Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Hundreds of business-minded community members gathered at Hula to support LaunchVT’s 2025 cohort at Demo Night, the program’s annual pitch competition and celebration of entrepreneurship. The 2025 cohort presented their startups to the audience and a panel of investor judges, including Byron Batres, Louisa Schibli, and Tim Wall. Two businesses walked away with cash awards, and all will receive professional services from local businesses worth tens of thousands of dollars. Demo Night marks the end of LaunchVT’s annual twelve-week intensive accelerator program, where entrepreneurs in the cohort work with dedicated business coaches and strategic advisors to address their startup’s most pressing needs, including refining their business models, developing their go-to-market strategies, and preparing for future fundraising and investment.  

Vermont Business Magazine John W. Danforth Company, one of the largest mechanical contractors in the northeast, is establishing an official presence in Vermont, with the opening of a new office in Williston. The office is Danforth’s sixth regional office and its first in Vermont. Located at 20 Clif’s Court, Danforth’s office features 3,000 square feet of professional office space and a 7,600-square-foot pipe fabrication shop. The company aims to employ 10-15 office personnel, including operations, sales estimating and service professionals. In addition, Danforth estimates having 40-60 field workers, including both piping and sheet metal workers, based on workload.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) Provost Nolan Atkins will retire at the end of the next academic year, the university announced today. His retirement comes after a nearly 30-year career in higher education, including nearly two decades of commitment and service to Vermont State University and its legacy institutions. Dr. Atkins will remain on as a consultant following the 2026 academic year to assist the University in its continuing accreditation work. Dr. Atkins’ career includes twenty years at the former Lyndon State College, where he served as a faculty member, chair of the atmospheric science department, interim academic dean, and interim president. He was an invaluable contributor to the unification of Lyndon State College and Johnson State College in 2016, playing a key role as provost of what was then Northern Vermont University. 

Vermont Business Magazine Colchester-based Vermont Public has won four national awards for its coverage in 2024 from the Public Media Journalists Association. “When we talk about the value of public media and public service journalism, we don’t mean just one thing,” said Angela Evancie, Vermont Public’s senior vice president of content. “These awards showcase the wide range of work we undertake on behalf of our audience, from investigative reporting and issue-driven campaign coverage to cultural exploration and interviews that bridge divides.” The PMJA Awards is the only national competition devoted to recognizing the best work in public media journalism.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today signed H.480, the "phone-free" in schools bill that has received wide support in Vermont and nationally. As of June 2025, 14 states have active laws or executive orders that ban or restrict cell phone use in schools. Proponents argue that it benefits student attainment and improves mental health. Scott said: "We need kids to be focused on learning, interacting with their peers, teachers, and friends while they’re at school. And it’s clear now that phones can get in the way of important conversations and class discussions and can also be used for harmful interactions, like bullying."

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office announced that 12 defendants have been sentenced in connection with drug and firearm charges related to a conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl between March and November 2022 in Springfield, Vermont. The last sentencing occurred June 16, 2025. All twelve defendants previously pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl, and unlawful possession of a firearm. The drug conspiracy involved distribution of controlled substances on Valley Street in Springfield, Vermont and elsewhere. The conspirators armed themselves with firearms in furtherance of the conspiracy. At certain times, firearms were discharged in Springfield in connection with the drug trafficking activity. 

by Burlington Mayor, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Wednesday night, the City Council unanimously approved Burlington’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget. This budget reflects my commitment to affordability. There is no question that this was another challenging budget year as we faced another gap, this one being $9.8M. When we closed the $14.2M gap last year, we knew that difficult decisions were ahead due to chronic structural budgetary gaps that have been building for decades. Indeed, this year, we had to make the difficult decision to cut 25 positions and end/reduce several programs. We needed to make these decisions, but that did not make them any easier. I want to talk a little bit about how we got here, what we are doing about it, and where we go next. 

Vermont Business Magazine Representatives from Comcast and Technology for Tomorrow were joined today by Vermont State Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale to announce a $65,000 grant to support the organization’s Digital Navigation Program. Technology for Tomorrow works to bridge the digital divide among older adults and new Americans by providing them with computer and workforce development training. The Digital Navigation Program, named T4T Together, seeks to maintain an active network of Digital Navigators throughout Vermont. Digital Navigators are trusted guides who provide individualized support to community members so they can access connectivity, devices, and digital skills. 

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, released the following statement condemning the Supreme Court’s hypocritical ruling in Trump v. Casa Inc., which fails to fully block Trump Administration’s order to end birthright citizenship and empowers President Trump’s attacks on the rule of law.

Vermont Business Magazine Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced that the Department of Education reversed its decision to cancel nearly $17 million in federal K-12 COVID-19 funding for Vermont school districts and some $2.5 billion for schools across the country. The administration’s announcement follows a successful lawsuit led by 16 states and the District of Columbia to prevent the department from revoking this important education funding. Sanders worked with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to make certain that Vermont received its fair share. Sanders and his staff also worked with 19 school districts in Vermont to submit 88 applications to appeal these cancellations.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will receive $67,845,000 from US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds in response to Vermont's July 2023 flooding events (FEMA Disaster Declaration 4720). These funds will help communities with the necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, and the restoration of infrastructure and housing in the most impacted and distressed (MID) areas.

Vermont Auditor of Accounts Doug Hoffer At any moment in time, the Agency of Digital Service’s (ADS) Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) is overseeing dozens of large State IT projects. As of today, they are managing 49 projects ranging in expected cost from a few hundred thousand dollars to as much as $63.5 million. Our 2023 audit found that the IT projects we reviewed that are managed by EPMO were coming in late or over budget or both. We made a series of recommendations to ADS to help them keep their projects on time and on budget, and to be more transparent to policymakers and Vermonters about the status of the projects. ADS expressed their intent to implement some of those recommendations but, disappointingly, told us they would not implement others because the Legislature hadn’t explicitly required them to do so.