Local News
Rutland-based Funky Flies gets creative, captures attention of big brands, celebs
April 23, 2025
By Julian Chiemingo Rivera, Community News Service Editor’s note: This story is via Community News Service in partnership with Vermont State University Castleton. Jumping onto the Funky Flies website, shoppers are quickly met with a variety of items to buy — from skateboard decks and skateboard dog bowls to coffee beans from Colorado. The Rutland-based online…
IBOTS competed at the World Championship in Texas
April 23, 2025
The Rutland IBOTS finished 30 out of 75 in the Galileo Division at the FIRST World Championships held in Houston, Texas, this past weekend, April 16-19.
Slate Valley passes school district budget
April 23, 2025
Staff report Last Tuesday, April 15, voters approved the Slate Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) budget by a vote of 824-631 — a low voter turnout for the district. It was SVUSD’s second vote to pass the budget. Last year, in which nearly a third of all school districts within the state failed to pass district…
Rural Schools Alliance wants voice in education reform
April 23, 2025
By Curt Peterson The almost 14% average education tax increase last year shocked Vermonters into taking serious interest in education finance. The governor, the Legislature and local school board members blamed each other and/or alleged bloated school budgets. Now the education system itself is the focus for all stakeholders. One group, Vermont Rural Schools Community…
Five file petitions for two seats on the Killington Select Board
April 23, 2025
A special election will be held May 28 By Polly Mikula UPDATE: Andrew Gieda has withdrawn his candidacy for the one-year Selectboard seat, Killington Town Clerk Peggy Neisner told the Mountain Times, Wednesday, April 23. KILLINGTON — Monday, April 21, was the deadline for candidates to submit petitions to be on the ballot to join the…
Opinions/Columns
The state of maple
April 16, 2025
By Anson Tebbetts, Vermont Agriculture Secretary By the end of the month, we’ll have a clearer picture of how Vermont’s sugar makers view this season. How was the yield? What will prices look like? Where will the markets be? In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will release the official results of its annual…
We moved to Vermont to escape Florida’s schools
April 16, 2025
Dear Editor, If you’re wondering what Gov. Phil Scott and Sec. Zoie Saunder’s education plan will be like in practice, I can tell you— our family lived through it in Florida. My family relocated to Vermont from Florida just a couple of months after Saunders and her family. Unlike Saunders, we moved to Vermont to escape Florida’s…
In support of Woodstock police chief
April 16, 2025
Dear Editor, We moved to Woodstock, Vermont, in early 2017. It was the first time we had spent any time in Vermont, and we fell in love. We loved the town, the community, and everything else. We opened a business, and one of the first people we met was then officer Joe Swanson. He was…
Medical debt relief to help survivors
April 16, 2025
Dear Editor, At the Vermont Network, we support survivors of domestic and sexual violence, amplify their voices, and build safer communities. We represent 15 independent nonprofits that provide direct services to survivors and prevention programming in their communities. S.27, a proposal to eliminate up to $100 million in medical debt for low-income Vermonters and exclude…
The wave must continue to grow
April 16, 2025
By David Moats Editor’s note: David Moats, of Salisbury, is editorial page editor emeritus of the Rutland Herald, where he won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for his editorials on Vermont’s civil union law. The festive atmosphere on the town green in Brandon during the “Hands Off” protest on April 5 did not mask the seriousness of the…
Top Events
State News
Rural Schools Alliance wants voice in education reform
April 23, 2025
By Curt Peterson The almost 14% average education tax increase last year shocked Vermonters into taking serious interest in education finance. The governor, the Legislature and local school board members blamed each other and/or alleged bloated school budgets. Now the education system itself is the focus for all stakeholders. One group, Vermont Rural Schools Community…
1,700 pounds of Cabot butter recalled in Vermont and 6 other states for possible fecal contamination
April 16, 2025
By Habib Sabet/VtDigger Cabot Creamery has issued a voluntary recall for nearly a ton of butter due to potential fecal contamination, the brand’s parent company, Agri-Mark Inc., announced April 9. The recall covers 189 cases of the iconic Vermont brand’s 8-oz. Extra Creamy Premium Butter across Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire and…
Moving Day
April 16, 2025
“Moving Day” in the world of golf often refers to Saturday’s third round play at the annual Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta Country Club. This is when top players often move into contention for Sunday’s final round for the championship, just like Rory McIlroy did this past Saturday with an impressive six under par performance.…
IMLS terminates grant for Vermont Historical Society’s local history program
April 16, 2025
The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) announced that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) terminated its federal funding for the Activating 21st Century Local History Training Program, effective April 8. The decision follows President Donald Trump’s recent executive order to defund several federal agencies, including IMLS. In a letter from acting IMLS director Keith…
Palestinian man legally living in White River Junction was detained during citizenship interview in Vermont
April 16, 2025
By Auditi Guha/VTDigger Masked men in plainclothes detained an Upper Valley resident in Colchester during a scheduled citizenship interview Monday morning, April 14, despite his status as a lawful U.S. permanent resident. Mohsen Mahdawi’s lawyers filed a petition Monday alleging unlawful detention in the U.S. District Court in Vermont. Judge William Sessions III then issued a temporary restraining order saying…
Arts & Entertainment
Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ is an American Southern Gothic horror with bite
April 23, 2025
It’s proving ever more challenging to drag a group of people into a movie theater to see a film that isn’t either a children’s movie translation of a video game, a Disney reboot of an animated classic that was better off the first time around, or the latest Marvel retread. But if there was a…
Ludlow Rotary Club’s 67th annual Penny Sale set for April 26
April 23, 2025
Saturday, April 26 at 6 p.m.—LUDLOW — The Ludlow Rotary Club is gearing up for the 67th annual Penny Sale in the Ludlow Elementary School gymnasium. A much-anticipated community tradition, the event promises an evening of fun, excitement, and generous prize giveaways, all supporting local students and charitable causes. The Penny Sale is free and…
Stone Valley Arts opens 2025 Artist Members’ Show featuring 25 Vermont creatives
April 23, 2025
April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m.—POULTNEY— Stone Valley Arts will open its 2025 SVA Artist Members’ Show on Saturday with a celebratory artists’ reception from 2-4 p.m. at the organization’s gallery space. The exhibit will remain on view through June 7, with regular gallery hours on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. This year’s…
Billings Farm & Museum hosts baby farm animal celebration
April 23, 2025
Saturday and Sunday, April 26–27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.—WOODSTOCK — It’s officially the cutest weekend of the year. The baby farm animal celebration returns to Billings Farm & Museum, inviting visitors of all ages to enjoy a weekend of hands-on farm fun, education, and baby animal bliss. Guests will have the chance to…
Listings April 23-29
April 23, 2025
WED 4/23 LUDLOW6 p.m. Off the Rails – Learn to Line Dance POULTNEY7 p.m. Poultney Pub – Open Mic hosted by Danny Lang QUECHEE6 p.m. The Public House – Chris Pallutto RUTLAND8 p.m. Center Street Alley – Full PA/Backline Open Mic hosted by Josh LaFave THUR 4/24 BOMOSEEN6:30 p.m. Lake Bomoseen Lodge & Taproom - …
