Current News

by Jack Hoffman, Public Assets Institute Vermont’s current education debate seems stuck on what to do first: Overhaul the governance structure and then reform the funding system, or do something about spending and then re-draw school district maps? Governance should be the priority, but it’s not about the maps. The first question is whether Montpelier is going to take power from voters or local communities will retain the control they now have, but with better support from an Agency of Education adequately staffed and committed to assisting schools to improve education for Vermont children. Then people will know if they still have a role or decisions about funding and governance will be made for them.

by Vermont Auditor of Accounts Doug Hoffer Last summer I was walking back to my car after a round of golf when someone in the parking lot called out to me. “Hey, Hoffer, why don’t you ever tell us when something is going well?!?” In my 13 years as State Auditor it’s a sentiment that comes up from time to time, mostly because news coverage generally focuses on the mistakes and errors and performance shortcomings unearthed by our audits. If an agency we review has done superbly nine out of ten times, it’s the one instance that didn’t go well that attracts attention. Every day, though, State employees perform a wide variety of tasks in service to Vermonters at a high level, and our audits reveal that. I want to share two recent examples.

by Ben Cohen Today, The Magnum Ice Cream Company will present its first set of results as an independent company, separate from Unilever. More than 50,000 people wrote to Magnum’s board, shared their concerns about the negative impact their company has on the Ben & Jerry’s brand, and urged Magnum to sell the company. Magnum’s CEO, Peter Ter Kulve, chose not to listen. That’s why, ahead of the inevitable spin and speculation that occurs on earnings day, I want to take the time to speak directly to Magnum’s current investors.

Vermont Business Magazine The Agency of Natural Resources Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today that Agri-Mark, Inc. was fined $60,000 for multiple violations of its Pretreatment Discharge Permit (Permit) at its dairy and whey processing facility in Middlebury, Vermont. More than 15 billion gallons of wastewater are processed by Vermont’s 91 municipal wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) per year, where the wastewater is treated before being released into the environment. Certain industries must obtain a pretreatment permit to treat their wastewater before sending it to municipal WWTFs, ensuring it doesn't disrupt the treatment process. Pretreatment discharge permits help prevent the release of untreated wastewater. The discharge of untreated or partially treated wastewater can pose a significant risk to the state’s natural resources and to public health.

Vermont Business Magazine The Southwestern Vermont Chamber Foundation announced a multi-year investment from The Bank of Bennington, committing $25,000 per year for three years to support a comprehensive entrepreneurial development initiative focused on growing the next generation of local business leaders in Southwestern Vermont. The $75,000 commitment positions The Bank of Bennington as a Founding Investor in the newly launched Southwestern Vermont Chamber Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created to accelerate regional progress through workforce development, entrepreneurship, leadership, and data-driven economic strategies. The investment will underwrite a multi-year entrepreneurship initiative designed to reduce barriers to business creation, improve financial literacy, and encourage residents — particularly young professionals and first-time founders — to start and grow businesses locally.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont are $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week and last month and 15 cents/g lower than this time a year ago, according to AAA. The lowest price in the state this week was $2.63/g while the highest was $3.12/g, a difference of 49.0 cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy. Prices are lowest in Bennington ($2.81/g) and Rutland ($2.90/g) counties and highest in Essex ($3.09/g), Chittenden ($3.05/g), and Grand Isle ($3.07/g), according to AAA. The national average price of gasoline has risen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.94/g today.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has confirmed a case of measles in an adult in Washington County who became sick after recent international travel. Investigation and response are ongoing, and the case does not pose a current risk to the public. Recent wastewater testing had identified the virus in the Montpelier system. The case of measles is the first confirmed in Vermont in 2026, following two cases in 2025 and two cases in 2024. Confirmation of the case follows the detection of measles virus in wastewater in Washington County through the department’s wastewater monitoring program last week. While officials cannot definitively link the case to the detection, Health Commissioner Rick Hildebrant, MD, said this shows how monitoring can help improve our public health efforts.

Vermont Business Magazine Registration is now open for the 9th Southern Vermont Economy Summit. This annual learning and networking event will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Mount Snow Grand Summit Resort in West Dover, Vermont. Registration information and a full schedule of the day’s events can be found at www.sovermontzone.com/summit. Early Bird pricing, which is currently in effect, is scheduled to end on March 12. The theme of the 2026 Summit is "Envision. Act. Grow!” Throughout the day, presentations, panels, workshops and discussions will investigate ways that our region can envision a path to growth through local and regional action.

Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, along with Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) this week introduced the Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act, legislation that would block any financial benefit to President Donald Trump resulting from his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Treasury Department. President Trump sued late last month over the leak of his tax returns several years ago by an outside contractor.  The Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act would impose a 100% tax on any settlement a president, vice president, cabinet member, or member of Congress receives from the government as a result of a lawsuit filed while in office.

Vermont Business Magazine The Working Lands Enterprise Initiative (WLEI) annual impact report was released, providing a look at the impacts achieved in 2025.  Along with the report, the program is celebrating twelve years of impacts.  Since being created by the Vermont legislature in 2012, WLEI has directly invested $19.5 million in 593 farm, food, and forestry projects and leveraged an additional $31.9 million in matching funds.  WLEI is an annual grant program that provides critical investment in farm and forest businesses. During the thirteen years of the program to date, 48% of business grantees added jobs, 77% of business grantees increased production, and 74% of business grantees increased sales. Beyond these numbers are countless stories of people feeding their communities, keeping land in agriculture, and supporting healthy forests with support of WLEI funds.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont logging contractors who have not previously participated in the Master Logger Certification Program (MLCP) have access to a significant new cost-share opportunity designed to reduce financial barriers to certification. Under the newly established cost-reduction program, eligible Vermont logging contractors can receive a 75 percent cost share on the initial certification fee.  This work is supported by Growing Vermont’s Forest Resilience: A Collaborative Strategy, Award no. 24-CA-11132544-104 from the USDA Forest Service. The initiative is intended to support forest resilience, water quality protection, workforce professionalism, and long-term sustainability across Vermont’s working forest landscape by ensuring harvesting operations are conducted by highly skilled contractors held accountable to an independent certification standard.

Vermont Land Trust The southern Vermont community-based nonprofit Bull Creek Common Lands (BCCL) has placed 341 acres of remote land in Athens and Townshend under the permanent protection of a conservation easement with VLT. The conserved land is the headwaters of Bull Creek, a special place that many in the local community know and appreciate. The newly conserved land contains many wetlands and different forest types that are home to beavers, moose, deer, bear, fox, ducks, and songbirds, as well as rare and endangered plant species. There are also several cellar holes and evidence of past farming. Public access for non-motorized recreation is currently available from Sam Farr Road in Athens with a pull-off parking area. The primary existing trail on the property is a section of the Legal Town Trail along Bull Creek.