Dartmouth alumnus gets 20-to-40-year sentence in rape case

By JOHN LIPPMAN

NORTH HAVERHILL — A state Superior Court judge has sentenced a Dartmouth College alumnus to 20 to 40 years in state prison for raping a woman at a campus fraternity house in 2022.

Federal judge hears arguments in detained Tufts student’s case, makes no ruling

By SHAUN ROBINSON and OLIVIA GIEGER

BURLINGTON — A federal judge in Burlington heard arguments Monday in the case of a Tufts University student who was arrested by immigration agents in Massachusetts late last month and then transferred to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana via Vermont.

Lebanon fire department responds to two residential electrical fires

By CLARE SHANAHAN

LEBANON — Two electrical fires Sunday displaced the occupants of two homes and left a cat dead.

New Hampshire’s 2026 Congressional races starting to take shape

By JOSH ROGERS

With 1st District Congressman Chris Pappas announcing his candidacy for the US Senate seat now held by Jeanne Shaheen, other 2026 federal races are starting to take shape.

After concessions, Vermont House advances bill to overhaul state’s school districts

By ETHAN WEINSTEIN

After a night of closed-door dealmaking and a day of public debate, the House passed its education reform bill Friday.

Fighting for the future of the trades in NH

By ADAM DRAPCHO

Some call it a “silver tsunami,” others a “demographic cliff,” but both terms refer to the same effect, and both evoke the disastrous possibilities of what could happen if meaningful steps aren’t taken soon to create the next generation of skilled tradespeople. The good news is that the work has begun.

Two Vermont high school students face expulsion from the US

By OLIVIA GIEGER

Two Champlain Valley Union High School students are being forced to leave the U.S., after an order from the Department of Homeland Security suspended a legal parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

Brattleboro’s cornerstone Brooks House block up for sale

By KEVIN O’CONNOR

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes slept in one of its bedrooms in 1877. Writer Rudyard Kipling drank lager in its basement bar and played poker in its penthouse suite from 1892 to 1896. Broadcaster Lowell Thomas presented the NBC national radio news live from its ballroom in 1946. And if current owners have their way, someone new will buy this town’s cornerstone Brooks House and soon make their own history.

Changes to federal grant rules cause loss of summer educational programming in Vermont

By AUDITIGUHA

For the past three years the Orange Southwest School District has offered a five-week summer program for elementary students at no cost to families, including meals and transportation.

Upper Valley Business Notes: Claremont MakerSpace volunteers make quilts for families in need

Members of the Claremont MakerSpace’s Community Quilts made and donated nine quilts to Baby Steps Family Assistance, a Claremont-based nonprofit organization that distributes items to regional families in need. Group members spent about 30 hours to create each quilt, which are made from donated fabric, according to a news release from the Claremont MakerSpace. 

Newport superintendent resigns, citing ‘challenge of working with a member of the School Board’

By PATRICK O’GRADY

NEWPORT — Superintendent Donna Magoon announced her resignation in a prepared statement at Thursday’s Newport School Board meeting, citing the lack of support from one board member, whom she did not name.

‘A despicable company’: Vermonters protest proposed Amazon facility in Essex, Vt.

By COREY McDONALD

Katie DeSanto, the general manager of Phoenix Books, first heard of the plans through a customer: a proposal to build a 107,000-square-foot Amazon distribution facility in Essex, Vt.

NHDOT considers designated pedestrian crossings near Saint-Gaudens site

By PATRICK O’GRADY

CORNISH — The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is in the beginning stages of a plan to improve pedestrian crossings on Route 12A in the area of Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park and Blow Me Down Farm.

Poll: Most Granite Staters support bills to override zoning policies, encourage housing

By ETHAN DEWITT

Midway through the 2025 legislative session, large majorities of Granite Staters say they support legislation aimed at expanding housing in the state, according to a poll commissioned by New Hampshire Housing Action, an advocacy group.

Orange County Republican finds his footing in Montpelier

By EMMA ROTH-WELLS

MONTPELIER — When it comes to his Vermont Senate voting record, the freshman lawmaker representing the Orange County District in Montpelier has followed his fellow Republicans.

NH House votes to increase maximum payout to injured first responders

By WILLIAM SKIPWORTH

The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted, 296-76, Thursday to pass a proposal to increase the maximum amount of money injured first responders can receive through the First Responder’s Critical Injury Benefit.

Local farms in New Hampshire are helping close loop on food waste

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Every bit of leftover food at the Kearsarge Food Hub finds its way back to the soil.

Casella subsidiary sues NH over Dalton landfill denial

By MARA HOPLAMAZIAN

A subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems is suing New Hampshire environmental regulators, arguing that the state’s denial of a controversial landfill permit was premised on faulty rules.

Upper Valley businesses feel the sting of rising cocoa prices

By MARION UMPLEBY

HANOVER — In the 11 years Ana Paula Fernandes has operated Brazilian bakery My Brigadeiro on South Main Street, her signature truffles have cost $1.98 apiece.

Jurors fail to reach verdict in Orford sexual assault case

NORTH HAVERHILL — Prosecutors said they expect to retry a retired priest who was charged with sexually assaulting a minor at an Orford Boy Scouts camp nearly 50 years ago, after a mistrial was declared Thursday when jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict in Grafton County court.