Current News

Vermont Business Magazine At the Community Restorative Justice Center in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, non-violent offenders are referred to Reparative Panels as an alternative to a punitive approach to justice. Vermont State University (VTSU) students completing their Restorative Justice program internships participate in these panels, which offer the responsible party the opportunity to communicate and learn in an environment with their peers. The goals are to help the individuals learn from their mistakes, keep them out of the corrections system, and thus reduce the likelihood they will re-offend.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.11 per gallon, down 2.2 cents per gallon from last week's $3.13/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.85/g while the highest was $3.28/g, a difference of 43.0 cents per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 0.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.03/g today. The national average is down 8.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 36.7 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

by Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas This week is Civic Learning Week! This annual celebration of the importance of civics is an opportunity to sustain and strengthen democracy in the United States. “Civics” means understanding the five freedoms promised to us by the First Amendment: freedom of religion, of speech, of a free press; the right to peaceably protest when we don’t agree with something our government has done, and the right to petition our government for change. Think of it this way: if we don’t know where to start when we want to fix something that is broken in our communities – if we aren’t aware of our rights and responsibilities as democratic citizens – then we become easy to divide, and the problems persist.

Vermont Business Magazine Ryan Christiansen, president of Caledonia Spirits, makers of Barr Hill products, posted Saturday on LinkedIn that an entire order headed to Quebec was canceled because of the trade war between the United States and Canada initiated by the tariffs imposed by the White House. "We’ve waited four months to ship an order to Quebec. The order was placed in October of 2024, with a requested ship date in February 2025. On Feb 1, the President made the first tariff announcement. The following Monday the order was palletized and ready to ship on our loading dock, and we received the message that this order had been cancelled."

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is sponsoring a new Broadband Technician Pre-Apprenticeship Training in partnership with North Country Career Center. It will be comprehensive training for an entry level broadband network technician. The first three-week course will be offered in Montpelier starting March 26 and is available to participants at no cost. The training starts as Vermont is well on its way to making fiber broadband available to every Vermonter. Once an additional $229 million in federal funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program hits the state, construction will scale up and more workers will be needed.

Vermont Business Magazine Linda Rossi, State Director of the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC), has appointed Catherine Stack as the statewide organization’s Business Advisor for Windham county.  Like her counterparts throughout Vermont, Stack provides one-to-one, confidential, no-fee advising to small business owners at any stage of their business as they Start. Grow. Thrive. Transition. 

Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets New England dairy producers and industry allies are invited to attend Drawing the Line in the New England Milkshed: Regional Zoning for Dairy Industry Preparedness Workshop on March 27th. While bird flu (H5N1) outbreaks are affecting dairy herds in the Midwest and western states, a team of researchers at UVM is focused on the impacts of foreign animal disease outbreaks on regional dairy production in the "New England milkshed.” The milkshed is defined by all sources of milk processed or manufactured into dairy products within New England.

The Vermont State Police is identifying the individuals involved with Saturday morning’s crash on Interstate 91 northbound in Rockingham. The operator of the Hyundai passenger vehicle was Taylor Binnington, 39, of North Haven, Connecticut; he was pronounced dead on scene. His wife, Evelyn Lake, 36, was a passenger in the rear seat. Their 4-month-old son, Parry Lake, also was seated in the rear of the vehicle and was life-flighted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries. Evelyn Lake and the couple’s 3-year-old son were taken by ambulance to DHMC for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine After weathering the coronavirus pandemic and two historic flooding events in successive years, communities in Lamoille County are focused on rebuilding and future planning. Several communities are updating their town plans with an eye toward resilience. The town of Johnson has launched Re-Imagine Johnson, an initiative to consider and prioritize future development  (see story Collectively generating ideas for the future’). Manufacturing Solutions Inc. is two years into permitting a multimillion industrial site in Morristown. And Johnson Woolen Mills is under new ownership (see story Entrepreneurs tackle substantial projects in Lamoille County). Tourism continues to drive the county’s economy.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine Gene Richards is proud of the products Johnson Woolen Mills produces and its long-standing role in Johnson. He says he didn’t buy the mill in 2023 to get rich. “I am a Vermonter, and kind of a stubborn one at that,“ he said. “I’m just going to do everything in my power to make sure (the company) is around another 100 years. I bought it so that this way of life remains here in Vermont, owned by Vermonters, and I really believe in everything Vermont.“ Textile mills were once plentiful in the U.S., but since the 1990s most have closed or moved overseas in search of lower labor costs. Johnson Woolen Mills, which opened its doors in 1842, shifted to clothing production in the early 20th century and became famous for its spruce green wool pants and Jac shirts.

by Olga Peters, Vermont Business Magazine The Johnson community is crafting its future. With support from the Vermont Council on Rural Development, the community has completed a revisioning process that included outreach, three community-wide convening, and the identification of five top priorities and resulting task forces. Called Re-Imagine Johnson, the effort comes after two consecutive summers of flooding which cost the community its grocery store, shifts in the Vermont State University - owner of the Johnson Campus - and a statewide housing shortage. The five task forces and their volunteers are divining in to tackle these issues.  

The Vermont State Police is investigating a two-vehicle crash that occurred Saturday morning, March 8, 2025, on Interstate 91 in the town of Rockingham. The crash was reported at 9:43 a.m. near mile marker 33 northbound. Initial on-scene investigation by VSP indicates a passenger vehicle with four occupants rear-ended a fuel tanker truck. One occupant of the passenger vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene. A juvenile was airlifted to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, with critical, life-threatening injuries. A second juvenile and another adult were taken by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.