Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The Barre Disaster Recovery Center will close temporarily at 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 25. It will reopen at 9 a.m. Monday, October 30. The center is regularly open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (closed Sunday) at: Alumni Hall Building, Third Floor, 16 Auditorium Hill, Barre.

Vermont Business Magazine October is Farm to School Month, and across the country, farmers, educators and local food advocates are celebrating the impact of connecting youth with local food systems. The Vermont Agency of Education is taking significant strides to enhance services provided to School Food Authorities (SFAs) after securing a substantial grant of $645,207 from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to advance local purchasing and Farm to School initiatives within the state. The Agency’s Child Nutrition Programs team is actively utilizing these funds to initiate three separate contracts, each with a two-year term and the option to renew for an additional one year. 

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The Farm to Institution Market Development Grant helps local food producers and processors sell more local food to local institutions. Projects will increase sales for local producers and increase the amount of local food served at schools, early childhood programs, colleges, hospitals, nursing homes, or other local institutions. Vermont farm or food businesses, Vermont producer groups or associations, and supply chain facilitators (non-profits, economic development authorities, food hubs, food brokers, etc.) are eligible to apply. Awards range from $10,000 - $30,000. Applications are due by November 29th.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? In Vermont, the more important question might be: Does it cause a power outage? Climate change is real, climate change is here and because of climate change, Green Mountain Power, along with its president and CEO, Mari McClure, 43, stand on the revolutionary edge of our energy future.

Vermont Business Magazine All Vermont Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) offices will be closed to the public November 8-14 in order to implement the major computer system upgrade that the Department has been working on for the past year, and also to conduct the necessary employee training. There will be no online vehicle registration renewals or replacements from November 5-12. All other online services will be available, but credit card payment processing may be delayed during this time. Customers will be able to use the online scheduling system to make appointments for after the offices reopen for in-person business. This is phase one of the rollout of the new system that will greatly improve DMV customer service with faster, easier transactions and more options for online services.

Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing The new ThinkVermont GROW Program aims to help communities encourage and support new residents relocating to Vermont. The grant funds are intended to formalize a regional relocation network and increase capacity for relocation, retention, and outreach activities for either a specific region or state-wide, based on the audience served by the grant applicant. Grantees will be expected to collaborate with other organizations to optimize the chances for success. Relocation and retention efforts must be designed to reach and serve a broad audience, including underrepresented communities and new and diverse residents.

Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance Fifty-five years ago Johannes von Trapp launched the first cross-country ski center in the United States out of the 27-bed guest lodge that his mother, Maria von Trapp, was operating in Stowe. Today, the Trapp Family Lodge is an international destination for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, trail running, adaptive skiing, and events. Johannes (and his children) have expanded the property and the business: it now includes more than 45 miles of trails as well as an outdoor center, gear shop and an award-winning brewery. Join us for the Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance's Outdoor Economy Summit on November 2nd where we will award the Senator Patrick Leahy Trailblazer Legacy Award to Johannes von Trapp for his lifelong contributions to VT's outdoor economy, landscape, and communities.

Vermont Business Magazine This weekly report is a list of planned construction activities that will have traffic impacts on state highways and interstates throughout Vermont for the week of October 23, 2023. Please remember to drive safely in all work zones. Lives depend on it.

by Jules Older Don't let that headline fool you — I bat left. I know the 2020 election wasn't rigged, I think abortion is a woman’s right, I'm sure Bill Gates didn't invent covid vaccine so he could control the world, and I'm dead-certain that yes, Black lives do matter. Oh, and climate change is both real and really alarming. I bat left, but I can switch-hit. When my team comes up with a terrible idea, I say so. When it comes up with two in a row — read on. The first dumb doctrine has been around for a long time; in my view, way too long a time. The notion that so irks me is — heavy sigh — appropriation.

Vermont Arts Council From federal tax policy to state grant programs to local public art commissions, public policies and government investments play a critical role in the wellbeing of Vermont’s artists, makers, creative businesses, and cultural institutions. We are excited to present these free webinars to empower and inform Vermont’s creative sector advocates. All are welcome to these sessions aimed to help us strengthen the creative sector at every level.

Vermont Business Magazine Kingsbury has accepted a Construction Risk Partners Build America Award in Las Vegas from the AGC of America for New Specialty Construction Renewable Resource Innovation at Goodrich Farm AD1. This is the northeast’s largest anaerobic digester in Salisbury, VT. This 12.4-million-dollar anaerobic digester project was built with the Goodrich family, Vanguard Renewables, and Kingsbury Companies, LLC. Vanguard is a national leader in developing food and dairy waste-to-energy projects.

Agency of Commerce and Community Development A reminder that the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) application portal is closing at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 23rd. All applications must be completed and submitted by then, including those that are currently considered incomplete. Please check the portal.  If your application is visible that means it is incomplete.  Please open it and take the necessary steps to complete it. If it is not visible, that means your application has been properly submitted and is under review, in the queue to be reviewed, or has been approved.  You will receive a status update once that review is complete.