributing in Vermont, in response to the state easing restrictions around spirits-based beverages. A recent bill passed by the Vermont legislature now allows spirits-based beverages that are 12 percent alcohol or less to be distributed by private-sector wholesalers and sold in the state's nearly 1,000 grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations. The brand is looking forward to expansion opportunities in Vermont, and confident that Farrell Distributing will widen availability of Fishers Island Lemonade to consumers in the state.

Vermont Business Magazine Lawson’s Finest Liquids is giving craft beer fans reason to celebrate with today’s release of the iconic brewery’s 2023 distribution calendar. This year, Sip of Sunshine IPA, Little Sip IPA and Scrag Mountain Pils return as year-round distributions, with rotating specialty releases and brand-new beers to debut across Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Other specialty releases, including Brave Little State Pale Ale and Mad River Maple Ale, will be available year-round in Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine The pandemic has challenged students across the United States in many ways, and one of the hardest affected groups has been high school students. It is becoming very common for students to take the ACT Test as a college application option. The latest ACT 2022 scores show that this generation scored the lowest national average in two decades. Vermont finished 16th in the composite ACT score nationally with a 23.7, well above the national average but below its neighbors and lowest in the Northeast.

Vermont Business Magazine At its 36th Annual Membership Meeting held January 12th, the Vermont Business Roundtable elected new officers: Chair Sara Byers, Leonardo’s Pizza; Vice Chair Rebecca Towne, Vermont Electric Cooperative; Treasurer Mark Crow, Tenth Crow Creative; Secretary Don George, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont; and, Immediate Past Chair Judith O’Connell, Champlain Investment Partners. Also, at the meeting, members elected new directors to their first three-year term: Neale Lunderville, Vermont Gas Systems (VGS) and Dimitri Garder, Global-Z International.