Current News

Vermont State Police At the request of the Middlebury Police Department, the Vermont State Police will activate its Search and Rescue Team and other resources to join the ongoing search for missing Middlebury College student Lia Smith, 21, of California. The first full-scale search involving the VSP team will take place Thursday, Oct. 23. In addition, the state police’s Victim Services Unit is working closely with Lia’s family. Meanwhile, efforts led by the Middlebury Police Department to locate Lia are continuing. 

Vermont State Police The Vermont State Police is investigating the death of a 71-year-old canoeist after the boat he was using capsized Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, on Lake Champlain in North Hero. VSP’s initial investigation has determined the incident began at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday when two men who were related set out in the canoe from North Hero near the Hero’s Welcome store. While near Knight Island State Park, the canoe reportedly overturned. Both occupants were wearing personal flotation devices. 

Vermont Business Magazine Lightshift Energy, a developer, owner and operator of battery energy storage projects across the U.S., and KeyBanc Capital Markets, the corporate and investment banking arm of Cleveland based KeyCorp, announced the close of a $75 million credit facility that will support Lightshift’s rapidly growing pipeline of energy storage projects across the East Coast. The initial portfolio includes Lightshift’s project with GlobalFoundries in Vermont, which will deliver critical power services and significantly reduce electric transmission and capacity costs at their semiconductor manufacturing plant. The project will highlight the potential of co-located energy storage and, once operational in 2026, will be the largest battery project in Vermont. 

Vermont Business Magazine Mamava has released its 2025 ranking of the top airports in the US for breastfeeding parents, welcoming several newcomers to this year’s list. From Boston to Phoenix, airports coast to coast are stepping up their lactation amenities—showing growing momentum to make travel more comfortable and inclusive for breastfeeding families. This yearly ranking puts a spotlight on airports making a dedicated effort to go beyond the conditions of the Friendly Airports for Mothers (FAM) Acts—which require all large, medium, and small hub airports to provide one lactation space in each terminal—to ensure a truly welcoming and accessible environment for breastfeeding and pumping parents. ORD, SFO and MCO lead the way.

Jonah Richard, Village Ventures Governor Phil Scott held a press conference (October 14, 2025, in Fairlee) on the site of our future 26-unit mixed-use project in Fairlee to announce this year’s Downtown Tax Credit awards. Thanks to Austin Meehan, two of our projects made the cut. First, our historic quadplex from 1836 received $210,000 in state tax credits, along with $130,000 in federal historic credits. Paired with low-interest debt from Vermont Housing Finance Agency, this will allow us to bring the building back to life as workforce housing — with construction slated to start this winter. Our 19-unit LIHTC project also received $225,000, just days after landing a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant. With those pieces in place, we’ve now closed $4.5m of a $7m capital stack.

Vermont Business Magazine A new report from The Sentencing Project, Voting from Prison: Lessons from Maine and Vermont, highlights that incarcerated citizens in Maine and Vermont still face significant barriers to casting a ballot. The report reveals a troubling disconnect: having the legal right to vote while incarcerated does not guarantee the ability to exercise that right. This webinar will explore key insights from the report, featuring perspectives from currently and formerly incarcerated individuals, advocates, reform leaders, and Department of Corrections staff, offering a deeper understanding of accessing democracy during incarceration.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont has made progress helping future early childhood educators access higher ed programs. At the same time, Act 76—passed in 2023 to expand the state’s child care capacity—has created new classrooms that need qualified educators. Yet many students don't complete the credentials they need to lead these classrooms. A new report from the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) shows where students are stopping or leaving programs and highlights ways the system can better support them so more can enter Vermont’s child care workforce.

Vermont Business Magazine Neagley & Chase Construction, one of northern New England’s most respected and diverse commercial construction firms, has announced that Rob Higgins has been named President after 25 years with the company. Known for his collaborative approach and practical problem-solving, Rob has long served as a trusted Project Executive and leader in the company’s operational and financial systems. His strong relationships with subcontractors and trade partners have contributed significantly to the firm’s reputation for excellence. Rob started as a Field Engineer for Neagley & Chase in 2001.

Public Assets Institute Facts still matter, and the proof of that is becoming more and more evident as we continue to lose access to valuable federal government data. Today is the day we would normally be getting information about the number of jobs employers added or cut last month. We would have learned if the number of Vermonters who are out of work rose or fell. And we should have gotten data on the ratio of job openings to the number of people looking for work, which could shed light on Vermonters’ employment prospects heading into the fall. Today, however, we can’t tell you whether Vermont’s unemployment rate went up or down last month or jobs increased or decreased because the BLS stopped publishing new data when the federal government shut down October 1.

Vermont State Police On October 21, 2025, at approximately 0058 hours, Troopers from the Vermont State Police – Rutland Barracks responded to the intersection of Country Club Road and Forest Dale Road in the Town of Brandon for a report of a single-vehicle crash into a utility pole. It was reported that the operator, David Fletcher, was unresponsive, and members of Green Mountain Power were performing CPR upon Troopers’ arrival. He was transported from the scene by Brandon Rescue and was later pronounced deceased by medical staff at Rutland Regional Medical Center.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont State Chartered Bank, formerly known as Bank of Burlington, officially steps forward as The Business Bank, marking three years since opening its doors and continuing its mission to deliver straightforward, local banking built for businesses. In a statement the bank said its new name “reflects the success of this model” and their “clear focus to serve business customers, while continuing to grow across Vermont and expanding into New Hampshire and Massachusetts.” The Business Bank remains headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, with expansion underway in Portsmouth, NH, and East Longmeadow, MA.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported last week that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations fell again slightly after a recent increase in cases that began in August. Neither the VDH nor the CDC are any longer reporting COVID fatalities or total cases in Vermont or in the US. WastewaterSCAN testing of treatment plants indicates that in Vermont both COVID-19 and Norovirus levels are higher in Vermont than they are nationally. There were 5 outbreaks last week (5 the week before), with 5 in Long-Term Care Facilities and 0 in schools. Like hospitalizations, outbreaks increased slightly since mid-summer.