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Vermont Business Magazine Nominations are now open for the 2026 Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame! Nominations can be made electronically through www.VTAgHallOfFame.org. Nominations will be accepted in three categories: Emerging Leaders, Ag Innovators, and The Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, March 20th, 2026, at 5 pm. With over 100 Vermonter’s recognized in the last 24 years, the Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame is ready to accept your thoughtful, high quality nominations for 2026. All are welcome to submit a nomination of Vermont’s farmers, producers and people dedicated to supporting the landscape we share. Please note that prior year nominations do not carry over; if your nomination was not selected in past years, please resubmit your nomination.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark wants to hear young Vermonters’ thoughts on the environment. For the sixth year in a row, the Attorney General’s Office is holding an Earth Day Essay Challenge for Vermont students. “I look forward to this essay challenge every year. These essays provide hope for the future and make me especially proud of our state,” Attorney General Clark said. “It’s inspiring to see the ideas, passion, creativity, and research that the students provide in their essays. I also really appreciate the teachers who inspire and support these students in their work.” The Earth Day Essay Challenge is open to any fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-grade student in Vermont, including home-schooled students. The challenge will run from now until April 17, 2026. Students can submit other types of writing instead of an essay if they would like—for example, a story, poem, or biographical piece about someone.

Vermont Business Magazine Morrisville Water & Light (MWL), the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR), Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC), American Whitewater, and the Vermont Council of Trout Unlimited today announced a comprehensive settlement agreement that resolves MWL’s request to decommission the Green River Reservoir hydroelectric facility at this time and establishes a clear compliance schedule for the Green River, Morrisville, and Cady’s Falls hydroelectric developments as the project moves toward a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license.

Vermont Business Magazine Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont-AL), Vice Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Tuesday released the following statement after reviewing unredacted Epstein files at the Department of Justice. Attorney General Bondi will testify before the House Judiciary Committee today starting at 10 AM. “What I saw in the Epstein files over the last two days was sickening and enraging. It is absolutely clear that we have a two-tiered system of justice in this country. One for the rich and powerful where the law is optional, and one for the rest of us."

by Jon Schaefer, CEO Bear Den Partners I am excited to share that Smugglers’ Notch Resort has officially joined the Bear Den Partners family. This summer when the Burke snowmakers were knee deep in welding, when the hotel was frantically reorganizing, before there were new websites, or logos, or new software systems, and just after the chefs were whipping up new treats, we were invited by another northern Vermont family ownership group to consider a control investment in one of the most important resorts on the east coast: Smugglers’ Notch.

Vermont Business Magazine Smugglers’ Notch Resort in Jeffersonville and Bear Den Partners, owners of Burke Mountain, today announced a collaborative ownership transition that shifts the Vermont-based independent resort operator into partnership with Smugglers’ Notch, one of North America’s most celebrated family-focused mountain destinations. Smugglers’ Notch has been owned and operated for the past 29 years by William Stritzler, whose values-driven leadership has shaped the resort’s enduring reputation for family connection, community, and an authentic mountain experience. The Stritzler family will continue to have an ownership stake and Bill’s daughter Lisa will serve as an advisor on the future of the mountain. The partnership with Bear Den Partners reflects a shared commitment to preserving these principles while supporting the resort’s long-term vitality. Financial terms were not disclosed. The purchase of Smuggs by Bear Den Partners will be finalized in the coming weeks. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Vermont Business Magazine The Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) received congressionally directed spending (CDS) from the Senate Committee on Appropriations LHHS-Innovation and Improvement account in the amount of $100,000. CAE received the award through Senator Peter Welch’s office. “Senator Welch and his staff have always been very supportive of local agriculture and our community; we are very thankful for this support,” said Jon Ramsay, Executive Director of CAE. The award will help fund two of CAE’s programs that work with area schools: Place-Based Education and Just Cut. CAE’s Place Based Education Program supports work in all Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union’s (OSSU) schools to increase opportunities for experiential learning focused on local food and agriculture.

by Ed Neuert Nine current or former UVM students are taking part in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Five days into the competition, two of those athletes have medaled. Cross-country skier Ben Ogden ’22, appearing in his second Winter Olympics, won the silver medal in the cross-country sprint event on Tuesday, becoming the first U.S. male to medal in the sport since Vermont native Bill Koch won silver at the 1976 Winter Olympics, in Innsbruck, Austria. In Alpine skiing on Tuesday, in the inaugural alpine women's team combined event, Paula Moltzan who studied biology at UVM, joined her teammate Jacqueline Wiles to claim the bronze medal in the new event, which combines one downhill run and one slalom run per pair. 

Vermont Business Magazine Nurses, LNAs, Social Workers, Chaplains, Bereavement Coordinators, Volunteers Coordinators, Cooks, and Admin Support workers at UVM Home Health and Hospice have voted 72-1 to ratify their first union contract. The final negotiation session ended just after midnight after a many hour session on January 29th – nearly seven months after employees voted to form their union Hospice United last June. This agreement will raise wages an average of 17% over the two-and-a-half-year length of the contract, improves hourly differentials for all staff, lays the foundation for safe staffing ratios, and establishes protections for the rest of UVM Home Health should they choose to organize. 

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott today announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Vermont’s $100 million proposal to use Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding to extend access to reliable, high speed, and affordable broadband services to areas where it currently does not exist. BEAD, a $42.45 billion federal grant program authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, sets the goal of connecting every American to high-speed internet by funding partnerships within states to build infrastructure.

Vermont Business Magazine The Attorney General’s Office today announced that Ayla Atherton, 30, of Richford, Vermont, has pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Medicaid fraud related to submitting false claims for payment. Atherton’s sentencing will be deferred for a two-year term of probation and repayment of restitution. Atherton entered her plea this afternoon in Vermont Superior Court, Franklin Unit, Criminal Division. The Court, Judge Elizabeth Novotny, ordered Atherton to complete two years of supervised probation, repay $5,436 in restitution, and complete a restorative justice program. Atherton also agreed not to provide Medicaid services in the future.

Vermont Business Magazine Legislators, local government leaders, housing advocates, businesses, and conservation organizations gathered Tuesday at the State House to call on the Legislature to act this session to realign the implementation timelines of Act 181, Vermont’s landmark 2024 land use reform law. Speakers warned that Act 181 is moving faster than the maps and rules needed to implement it clearly and fairly, creating uncertainty for towns, housing projects, and working landowners across Vermont. The coalition is urging legislative leaders to take up H.730 to extend timelines and prevent further misalignment. The call to extend Act 181 timelines is being led by members of the Legislature’s nonpartisan Rural Caucus, including leadership and bipartisan sponsors of H.730, who represent communities across all regions of Vermont.