VPR News

House lawmakers last month approved a substantial increase in funding for childcare services, but leaders in the Senate say they aren’t ready to commit to the proposal.

Vermont owes $1.5 billion in unfunded teacher pensions. After years of underfunding and low returns, paying for these pensions and other retirement obligations takes up a growing portion of the state budget. We're talking about ways Vermont is addressing these retirement liabilities and how it all affects the state's ability to pay for new projects.

The impressive-looking flying buttresses of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris are still standing – now seen by many as symbols of strength and endurance. But at the Notre Dame they have no real structural function. Resembling earthbound wings, they’re strictly there for looks. And I should know, because I teach architectural history at Middlebury College.

There's a lot of talk about the struggles dairy farmers are facing, the continuing loss of Vermont farms and ways to improve or restructure the dairy industry. We're hearing from dairy farmers themselves about the challenges, the future and the changes they'd make to the system. And why they continue to do this difficult work.

The town of Springfield has struggled with declining jobs and population loss since long before news broke that one of its largest employers, the local hospital, is losing money. If Springfield Hospital closes, it would be a blow to a community that’s been trying to reinvent itself.

Lilla McLane-Bradley was dogged; she was fearless; she showed up and she put us to work. I met Lilla in 1987, when I was hired for a part time bookkeeping and secretarial position. She was incoming chair of the Upper Valley Land Trust’s Board – UVLT for short - a group with a big idea – land conservation from the grassroots; sustainable and permanent protection of our region’s most special places.

Last Friday evening, at a gym in central Vermont, Marine veteran Jason Mosel began his quest to break the world record for the most burpees in a 12-hour period.

Two small liberal arts colleges in Vermont will close in a few months, another will stop teaching students at the end of this semester, and one more is on probation . At the heart of each school closing is a troubling financial picture, which is tied to another factor: the school’s accreditation.

After more than half a century, New Hampshire’s oldest cold case homicide has been solved . The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office announced last month that the killer of a man named Everett Delano turns out to have been a Vermonter.

During VPR's March Membership Drive Vermont Edition is featuring special episodes showcasing some of the best recent shows and collecting interviews with notable Vermonters. Few are more notable than the only woman to ever lead the state, former Gov. Madeleine Kunin.

One of the most important women in Vermont history is not known by her full name. A year before the national Roe v. Wade decision, “Jacqueline R,” was part of a landmark court case in Vermont that provided abortion access here.

The Vermont House on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed a bill designed to spread broadband internet throughout rural parts of the state.

You may remember a favorite teacher or coach from high school, but what about your assistant principal? In many schools, it's probably a job known for dealing with behavior problems and handing out detention. But Rutland High School associate principal Greg Schillinger sees his role very differently — and he's now one of three finalists for National Assistant Principal of the Year .

An alleged conspiracy revealed this month involved rich parents paying huge sums to get their kids into college via bribery and fraud . The story also focused attention on the legal ways that the wealthy can get a leg up. We're looking behind the scenes at college admissions.

In the ‘70s no one worked harder than social activist Lenore McNeer to ensure that Vermont ratified the federal ERA - the federal amendment to guarantee equality based on sex.