VPR News

Patrick Crowley, 36, lives in Underhill. During the day he works in marketing, but one or two nights a week he's a volunteer EMT with Essex Rescue. He kept an audio diary for VPR during one of his shifts.

Gov. Phil Scott recently said hospitals can begin offering some of the procedures that were put off at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And while hospitals leaders are eager to open up their doors once again, plenty of questions remain about how Vermont’s health care system will look in this strange new normal.

There is no NBA, NHL, and so far, no Major League Baseball season announced. But all this sports downtime got VPR’s Mitch Wertlieb poking around to learn about sports he’d never heard of before, like skyrunning.

Over the last two months, inmates and the Vermont Department of Corrections have offered conflicting accounts about the availability of alcohol-based hand sanitizer behind bars.

The restaurant industry’s uncertain finances. Plus: unemployment, truckloads of dairy products, and a check-in with our neighbors in Quebec. Our email: thefrequency@vpr.org

Vermont continues to see fairly low numbers of new cases of COVID-19 each day, and the state is taking cautious steps to re-open the economy. But how does that compare to our neighbors? We're checking in this week with reporters in each state (and Canadian province ) that borders Vermont about how the disease is spreading and how their local government plans to re-open the economy. New York has been the hardist hit state in the country, measuring deaths in the tens of thousands.

The rate of new COVID-19 infections in Vermont has been fairly low in the last few weeks, and state government is taking small steps to re-open the economy. But how does that compare to our neighbors? We're checking in with reporters in each state ( and Canadian province ) that borders Vermont about how the disease is spreading and how their local government plans to re-open the economy. Massachusetts has one of the highest infection rates in the country, but there are some positive indicators

On the evening of Thursday, April 23, the crescent moon was born, and for the estimated 4,000 to 6,000 Muslims in Vermont, Ramadan began. In a normal year, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar is marked with evening gatherings at the mosque, time with friends and family, and, after fasting during the day, eating lots of good food at night. But this year, due to COVID-19 concerns, much of that has changed.

Restaurant owners in Vermont say they’ll struggle to survive the coronavirus pandemic if the state or federal government doesn’t offer financial relief to companies that have been unable to avail themselves of previous aid packages.

The legislative session will likely be extended into the summer, and there are still many things still waiting for the Vermont House and Senate to finish. On that list are the state budget, coronavirus relief bills and priorities from the pre-COVID-19 era. This hour, we talk with the Senate and House leaders about their plans moving forward.

How Phil Scott’s administration is communicating with the press during the COVID-19 crisis. Plus, relaxed social distancing guidelines, discouraging travel from other states, and a check-in with our neighbors in New Hampshire.

The last seven weeks have transformed Phil Scott’s job. In addition to managing an unprecedented health and economic crisis, the soft-spoken governor has become Vermont's communicator-in-chief.

Vermont's new confirmed case numbers of COVID-19 have remained fairly low the last few weeks, but neighboring states and the province of Quebec have seen higher rates of infection. So, how are neighboring regions faring with the disease? And how are they planning to relax stay-at-home orders?

Every state is taking a slightly different approach to reopening their economies, and the virus has hit each region differently. So while Vermont's new case numbers have remained fairly low the last few weeks, how are neighboring regions faring with the disease? And how are they planning to relax stay-at-home orders?

One Northeast Kingdom family getting their lunches delivered from school. Plus, a federal lawsuit against a former St. Albans police sergeant, Dartmouth College’s plans for the fall, and the latest COVID-19 case numbers.