Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a man who was in the custody of the Vermont Department of Corrections. VSP was notified at about 9:40 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, that Gregory H. Penn, a 68-year-old inmate at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, had died while receiving palliative care in the prison infirmary for a terminal illness. Per standard protocol, a detective from the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations was assigned to the case and began a death investigation.

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets As we turn the calendar, this month naturally becomes a time to look back and reflect. There’s no doubt that 2025 was a challenging year — from unpredictable weather to affordability pressures affecting families and businesses alike. We know there is significant volatility and disruption impacting everyone who works the land. As we begin 2026, there is uncertainty and worry, but January is also a time when many of us set intentions and resolutions for the year ahead. Here are mine.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Police is adding extra patrols and urging the public to be cautious as forecasts call for a significant ice storm to affect the state through Monday afternoon. The National Weather Service is predicting up to 0.6 inches of ice to accumulate across portions of Vermont, with the highest totals ranging from the Northeast Kingdom to Springfield, in central Vermont, and along the spine of the Green Mountains. Considerable icing is expected statewide as the storm arrives from the southwest to the northeast during the overnight hours Sunday into Monday. Conditions are not expected to begin improving until at least Monday afternoon.

by Ben Kinsley Everyone wants answers about why property taxes are going up another 12% next year. Some blame small schools, some blame administrative overhead, some blame legislative inaction regarding our education funding system and school governance. Sadly this news was inevitable. While the Legislature, the Governor, and local Vermonters negotiate over what the next iteration of public education looks like in our state, they bought down property taxes last year using one-time monies. The Governor and the Legislature were both in alignment on this, but these one-time funds[1] created a $98 million hole for property taxes to fill in FY2027 (which is the 2026/2027 school year) before schools even spent a dollar more.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont anglers will want to know about several changes to fishing regulations that take effect on January 1, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Most notable are the updated regulations referring to panfish and the use of baitfish.  Additional changes can be found in the 2026 Fishing Guide & Regulations booklet available free from license agents and on Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website.

Vermont Business Magazine Investigators from the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit have determined that a fire earlier this month in Ryegate that killed a homeowner in Ryegate was accidental. Although the exact cause of the Dec. 18 fire is classified as undetermined, the investigation has identified the most likely origin as either discarded smoking materials or space heaters placed in close proximity to combustibles.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burke Area Chamber of Commerce has recognized East Burke Rentals as the 2025 Business of the Year.  The award is given to a Burke Chamber member based on nominations from fellow chamber members.  The award is meant to celebrate a business that demonstrates exemplary business practices and gives back to the community in various ways. East Burke Rentals is owned by Allen and Robin Beaupre. The Beaupre’s were nominated by Abby Long, formerly of Kingdom Trails and the current Interim Executive Director of the NEK Collaborative, and Burton Hinton, co-owner of East Burke Market.  Both Long and Hinton commented on the Beaupre’s dedication to the community and willingness to give time and resources to make things happen. 

by Maeve Fairfax, Community News Service On solar farms, the ground beneath the solar panels is often planted with turf grass and left alone. But some Vermonters are experimenting with productive ways to use that land: grazing livestock, growing crops, and creating habitat for threatened pollinators and birds. Solar makes up about 16% of the energy Vermont generates, and that number has been growing for over a decade. As solar grows, so does Vermont’s capacity for agrivoltaics — the dual use of land on solar farms for agriculture. Lewis Fox is a sheep farmer in Leicester, Vermont. With his wife, Niko Kochendoerfer, he runs a business called Agrivoltaic Solutions. They are hired by solar companies to manage the vegetation on solar farms. “We’re in charge of keeping the vegetation within certain limits, and the sheep are the tools that we use to do it,” Fox said.

Vermont Business Magazine The DeltaClimeVT energy business accelerator is seeking innovative start-up and seed stage ventures offering products and services that enhance grid resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Companies ready to deploy solutions for decarbonizing buildings, transportation, heating, and industrial processes, especially through electrification, thermal energy networks, renewables, and flexible load management, are encouraged to apply. Solutions that help lower electricity costs for Vermont ratepayers are of particular interest. Application period closes Jan. 16, 2026. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) has announced that Champlain Elementary School in Burlington as its 6th annual Recycle Rally Challenge winner and the Williston Central School as the winner of the Change Maker Award. The Challenge is a friendly competition that helps schools improve recycling and compost sorting while inspiring students to take action to reduce, reuse and recycle. 

Vermont Business Magazine Burlington-based commercial real estate company V/T Commercial has released their fourth quarter commercial real estate transactions. They include: Yves Bradley brokered the sale of a 48,812 square foot industrial building at 30 Precision Drive, North Springfield, to VS Realty Partners, LLC; John Beal, representing Unsworth Properties, announced the lease of 6,933 square feet at the former Arts Riot space on 400 Pine Street, Burlington, to the South End Arts & Business Association; John Beal brokered the sale of a commercial property at 610 Route 7 South, Middlebury to Christopher Griggs. Beal assisted the buyer and the seller, Christopher Dundon; Concentra Health Services, Inc. leased space at 654 Granger Road, Barre from 654 Granger Road, LLC.  Bill Kiendl assisted each party.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and a multistate coalition of 17 other attorneys general have sued to block enforcement of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) unlawful “declaration” that attempts to limit access to gender-affirming care for young people. HHS’ declaration falsely claims that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective.” It also threatens to punish any doctors, hospitals, and clinics that continue to provide gender-affirming care with exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Attorney General Clark and the coalition argue in the lawsuit that this declaration violates federal statutes by unlawfully changing medical standards without going through the notice and comment process and undermining states’ long-standing authority to regulate medicine.