Vermont Edition

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**Vermont Edition**

Vermont Edition brings you news and conversation about issues affecting your life. Host Mikaela Lefrak considers the context of current events through interviews with news makers and people who make our region buzz.

Latest Episodes:

As Senate debates the budget, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch hopes "we kill the bill" Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

As Senate debates the budget, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch hopes "we kill the bill"

Summer reading: Ease into the season with these book recommendations Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

Summer reading: Ease into the season with these book recommendations

New historic roadside markers and soccer star Sam Mewis Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

Vermont’s roadways are dotted with iconic green and gold markers. They tell stories of our region’s past.

Today on Vermont Edition, the state’s Historic Preservation Officer tells us about the state’s newest historic markers, like the one for Devil’s Bowl Speedway, New England’s fastest dirt track, or another in Fayston for Ralph Waldo Ellison, author of the classic novel Invisible Man.

Then, soccer star Sam Mewis will coach two women’s exhibition games this summer for the Vermont Green. She’s a FIFA World Cup champion, an Olympic medalist and one of the best midfielders to come out of the U.S. We’ll hear more about coaching in Vermont, and her popular Men in Blazers podcast, the Women’s Game.

Why did Governor Scott pause the electric vehicle mandate? Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

Electric vehicles – EVs – don’t emit pollutants into the air. That’s a good thing, if you’re focused on cutting emissions and curbing climate change. But they’re also often more expensive than gas cars, and the charging infrastructure along roads and highways isn’t fully built out yet. Considering these challenges, how do you get people to buy EVs?
In Vermont, the Scott administration proposed a rule to the Legislature in 2022 to end gas-powered car sales by 2035, which a legislative committee then approved. The rule stated that manufacturers should increase the percentage of EVs for sale in Vermont. State agencies said the strategy led to an uptick in EV ownership.
But then, about three weeks ago, Vermont’s Governor Phil Scott issued an executive order halting enforcement of this rule for 19 months. He also said his administration "remains committed to achieving emissions reductions, including vehicle emissions."
We hear more about what's going on in Vermont from freelance journalist Nathaniel Eisen of Colchester, who recently covered the story for Inside Climate News. Vermont's Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, Julie Moore, gives us the state's perspective, and Democratic state Senator Anne Watson explains why she's disappointed in the governor's decision. Plus, Brent Dragon, sales manager for the heavy truck dealership R.R. Charlebois in Milton, tells us about the trucking industry's take on the mandate and the state's decision to put it on hold.
Correction: During Tuesday's radio broadcast and in this post we incorrectly identified the rule as a "law" and "regulation" that was first put forth by the Vermont Legislature. In fact, it was a rule proposed by the Scott administration.

Broadcast live on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

The education bill that's divided Vermont's legislature Jun 02, 2025

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Vermont’s legislative session was supposed to be over, but one massive and potentially historic bill will keep lawmakers in Montpelier longer than expected. That bill? Education reform.

Today on Vermont Edition: a trio of local education reporters break down the ed reform debate. This bill seeks to fundamentally transform how Vermont schools are run and how they are funded. It could set class size minimums, dramatically cut the number of school districts, and change how we pay for public education and independent school tuition. We'll hear from Alison Novak with Seven Days, Ethan Weinstein with VTDigger, and Vermont Public’s Lola Duffort.

What's in the Waterbury water that makes businesses bloom? May 29, 2025

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Darn Tough. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Ben and Jerry’s. Ivy Computer. Verde Technologies. KORE Power Battery Cell Developers. What do all these businesses have in common? They either were, or still are, in the small town of Waterbury, Vermont.
Today on Vermont Edition: what makes this one town in Washington County a good home for growing companies? Our guests this hour have their theories.
We’ll talk with leaders of companies based in Waterbury and the head of the town’s business development organization. Plus, we’ll talk about how other small towns can attract businesses that bring good jobs to the area.

Checking in on Lake Memphremagog and Lake Champlain May 28, 2025

Show notes

Lake Memphremagog provides drinking water for around 200,000 Canadians, and recreation for countless Vermonters. It also faces serious environmental challenges.

Today on Vermont Edition: the fight to restore and protect the water quality of our region’s largest lakes. We’ll hear from a Quebec-based group about their effort to designate Memphremagog as a lake in crisis.

We’ll also talk with a scientist from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, and a shoreline ecologist with Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation. They’ll tell us about the biggest threats to these water bodies, like phosphorus runoff.

Rep. Balint on the budget bill; outgoing VT Progressive Party leader; and Seven Days on local food May 27, 2025

Show notes

First up, we're joined by Josh Wronski, the outgoing Executive Director of the Vermont Progressive Party to talk about his tenure there, what he learned in his nine years leading Vermont's third party, and how they should move forward.
Then, Rep. Becca Balint joins us to talk about the Big Beautiful Bill, Medicaid cuts, the war in Gaza, impeachment, and U.S.-Canada relations.
Lastly, it's our monthly local food segment with Seven Days food writer Melissa Pasanen.
Broadcast live on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Vermont Edition At Home: Alison Bechdel May 22, 2025

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In the latest installment of our series, Vermont Edition At Home: The award-winning cartoonist Alison Bechdel chats with us from her home studio in Bolton.
Alison Bechdel is one of the country’s most renowned cartoonists. Her graphic memoir Fun Home was turned into a Tony Award-winning musical. Her new graphic novel, Spent, is set in Vermont.

Got junk? Vermont's home organizers want to help you declutter May 21, 2025

Show notes

Spring is an annual rite of passage, a time of transition and regrowth. Some spend it gardening. Others reconnect with friends. And a few of us, like Vermont Edition's Mikaela Lefrak, derive actual joy from spring cleaning.
Two professional home organizers joined Mikaela to share their best spring cleaning tips: Sarah Thompsonof St. George and Amie Davisof Georgia, Vt.
If you need an extra dose of motivation, you could hire a DJ like Burlington-based Taraleigh Weathers, also known as DJ Cheetahtah. She'll come to your house to play music while you clean. She's also working launching her own YouTube channel that you can watch and listen to as you clean.

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