VPR News

The controversial plan to save Vermont's state college system, plus the latest COVID-19 numbers.

Note: Our show is produced for the ear. We recommend listening if you can! But we also provide a transcript below for accessibility and reference. People in long-term care facilities like Burlington's Birchwood Terrace and Burlington Health and Rehab are at high risk for COVID-19. Both facilities have had outbreaks and deaths due to the coronavirus. Vermonters with developmental disabilities are also concerned for their health and getting the help they need during the pandemic. This hour, we get

The COVID-19 crisis has hit every part of the global and local economy. Vermont's K-12 schools are no exception. There’s bad news, and then there’s really bad news.

Vermont may have reached its peak for new COVID-19 cases, but health officials say the virus remains pervasive and only continuing efforts toward social distancing can keep the trends going in the right direction. We talk with state health officials for the latest on the coronavirus and what it'll take to keep "flattening the curve."

Updated 4:45 p.m. State college leaders have delayed a Monday vote on a plan to close three Vermont campuses, but warned the financial pressures that inspired the proposal remain severe. The decision came after opposition quickly mounted in the Statehouse and in local communities to the plan to close Northern Vermont University, which has campuses in Johnson and Lyndon, and Vermont Technical College's campus in Randolph. The state college system, which has long struggled with declining

Most weeks, VPR checks in with community newspapers to ask about top stories. This week, we speak with Valley News reporter Tim Camerato, who filed a story about the invasive emerald ash borer's appearance in the Upper Valley.

The first outbreak of coronavirus in the U.S. happened in a nursing home in Washington state, and since then, outbreaks have continued to show up in facilities around the country . Vermont is no different. The state’s largest outbreaks have also been in nursing homes.

Updated 6:45 p.m. The leader of Vermont’s higher education system plans to close three campuses next fall and eliminate 500 jobs to close "significant" budget gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

By now, we all know that much of modern life has been postponed or just flat-out canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Among those having to adjust to this new reality are members of Vermont's poetry community.

Health officials continue to stress physical distancing as one of the best ways to stay safe during the COVID-19 crisis. But social distance does not mean social isolation. This hour, Bob Kinzel and Mitch Wertlieb hear how you and your family are coping, whether you are together under one roof or miles apart.

To do their jobs, one nurse crosses the border and another ignores her own at-risk status for COVID-19. Listen to their stories, plus, a dried-up federal loan program, rural wifi, and the latest coronavirus case numbers.

It’s been nearly a month since the U.S. and Canada closed the border to non-essential travel, So, what’s it like to be one of the few people who are still making the border crossing regularly to work essential jobs?

At 74, Mary Coonradt is in a population vulnerable to the coronavirus. But she still goes to work every day, caring for the elderly.

As the number of patient visits drops off at healthcare providers across Vermont , doctors are becoming increasingly worried that some people are forgoing necessary medical care in order to avoid exposure to the new coronavirus.

How the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way Vermont’s Hub and Spoke system treats addiction. Plus, a possible plateau in new coronavirus cases, the 1918 influenza epidemic, and summer camp.