Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.05 pre gallon, down 4.4 cents per gallon from last week's $3.10/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.61/g while the highest was $3.29/g, a difference of 68.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 8.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.13/g today. 

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets Do you grow Specialty Crops in Vermont? Are you interested or currently selling to restaurants? If you answered yes to either question, we want to hear from you. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets is looking to connect Vermont specialty crop producers and restaurants for the purpose of increasing sales and enhancing marketing opportunities. We are surveying specialty crop growers to help us develop and improve resources designed to address market barriers in the relationship between local producers and restaurants. Survey participants may be invited for future opportunities and events to help connect growers and restaurant buyers in their area.

Vermont Business Magazine The Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative (DDHI), is hosting legislators, the governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer and Agency of Human Services administrators for an Ice Cream Social on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Parents who are members of DDHI, and their family members with I/DD, will meet in the State House cafeteria from 3:30 - 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 17th, 2025, with the invitees, and share ice cream and their personal experience of the need for permanent housing and staff. DDHI is a statewide, Vermont parent-run volunteer advocacy group of over 120 parents. 

by Noah Diedrich, Community News Service A recent bill in the Vermont Senate would offer a pathway for early childhood educators who operate outside of public education to become a recognized profession in the same way as nurses or hair stylists. The bill, S.119, was inspired by a January report from the Office of Professional Regulation that recommended creating a process of licensure for early childhood educators through its office. Sen. Allison Clarkson, D-Windsor, one of two lead sponsors on the bill, said licensure can provide consistency and professionalization, as well as increased wages. 

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Anyone who has tried to hire a tradesperson in Vermont knows two things: 1. From the sole proprietor to the three-person homebuilders, to the large multi-state companies, trades people are busy. 2. There’s not enough of them. The good news is that the industry closed out 2024 on a good note. This construction season is expected to be another good year providing the industry can acquire the materials it needs. Oh. Right. Tariffs. A major uncertainty that prompt professionals to add a “but” or “knock on wood” to many of their predictions.

by C.B. Hall, Vermont Business Magazine For the agency charged with maintaining Vermont’s vast transportation network, responsibilities cover a surprisingly broad array of projects. These include paving roadways, making drainage improvements and repairing bridges on state-owned railroads, to name just a few. As it does every year, the Agency of Transportation to-do list for the upcoming construction season also includes improvements for the muscle-powered traveler: for example, the resurfacing and general tidying-up the 26-mile Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail between St. Albans and Richford, and construction of new trailhead amenities along the Swanton-to-Saint Johnsbury Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Construction jobs have expanded beyond wielding shovels and digging ditches. Today’s workers must also have the ability to follow digital plans, understand CAD design and be able to operate a machine connected to global positioning systems. ”Part of what we’re trying to do is overcome the perception that construction is low-tech, low-wage,” said Joshua Reap, president and CEO of the Associated Builders and Contractors of New Hampshire and Vermont. ”It’s the complete opposite of that. It’s high-tech, a great opportunity to make a good living and it involves a lot of technology.”

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont State University (VTSU) is graduating its second class this spring on May 17 and 18, 2025 and has announced a remarkable lineup of commencement speakers for the four ceremonies, held at the Castleton, Lyndon, Johnson, and Randolph campuses over the weekend. 

Vermont Business Magazine RunVermont announces the 36th running of the M&T Bank Vermont City Marathon & Relay on Sunday, May 25, over Memorial Day Weekend. The event will bring together close to 5,000 runners, 20,000 spectators, and 800 volunteers for Vermont's largest single-day sporting event. The race features a two-loop 13.1-mile course totaling 26.2 miles through Burlington's highlights, including the Church Street Marketplace and Burlington Bike Path, with some uniquely Vermont amenities, such as UnTapped All Natural Athletic Fuel (maple syrup) as the on-course energy gel and beloved Taiko Drummers. Both start and finish lines are at Waterfront Park on Lake Street, making for a flat and fast course that is a Boston Marathon qualifier and USATF certified.

Vermont Business Magazine Nine candidates are contending for four district seats up for election this year on the Board of Directors of Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC). Three of the districts have uncontested races, while one – West Zone-at-Large – has six candidates vying for the single seat.

Vermont Business Magazine After President Donald Trump and Elon Musk arbitrarily fired every worker in the office that helps working class families with children and seniors on fixed incomes stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), alongside 30 Senate colleagues, today sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanding that the administration reinstate those workers and ensure they can continue administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Vermont Business Magazine Airgas, an Air Liquide company, has announced that Lyndon Institute has been selected to participate in the company’s 2025 High School Welding Education Initiative. Lyndon Institute is included among 72 schools from 33 states chosen by Airgas for the 2025 academic year. Northlands Job Corp Center in Vergennes also participates. Since 2018, the initiative has supported 162 schools, benefiting over 12,000 students and 664 instructors, with nearly 1,900 students securing jobs post-graduation since 2021. Participating schools can receive professional development training for welding instructors, welding consumables or equipment, safety PPE and more.