Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Do North Coworking, a collaborative workspace and hub for entrepreneur-focused programs and events in Lyndonville, is transitioning ownership from Vermont State University (VTSU) to the Northeastern Vermont Development Association (NVDA), effective March 2026. Community members and coworkers can expect a seamless transition in addition to added benefits stemming from NVDA’s regional development role. Under NVDA’s management, Do North Coworking will continue to operate as a coworking and entrepreneurship hub while expanding programming, partnerships, and access across the region. NVDA’s broader focus positions Do North to grow as a hub for business support, startup development, and collaborative initiatives that serve remote workers and emerging entrepreneurs throughout northeast Vermont.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $3.16 per gallon, up 16 cents per gallon from last week, up 17 cents/g from last month and up 2 cents/g from a year ago, as the war in Iran has created uncertainty, drone strikes and pushed Brent crude over $84.50. Prices are lowest in Bennington ($3.05/g) and Windham ($3.11/g) counties and highest in Essex ($3.29/g), Lamoille ($3.22/g), and Franklin ($3.22/g), according to AAA.

Vermont Business Magazine The 20th annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS) will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at the Montpelier Performing Arts Hub. It is organized by the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) and the Agency of Natural Resources. VORS brings together composters, farmers, businesses, educators, policymakers, and community leaders to advance solutions to keep clean organic materials out of landfills and return nutrients to Vermont soils. Additional workshops, tours, and hands-on learning opportunities will be held across the state on March 26.

Vermont Business Magazine Today, VIP Tires & Service, northern New England’s leader in all things tires and service, announced a 2025 fundraising total of $23,758.46 for Make-A-Wish Vermont in 2025. Customers and employees from VIP’s six locations throughout Vermont donated $11,879.23 and VIP Executive Chairman John Quirk matched the company’s contribution. VIP’s total contribution to Make-A-Wish now totals nearly $2 million since the company first partnered with the charity in 2008. Supporting young children who face life-threatening medical conditions, VIP customers were philanthropically active in all five New England states with VIP locations: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont — raising a grand total of $320,000 for Make-A-Wish in 2025.

Vermont State Police Kevin Marx, the suspect in a vehicle attack on a Grand Isle County sheriff’s deputy late Wednesday, was jailed without bail early Thursday, March 5, 2026, on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. Marx is alleged to have run down the deputy after a traffic stop in South Hero on Wednesday night. The deputy, Sgt. Nicholas Pillsbury of Essex, was taken to UVMMC. His injuries were not life-threatening and he was discharged Thursday morning.

Vermont Business Magazine VMEC, Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center, has released its annual impact report. As Vermont’s only singularly focused resource for manufacturers, VMEC is the official representative of the MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership) National Network in the Green Mountain State. Since its inception in 1995, VMEC’s federal partner, NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has used an independent third-party organization to conduct surveys of VMEC clients as well as other MEP Centers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. New this year and for the first time in VMEC’s history, we’ve transitioned from annual reporting figures to three-year data points. This change provides a more comprehensive view of long-term performance and trends in the manufacturing industry across the board and follows what many of our sister MEP Centers around the country have adopted.

by Kate Kampner Jon Copans watched videos of the July 2023 flooding from his phone during a well-timed vacation. But reality hit when he turned onto Montpelier’s State Street five days later. The debris, salt and smell of remaining devastation left Copans wondering what could be done. Following the floods, Copans became executive director of the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience, a partnership with the city government to build flood resiliency. After two years, the group is beginning to wind down its work in preparation for a merger with the Montpelier Foundation to build a new organization of aid for the city. As a final course of action, Copans supported H.778, a dam safety bill which passed out of the House Committee on Environment on Feb. 20. The bill then moved to the House Committee on Appropriations.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (AAFM) has recently joined FieldWatch Registries to promote communication and collaboration between crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators. FieldWatch (www.fieldwatch.com) is a non-profit organization that services 27 other U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, and the District of Columbia. FieldWatch provides an online mapping platform (geographic information system (GIS)) that allows real time communication between farmers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators in a secure environment with an easy-to-use mapping registry to identify and map the locations of apiaries and crop fields that pesticide applicators should avoid. The platform allows participants to determine the amount of information to be shared to pesticide applicators and/or the public.

Northeastern Vermont Development Association Data center development, expanded manufacturing, and the electrification of transportation and buildings are causing a rapid increase in electricity demand. But will this be met primarily by additional fossil fuel power plants or can clean energy solutions play a major role? A recent report by the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA), "How States Can Address Load Growth While Decarbonizing", aims to help state officials, as well as other stakeholders, understand how policymakers can respond to electric load growth in ways that continue to advance decarbonization of the electricity system.

Vermont Business Magazine Each winter, Vermont prepares for potential ice jams and their impacts. Also known as “ice dams,” ice jams form when blocks of ice clump and block river flow. Ice jams can cause upstream flooding before they break up or release suddenly and cause damage downstream. Rain on snow can quickly form ice jams in the steep and powerful streams of Vermont’s valleys and mountains. Ice jams are most common from January to March when river ice breaks up quickly and collects at undersized stream crossings, sharp bends, or other areas where rivers constrict. 

Vermont Business Magazine The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Vermont has established a second Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 application batching date for Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). The application cutoff batching date for ACEP-ALE will be March 30, 2026. Agricultural Land Easements (ALE) help private and tribal landowners, land trusts, and other entities such as state and local governments protect croplands and grasslands on working farms and ranches by limiting non-agricultural uses of the land through conservation easements. Eligible entities include state or local agencies, non-profits, and tribes. Landowners do not apply directly to NRCS for funding under this program.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Governor Phil Scott tapped a maple tree at April’s Maple in Canaan today to recognize the beginning of this year’s maple season. With the winter weather still chilly but the sun growing stronger by the day, today the governor joined April Lemay, her family and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts to tap a maple tree and join in the tradition of Vermont’s maple season while celebrating this important industry to the state’s economy and culture.  Governor Scott also signed a proclamation declaring the month of March as ‘Maple Month’ in Vermont, saying “WHEREAS, maple syrup is one of the most recognizable symbols in Vermont, and will continue to symbolize the hard work, craftsmanship, innovation, and creativity that make Vermont the great state it is.”