Local News Podcast Vermont Public Radio

A Republican primary for lieutenant governor between Gregory Thayer, who still defends his trip to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and Joe Benning, an outspoken critic of Donald Trump, is, according to some of their supporters, a battle for the soul of the Vermont GOP.

Data show 2021 was an especially deadly year. More Vermonters died from gunshot wounds in 2021 than any other year in the last decade. Most of the firearms deaths were suicides.

Many Vermonters have pledged support for safe reproductive healthcare after the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Some have raised money to help fund access to safe abortion care in states where the ruling ended that right. Vermont photographer and musician Luke Awtry decided to schedule a vasectomy.

The state of Maine pays for kids in towns not large enough to build their own schools to attend schools elsewhere, both public and private. Vermont is the only other state with a similar tuition program for sparsely populated areas, often called “sending towns.” And now, it might be more difficult to prevent public funding from going to schools for explicitly religious instruction.

Nathaniel Hall has been making hand drums from his studio in Windham County for almost 30 years. For this episode of Summer School he teaches us how.

Early voting for Vermont’s Aug. 9 primary election is underway. How did this system develop in Vermont, and what are some of the potential impacts that early voting might have on political campaigns? Vermont Public's senior political correspondent Bob Kinzel explains.