Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc, King Arthur Baking Company and Burton Snowboards are the three "Most Coveted Employers" in Vermont, with Ben & Jerry's ranking third nationally, behind only Google and Coca-Cola. When it comes to why people jump ship to a new job, a fatter paycheck often steals the spotlight. It’s the obvious draw - who doesn’t want more money? But dig a little deeper, and it’s clear that salary isn’t the whole story. Benefits like stellar health insurance, paid time off, or even quirky extras like free snacks can tip the scales just as much. In a world where top-tier positions with sky-high wages aren’t always up for grabs, employers are left wondering: What else can convince workers to stick around? What makes a job feel less like a grind and more like a place worth staying for? 

Vermont State Police As part of an ongoing investigation, the Vermont State Police Drug Task Force and the Weathersfield Police Department arrested Danielle McAllister, 42, of Weathersfield on Friday, March 28, 2025. The arrest stemmed from a monthslong drug investigation conducted by detectives with the Vermont Drug Task Force into the distribution of fentanyl and cocaine in Weathersfield. The Vermont Drug Task Force investigation involved the use of confidential informants who purchased fentanyl from McAllister.

Vermont Business Magazine The Upper Valley Aquatic Center has been awarded $24,999 as part of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) 2024 Direct Effect 2nd Cycle Quality of Life grants. Fifty-three grants totaling $1,056,391 were awarded. The Quality of Life Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations that empower individuals living with paralysis. Since the Quality of Life Grants Program’s inception, more than 3,990 grants totaling $46 million have been awarded. Funding for this program was made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Community Living (ACL grant #90PRRC0006-04). The Reeve Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center has several grants under the Quality of Life program awarding grants in different category areas, varying in different amounts. 

Vermont Business Magazine If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a maple syrup paradise – complete with a fully operational Tiki Bar, panoramic Vermont views, and a whiskey-powered cold plunge – now’s your chance. WhistlePig Whiskey has officially listed its famed Maple Sugar Shack on Zillow offering prospective buyers a chance to claim this syrup-soaked retreat for $4.2 million, just in time for International Waffle Day. After a series of unconventional tenants and property disputes, WhistlePig Whiskey is reclaiming the Maple Sugar Shack – originally secured by the Troopers in 2024 to protect and serve the shrinking maple syrup industry.

by Jules Older, Vermont Business Magazine To my great surprise, and with zero training and no observable skills in: art, illustration, AI artificial intelligence), or ChatGPT. I find myself creating cover art for my wife’s children’s books. I was thrust into this unforeseen role by a cover crisis—her book, HELP! Santa is in Trouble, was on the tightest of deadlines, and the publisher’s artist was unavailable. You can read the full story here. Fine. I did it. And assumed my one-shot cover-artist career was over. I was wrong. 

Vermont Business Magazine Nine students from high schools around the country and the world were selected as winners of Bennington College’s 2024-2025 Young Writers Awards. This annual competition, which accepts entries in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, is free to enter and open to high school students. A first-, second-, and third-place winner is selected in each of the categories, with cash prizes up to $1,000 awarded. Young Writers Award finalists and winners are also eligible for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. Finalists who enroll at Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. Winners who enroll at Bennington will receive a $15,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $60,000.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont House of Representatives passed both the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget and tax reduction legislation on a strong tri-partisan vote. Both bills reflect months of work, deep collaboration across parties, and thoughtful input from Vermonters. The vote on the budget was 103-38. This would afford an override if the Governor Scott were to veto it. However, this is considered unlikely. The budget passed out of the Appropriations Committee in a unanimous vote. The FY26 budget includes major investments in housing, health care, education, and workforce, while maintaining fiscal discipline and fully funding pension obligations and reserves. This includes $77.2 million transfer to the Education Fund to help stabilize property tax rates to help lower the projected average property tax increase from 5.9% to 1.1%.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today issued an executive order to extend eligibility for families with children and medically vulnerable individuals scheduled to exit the General Assistance program on April 1. These individuals will remain housed in the program through June 30, 2025. This action will allow children to remain sheltered, so they are not uprooted in the middle of the school year and allow those who are the most medically vulnerable to remain housed while the Department for Children and Families works with them to plan for the future. This aligns with the compromise proposal Governor Scott offered, which the Legislature declined to include in the Budget Adjustment Act. Legislative leadership wanted to extend the program for everyone currently enrolled through June, which is the end of the fiscal year.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Today, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth issued the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to pass the revised House Budget Adjustment Act bill that retained language to extend the Hotel/Motel program for the homeless through June, for a program that is scheduled to end in April. Senate Republicans also issued a statement on why they supported Governor Scott's position on retaining the program on a limited basis. Scott had vetoed the first iteration of the $163 million BAA. The governor then this afternoon signed an executive order extending the Hotel/Motel program for families with children and medically vulnerable individuals who were scheduled to exit the General Assistance program on April 1. 

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor today reported that the seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate for February was 2.6 percent. This reflects no change from the prior month’s revised estimate. The three major indices were slightly worse from last month, as the Labor Force and Employed fell and Unemployed increased. Vermont is still tied for the second lowest jobless rate in the nation with North Dakota. South Dakota is lowest at 1.9%. Nevada is highest at 5.8%. The Vermont civilian labor force participation rate was 65.5 percent in February, no change from the prior month’s revised estimate. The comparable United States rate in February was 4.1 percent, an increase of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised January estimate. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Office of Workforce Strategy and Development announced today the members of Vermont’s new State Workforce Development Board (SWDB), which includes business owners, workforce experts, municipal officials, and representatives from state government. Together with the new Office of Workforce Strategy and Development, the Board will enhance the coordination of Vermont’s workforce system in order to better address Vermont’s workforce crisis. Act 146 of 2024 created the Office of Workforce Strategy and Development and restructured the State Workforce Development Board. Given Vermont’s constrained labor market, it also highlighted the importance of aligning education, training, and workforce development efforts across state government, as well as among community partners and employers.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that Tyler Kenneth George Leavine, 34, of Dannemora, New York, and Jody Lynn McGuire, 52, of Plattsburgh, New York, have been charged by criminal complaint with illegally transporting Sandeep Chawla, 34, Jay Sisodiya Kumar, 27, and Chintan Patel, 29, all citizens of India, within the United States. Chawla, Kumar, and Patel were also charged with illegally entering the United States at a place not designated by immigration officers. On March 26, 2025, Leavine and McGuire appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Jerome J. Neidermeier, who ordered them to be detained during the pendency of their prosecution. During their initial court appearances yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Neidermeier in Burlington, Chawla, Kumar and Patel all pleaded guilty and were sentenced to time-served. Chawla, Kumar and Patel had faced up to 6 months in prison.