Current News

Vermont Business Magazine The National Life Group Do Good Fest will be headlined by the Plain White T’s, a two-time Grammy nominated American Rock Band, the company recently announced. It also revealed Vermont favorite, All Night Boogie Band, will lead the line-up, with other bands to be announced soon. National Life is once again partnering with Star 92.9 to present the National Life Group Do Good Fest on the company’s back lawn in Montpelier. The event will be held on Saturday, July 15.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Medical Society, the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, and the Vermont Psychiatric Association, applaud the Vermont Legislature for their recent passage of two “shield laws,” S. 37 and H.89. If signed, these two pieces of legislation will protect patients who seek, and Vermont health care clinicians who provide reproductive health care services and gender-affirming care. The bills now also include protections for medication used to terminate pregnancy, which is necessary, as these medications are currently the subject of federal lawsuits that would revoke their FDA-approval status.

Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food & Markets The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund's business management coaching program just launched Business Sense, a six-module training series for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The series provides essential tools and informational resources in areas such as financials, operations, sales and marketing, human resources, leadership, and governance. Business Sense aims to help businesses thrive. The first two modules, Financial Literacy and Business Operations, have been released and the remaining four modules will be launching soon.

Vermont State Police Following a three-day manhunt, police on Sunday evening, April 23, 2023, Vermont State Police arrested Henry Lovell in Hyde Park. The arrest came at about 6:35 p.m. after the Lamoille County Sheriff’s Department received a tip from a member of the public who saw a man matching Lovell’s physical and clothing description walking along a road in Hyde Park. The location was about one mile from an area where law enforcement had reason to believe Lovell was and had deployed resources in an attempt to locate him. A Vermont State Police trooper and an officer with the Morristown Police Department were in the immediate vicinity of the roadside location mentioned in the tip. They responded, located Lovell by the side of the road, and took him into custody without incident.

by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health reported April 19, 2023, that COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations were largely unchanged from the previous week. COVID-19 activity remains in the "Low" range, according to the VDH. Hospitalizations held at 17 last week (the lowest since last fall was 22 at the end of March). Total cases were up 3 to 142. There were 9 COVID-related deaths in the last week for a pandemic total of 957 as of April 15 (this is the most recent update). VDH reported 15 COVID-related deaths in March, the fewest since the summer of 2021, and 11 so far in April. Of the total deaths to date, 761 have been of Vermonters 70 or older. There have been 3 deaths of Vermonters under 30 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with a branch in Vermont, has announced financial results for Q1 2023 and declared a regular quarterly dividend. Highlights for Q1 2023: Net income of $1.49 million, up from $784 thousand in Q4; Cost of interest-bearing deposits of 0.40%, with deposit betas well below industry average; Advisory revenue of $3.1 million and assets under management of $1.75 billion, up 2% and 3% over Q4, respectively; Less than one basis point of net charge-offs; Strong liquidity and capital positions with no negative effects from the March banking sector disturbance; Regular quarterly dividend of $0.21.

by Abby Carroll, Community News Service A bill to help small farmers diversify their products with a new grant program crossed over from the House to the Senate, but not without a significant cut in the money behind it. The House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry originally sought for a $500,000 appropriation for the program, which would be created through H.205. The committee wanted $250,000 of that to be in regular, general funding — or base funds — and the other half as a one-time appropriation. But before the bill went to the Senate, the House Committee on Appropriations changed the funding to a one-time appropriation of $350,000.

Vermont Business Magazine Scott Administration officials will be visiting Caledonia County on Monday to continue their county tour to hear from community leaders about their unique infrastructure needs and to discuss the many funding opportunities available to them via federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. Officials will offer guidance on how communities can apply for assistance with tangible economic development, housing, water and sewer, climate change mitigation measures, and broadband projects.

Vermont Business Magazine Registration is open and the keynote speaker is set for the 33rd Annual Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) Conference, “Here and Now,” which will be held on May 11th at Hula, the award-winning lakeside coworking and innovation campus in Burlington. VBSR business and nonprofit leaders, policymakers, students, and inspired individuals will gather for a full-day event that will include a keynote address by Christal Brown, six timely sessions, three innovation labs focused on the leading edge of social and environmental impact, and ample opportunities for networking and meeting exhibitors.