People Moves: Samsom Named Commissioner of Vermont Financial Regulation

Vermont Governor Phil Scott recently announced several leadership appointments including Kaj Samsom as commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR). Prior to his appointment, Samsom served as chief auditor at the National Life Group. Samsom …

Vermont man arrested after high-speed chase into New York

Rodney Keenan of Brandon, Vermont, was arrested by Fair Haven Police on April 6, 2025, following a high-speed chase that ended in New York State. Police attempted to stop Keenan at 4:30 PM for traveling 67 mph in a 50 mph zone on Route 22A. Instead of …

Should Vermont prisons sever ties with the feds?

ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) - Should Vermont prisons sever ties with federal immigration authorities? State lawmakers and Governor Phil Scott are grappling with how -- if at all -- to respond following recent detentions in Vermont prisons. It comes after Mohsen …

Palestinian student detained in Vermont is an avowed Buddhist

As friends waited for him outside the immigration center in Colchester, Vt., Mahdawi walked out in handcuffs, flashing peace signs before being whisked away in a black SUV. His friends say those peace signs were genuine, that peace is his underlying …

Trial for the man accused of killing transgender Vermont woman continues

The murder trial of Seth Brunell resumed Wednesday in a Lamoille County courtroom, with jurors presented with new evidence and witness testimony related to the 2022 death of 29-year-old Fern Feather. Brunell stands accused of fatally stabbing Feather, …

Columbia student arrested in Vermont came to America through marriage, community members say

This is one of our own people in the Upper Valley are still sharing their shock after Mohsin Madawi's arrest. The fact that he's been trying to educate himself to make *** better life for himself, I don't see why that's so different from …

Vermont H.S. postponements, scores for Wednesday, April 16

Final Reading: Vermont Senate looks to bolster protections for kids whose parents face immigration enforcement

A bill moving through the Senate could make it easier for children whose parents are detained for alleged immigration offenses to be placed in the care of a trusted guardian — a proposal that legal advocates have backed as President Donald Trump’s …

Vermont Conversation: Trump’s immigration crackdown comes to Vermont

Several hundred demonstrators gather outside U.S. District Court in Burlington on Monday, April 11, to demand the release of Rumeysa Ozturk. Ozturk, a graduate student at Tufts University from Turkey, was detained after co-authoring an op-ed on the Israel- …

Samsom appointed Vermont DFR commissioner

Kaj Samsom has been appointed commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), succeeding Sandy Bigglestone, who held the role in an acting capacity for four months. Samsom was most recently chief auditor at National Life Group. He …