Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Something BIG is dropping - it's Ben & Jerry's NEW Ice Cream Bars! All the irresistible chunks & swirls fans know and love, in a handy-on-the-go-bar. Available in five fantastic flavors, each features decadent ice cream, plenty of chunks and swirls, dipped in a chocolatey coating with cookie pieces. Fans can bite into beloved Ice Cream Bar flavors like Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and fruity favorite Strawberry Cheesecake. Or if you want to discover something entirely new and sensational, give PB Pretzel or Caramel Blondie a swirl. You can find the lovingly-crafted NEW Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Bars in the freezer aisle as soon as January 2026, available in a four 2.5oz bar multipack, perfect to share (or keep all to yourself), priced at $5.99–$7.49. There's also a single Cookie Dough Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Bar dropping into convenience stores next spring, priced at $3.99.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) and U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25) celebrated the advancement of the Waste and Illegal Property Eradication (WIPE) Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to support servicemember health and strengthen national security by improving how the U.S. military eliminates certain materials both at home and overseas. The WIPE Act’s provisions prohibiting the use of open-air burn pits to dispose of contraband or classified materials and of burn-pit disposal systems were included in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).  

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont) today released the following statement on the deployment of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing to support Operation Southern Spear: “I want to thank our brave airmen for their faithful service to Vermont and the United States—and acknowledge the difficulty of leaving their families at home this holiday season. You have my full respect and gratitude. At the same time, I strongly oppose President Trump’s mobilization of the Vermont Air National Guard alongside thousands of other U.S. military units in what appears to be a relentless march to war. An undeclared war against the Venezuelan regime would be illegal under our Constitution. If this president—or any president—wants to start a war with Venezuela, which has not attacked us and is not a source of the fentanyl that is killing Americans, then he needs to seek authorization from Congress, as the authors of the Constitution intended."

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Vermont weekly unemployment claims are at their usual and relatively high level for the holiday season. For the week ending December 6, 2025, new claims were 584 and have steadily increased since mid-September. New claims were down 16 from the week before and down 29 from last year at this time. Claims were 186 in September. Claims tend to be lowest in the summer and then rise and fall around the holidays with temporary work hires and layoffs. Reuters reported that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years last week, but the surge likely does not suggest a material weakening in labor market conditions, as the claims data are volatile around this time of year.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) oversees the industrial pretreatment program in coordination with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA requires DEC to publicly report significant non-compliance each year. Fulfilling its responsibility to keep the public informed, the department reports that 17 permittees were found to be in significant non-compliance during the 2024 reporting year. Industrial facilities such as breweries, dairy processing facilities, and metal finishers acquire pretreatment permits to discharge wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs). Permittees receive limits to prevent overloading or interference issues at the WWTF. To help safeguard the state’s public waters, permittees need to submit monthly reports, report non-compliance, and not exceed permit limits for pollutants. Six permittees exceeded their permit limits and 11 did not submit their reports on time and two others were in non-compliance. See list below.

Vermont League of Cities & Towns The new legislative session will officially begin on January 6, 2026, and the VLCT Advocacy team will tackle some unfinished business and emerging issues in the second half of this biennium. By all accounts it looks like this could be a difficult session. With competing priorities like housing, healthcare, education, property taxes, and transportation fund shortfalls, the affordability agenda will be front and center. For several years, the top concern reported by local officials in VLCT member surveys has been the availability and affordability of housing. Our list of legislative priorities includes a number of zoning and land use related legislative actions, as well as a new municipal taxing authority for short-term rentals, brownfields investment, and a request to match state property tax relief with municipal stabilization agreements to support infill-scale housing development. A rising area of concern for local leaders is the perennial funding shortfall within the state transportation budget – which is exacerbated by rapidly rising constructions costs.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 19 states in suing the Trump Administration over its unlawful policy imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions. H-1B visas allow U.S. employers to hire highly skilled foreign national workers in roles that require specialized skills, including as physicians, researchers, nurses, and other vital workers, to alleviate nationwide labor shortages. The new fee would create a costly barrier for employers, especially public sector and government employers, trying to fill these positions. In Vermont, public and private employers rely on the services of hundreds of H-1B visa-holders to fill critical roles in research, health care, education, and technology that would otherwise go unfulfilled. 

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark and a coalition of 23 states today won their lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its unlawful attempt to shut down the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) bipartisan Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, designed to protect communities from natural disasters before they strike. The court’s decision prevents FEMA from terminating the BRIC program and requires the restoration of these critical funds to the communities relying on them.    

Vermont Business Magazine Fidium has expanded its multi-gig speed network to St. Johnsbury, Vt., bringing new all-fiber internet access to more than 4,000 homes and businesses. Unlike cable or wireless internet technologies, Fidium delivers symmetrical upload and download speeds up to 2 Gig (2000 Mbps) over a 100 percent fiber network.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office has announced that Nicholas Badger, 21, of Fairfax, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to a felony charge of Luring a Child and a misdemeanor charge of Violation of Condition of Release. The Court, Judge Elizabeth Novotny presiding, sentenced the defendant to a deferred sentence with ten years of probation on the felony Luring count. On the misdemeanor Violation of Conditions of Release count, the Court sentenced the defendant to zero to six months of jail time all suspended with two years of probation and a permanent conviction. Conditions of Badger’s probation include that he not to have any contact with the victims or with any children under the age of 16, that he complete individual sex offender treatment, and that his access to electronic devices be restricted.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Adam Ranslow, 41, of Whitingham, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Windham Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to one felony count and two misdemeanor counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. The Court, Judge Michael R. Kainen presiding, sentenced the defendant to one to nine years to serve, all suspended, with ten years of probation. The probation conditions mandate completion of sex offender programming, limit his 

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Joshua Parker, 23, of Saxtons River, Vermont, was sentenced in Vermont Superior Court, Windham Criminal Division, after pleading guilty to a felony charge of Promoting a Sexual Recording of Child Sexual Abuse and a misdemeanor charge of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials. The Court sentenced the defendant to a deferred sentence with six years of probation on the felony count of Promoting a Sexual Recording of a Child. On the count of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials, the Court sentenced the defendant to 12 to 15 months in prison, all suspended, with six years of probation. Conditions of Parkers’s probation include that he not have any contact with the victims, that he complete individual sex offender treatment, that he have no contact with children under the age of 16, and that he have restricted access to electronic devices. He is also required to register as a sex offender for ten years after the completion of his sentence.