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Local news, reporting and newscasts from Vermont Public Radio.

Vermont Public Radio


    • Jul 16, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 6m AVG DURATION
    • 1,150 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from VPR News Podcast

    Thousands of Vermonters will see federal food benefits eliminated or reduced

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2025 3:32


    The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, supplies the vast majority of food aid in Vermont, where about 65,000 residents received $155 million in benefits last year.

    Migrant workers in Vermont navigate fear, uncertainty amid deportation crackdown

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 8:39


    A mobile Mexican consulate set up in Montpelier to help nationals obtain passports, birth certificates and other official documents. An undocumented farmworker living in Vermont who drove his coworkers to the event discussed the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and his own journey to the U.S.

    Older adults are more likely to be hospitalized. Go-bags can make those visits easier

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2025 4:30


    Nearly a quarter of U.S. emergency department visits among people 60 and older resulted in a hospital stay. The rate goes up the older you get. That's why health experts recommend seniors pack an emergency go-bag to make surprise hospital visits better.

    After two decades of ‘magic,' Waterbury toy store prepares to close

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2025 4:16


    The Tiny Acorn will close on August 15.

    Mark Utter's beautiful mind

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2025 14:56


    Mark Utter could not communicate with words until he was 30. Then he had a whole lot to say.

    Flooded again, Sutton residents return to damaged homes

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 3:50


    Roughly 20 homes in Sutton remained cut off from road access as of Friday, according to Kyle Seymour, the town fire chief.

    When the next disaster hits, Vermont doesn't know what version of FEMA will show up

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2025 4:46


    The Trump administration wants states to assume a bigger role in disaster response and recovery. The ambiguity over what that looks like has complicated the task of state officials trying to gird for the next catastrophe.

    Vermont towns try to move, or fortify, their flood-prone buildings

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2025 5:18


    After two years of catastrophic floods, towns are still figuring out how to protect their infrastructure.

    Springfield rejects methadone clinic permit, as state looks to expand services to 3 communities

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 4:19


    The Springfied Development Review Board denied a permit application from Acadia Healthcare to open a methadone clinic in a building downtown that houses family medical practices.

    After 2 devastating floods, a Plainfield couple contemplates the future

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2025 6:49


    On the anniversary of a second devastating flood, one Plainfield couple considers whether to stay — or go for good.

    Vermont's attorney general sees shifts ahead in legal battle against Trump orders

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 4:02


    Charity Clark said she thinks her Republican counterparts in other states will eventually join the fight in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

    Susan Ritz on the complexities of having more than most

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 7:11


    "What class are you?" is a periodic series that explores everyday lives inside the American class system. In this episode, Susan Ritz talks about the complexities of having more resources than most.

    The Neighborhood

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2025 10:12


    A postcard from childhood, a place we remember but can't visit anymore.

    Vermont's new climate plan enters a challenging political landscape

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 3:53


    Vermont passed up most of the major recommendations in the last Climate Action Plan, from 2021. What's different this time around?

    Defense attorney Dan Sedon on the American class system

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2025 7:10


    Dan Sedon has been working as a criminal defense attorney in Vermont, where he works with poor people and rich people and all the people in between. In this latest episode of What Class are You?, reporter Erica Heilman talks with Dan about what this line of work has taught him about the American class system.

    'We need a prayer': As executive order ends, hundreds of Vermonters exit motels

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 3:46


    Over 800 people — including nearly 300 children — were slated to exit the program on Tuesday, as an executive order that extended their stays expired, according to data provided by the Department for Children and Families.

    Sharon Plumb on the invisible advantages of family financial support

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 7:11


    "What class are you?" is a periodic series that explores everyday lives inside the American class system. In this episode, Sharon Plumb talks about the advantages she sees in the lives of people whose parents are able to help their kids financially all the way into adulthood.

    Ralph Rockwell is a mechanic and tow driver. He figures he might have to work until he dies.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2025 7:07


    "What class are you?" is a periodic series that explores everyday lives inside the American class system. In this episode, reporter Erica Heilman talks with Wolcott resident Ralph Rockwell about the importance of supporting his church and his fears about having enough money at the end of his life.

    What the criminal justice system can teach us about class

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2025 15:05


    Defense attorney Dan Sedon on what this line of work has taught him about the American class system.

    Scientists expect beech leaf disease to spread throughout Vermont this summer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 4:41


    Beech leaf disease was found in 43 towns last year, and scientists are searching beyond those borders to see if the disease is spreading farther.

    Microplastics are in Lake Champlain and in us. These scientists want to know their source

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 4:30


    Researchers on Lake Champlain are doubling down on years of research to try to figure out how tiny pieces of toxic plastic are getting into the lake, which serves some 200,000 people with drinking water.

    Disappointed with new cannabis law, small growers raise concerns about their survival

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 5:52


    The Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition warns that a sizable number of small growers may go out of business — or return to the illicit market to sell their products.

    Vermont Legislature passes landmark education reform, despite fierce dissent

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 3:57


    The bill, which Gov. Phil Scott is expected to sign, would fundamentally change how the state pays for and governs its K-12 schools.

    Vermont Green FC women's exhibition matches delight fans of all ages

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 3:33


    Vermont Green capped off Women's Week on Saturday with a 2-1 win over AS Blainville in front of another sold-out crowd.

    25 years after Vermont legalized civil unions, Bill Lippert reflects on watershed speech

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 6:57


    Vermont became the first state in the county to legally recognize same-sex partnerships 25 years ago. Former Rep. Bill Lippert, the only openly gay member of the Vermont House, gave an impassioned speech urging his colleagues to pass the measure. Lippert's remarks are widely seen as a turning point in the debate.

    National uncertainty leads to change in Vermont's all-resident voting efforts

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 3:50


    Last month, South Burlington decided to table all-resident voting at this time, citing the current political climate.

    Meet some teens in Swanton helping kids get connected to their community

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 3:29


    Survey data showed that less than half of local high schoolers feel they matter to people. Here's part of the response.

    Dropping in with wheelchair motocross rider Mo O'Neill

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 4:43


    Do you know how to do a wheelie in a wheelchair? Mo does.

    Data privacy bill stalls in Montpelier

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 4:46


    The yearslong push to put guardrails on when — and how — companies can commodify key aspects of a person's identity has taken on new urgency in Montpelier. But the tension between strict consumer protections and their potential impact on local businesses continues to thwart compromise over an issue that states are reckoning with nationwide.

    Vermont has a lot of farmers markets, but site stability is an issue

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 5:20


    The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market is the only market in the state that owns its land. But others are raising money to secure their sites.

    A cap on drug prices at Vt. hospitals will save millions. Hospitals say they can't afford it

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 5:00


    Vermont hospitals currently have the highest markups for drug prices in the country. Under the new law, drug prices at Vermont hospitals would be the lowest in the country.

    Trump targets heating assistance program that helps millions in Northeast

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 4:31


    The Trump administration want to cut the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Advocates in the Northeast warn the results would be dangerous to residents, if not deadly.

    When one of their own lost his home, this pick-up group turned to soccer

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 4:43


    Players in the White River Valley have been coming together over soccer for decades. But of course, it's about more than just soccer.

    Vermont's community radio stations get state funding for disaster response work

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 4:38


    Lawmakers put $150,000 in the budget for community radio stations. The money will help the stations purchase public safety equipment so they are better equipped to assist in disaster response.

    Sweet survival: Vermont businesses navigate climate cocoa crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 4:39


    Chocolate is one of Vermont's top food exports. But cacao doesn't grow here — and climate change has been disrupting the global supply chain.

    Seniors

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2025 13:34


    Thirty-seven hours before graduation, Erica Heilman talks with nine high school seniors about their hopes and dreams for the future...and prom. They also talk about prom.

    Should I stay or should I go? One recent grad reflects on a future in Vermont

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 5:14


    Most people who go to college in Vermont leave the state after graduation. That's more than any other state.

    Vermont state auction draws deal-hunters from across the Northeast

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 3:02


    Maybe you need an orange plow truck. Or a Mount Philo State Park leaf blower. Or a park ranger's rowboat that might not float. Everything's a treasure for someone.

    Wild lake trout populations have rebounded in Lake Champlain. But scientists don't know why

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 5:03


    For the first time in decades, scientists are not going to stock Lake Champlain with hatchery lake trout. That's because wild fish are finally spawning and sustaining their populations again.

    With a home-cooked banquet, Abenaki citizens taste traditional foods and preserve culture

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 4:16


    The banquet, called Wlipogwat, offered a taste of animals and plants harvested on Abenaki territory. It's part of ongoing efforts by Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations to protect their knowledge, culture and homelands.

    Former AHS Secretary Mike Smith shares plans for reviewing UVM Health Network costs

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 5:20


    Former Agency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith was recently asked to lead a review of cost effectiveness of many programs at the University of Vermont Health Network. He told Vermont Public that the network's administrative costs was one area he planned to look into.

    Vermont musicians Fawn and The Wormdogs share their Tiny Desk Contest videos and songs

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 8:04


    Nearly 40 Vermont musicians submitted their videos to NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. Vermont Public chatted with a few about the original songs they chose and their video ideas. (And we asked them to sit at our colleague's tiny — and meticulously decorated — desk and pose for photos).

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