Scenes from VTDigger’s stories of the year. Clockwise from top left: Residents evicted from a motel in Colchester; protestors of Vice President JD Vance in Waitsfield; supporters of legislation to make oil companies pay for the costs of climate change; and conservation work in Groton State Forest in Plainfield. Photos by Glenn Russell and Evan L’Roy/VTDigger, and courtesy of Jud Kratzer/Vermont Fish Wildlife Department From breaking news to deeply reported features and investigations, VTDigger’s journalism followed the issues shaping life in the state. Here’s what resonated with readers most. More than 400,000 readers checked out our most-read story of 2025: Carly Berlin and Greta Solsaa’s intimate look at the hundreds of Vermonters forced out of housing when the state’s motel voucher program expired in July. The reporting humanized the policy shift, and its impact resonated widely. Solsaa was also behind the second-most read story of the year, covering the protest sparked by Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Vermont in March. Earlier reporting by former intern Klara Bauters on Vance’s planned visit similarly drew heavy readership.  Education coverage drew strong attention as well. Readers closely followed stories about the federal government withholding funds from Vermont schools and a controversial — and later reversed — Vermont Agency of Education directive that would have required school districts to certify compliance with a federal order banning what it described as “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion-related programs. A local story about the South Burlington School District superintendent resigning following allegations of creating a toxic work environment also interested readers. Public safety coverage ranked among the year’s most-read topics. Coverage by Alan Keays, Habib Sabet, Ethan Weinstein and Paul Heintz of the January fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent and a second person during a traffic stop in the Northeast Kingdom on the day President Donald Trump was inaugurated drew widespread interest.  Environmental reporting resonated strongly, particularly Olivia Geiger’s coverage on states challenging Vermont’s Climate Superfund Law, K. Figenbaum’s reporting on rising brook trout populations and Solsaa’s examination of  Vermonters’ reactions to the Trump administration’s push for expanded logging in national forests.  Readers also connected with Austyn Gaffney’s feature on the foreclosure of a century-old Norwich dairy farm and Kevin O’Connor’s remembrance of a 102-year-old Vermont World War II veteran.  Other widely read stories included Peter D’Auria’s reporting on Vermont prisons being locked down in March as corrections staff searched for weapons and contraband, as well as several stories by intern Henry Fernandez examining the fallout from Gardener’s Supply’s bankruptcy, flooding in the NEK and Addison County and a Central Vermont business nonprofit leader being placed on leave pending an investigation. Reporters also reflected on the stories that stayed with them most this year and why those pieces were especially meaningful to report. Here are some of their reflections. Kevin O’Connor As Vermont communities marked the anniversaries of the devastating floods of 2023 and 2024, O’Connor reported on how towns continued to struggle in 2025 with nearly $1 billion in estimated statewide damage, struggling to finance repairs while still rebuilding. He also covered Vermont’s ongoing battle with drug dependence, highlighting community-level efforts and profiling a Vermonter who moved from addiction and desperation to becoming part of a local solution.  Shaun Robinson Robinson’s reporting on behind-the-scenes political maneuvering that threatened a package of election law reforms was credited with contributed to the legislation’s passage. He also held elected officials accountable through records-based reporting, including stories revealing gaps in U.S. Rep. Becca Balint’s public portrayal of her corporate fundraising and documenting how state Sen. Russ Ingalls switched all of the newscasts on his newly purchased radio stations in the Northeast Kingdom to Fox News.  Greta Solsaa Through a monthslong investigation, Solsaa worked with nursing home advocates, state officials and public records to uncover a pattern of care problems at some of Vermont’s most troubled nursing homes under new ownership. Her reporting traced the issues in part to a temporary state approval process that lacked transparency and failed to prevent problems. Solsaa also highlighted her on-the-ground reporting during Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Vermont, when national and international attention focused on Vermonters’ responses to President Donald Trump’s second election and the direction of his administration. Corey McDonald McDonald’s coverage of K–12 education reform captured a year marked by both uncertainty and optimism, as communities weighed the promise of Act 73 against fears about the future of local schools. Early reporting on the issue foreshadowed debates that would dominate the year. He also cited a memorable story from a Burlington Neighborhood Planning Assembly meeting, where residents and city officials confronted the difficult realities of the city’s overdose and substance use crisis and debated whether an overdose prevention center could help. Alan Keays Keays highlighted reporting that brought new transparency to long-hidden information, including a secret report detailing police actions leading up to the death of a young Rutland City police trainee. He also pointed to a story that offered readers a deeper look into the drunken driving arrest of Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos. Ethan Weinstein Weinstein described his reporting on immigration enforcement as especially memorable, noting that internal communications from Vermont prison officials helped illuminate how ICE uses the state’s prisons and why that arrangement has created challenges for Vermont. He also pointed to a story examining the widespread problems caused by remote court hearings, which relied heavily on the perspectives of incarcerated people and revealed a largely unseen part of the justice system. K. Figenbaum Figenbaum pointed to a deep dive into why Greensboro voters rejected an affordable housing proposal for their town hall, a story that reflected broader trends facing communities statewide. Another favorite focused on a Vermont Fish Wildlife project that began in the Northeast Kingdom and has since expanded across the state, the country and into Canada, improving fish populations while boosting flood resilience. Theo Wells-Spackman Wells-Spackman cited a story about the Holland food shelf, which was able to remain open thanks to an extraordinarily generous donation from a VTDigger reader after reading his piece. He also reflected on the challenges of reporting on food assistance for refugees, a story complicated by language barriers and the sensitivity of the subject matter, but shaped by the generosity of sources willing to share their experiences. Austyn GaffneyGaffney pointed to investigations into a Koch-funded campaign aimed at reversing climate action in Vermont, and a reporting project examining how a routine Vermont traffic stop raised broader questions about racial profiling and border enforcement. Read the story on VTDigger here: What VTDigger readers couldn’t stop reading in 2025. ...read more read less