The Montpelier Happy Hour

July 3, 2026 (prerecorded 7/2): John Hagen, retired Air Force Officer and chapter head of Indivisible Porto, shares his insights on America's 250th anniversary. In this episode, we discuss civic identity, Sen. Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of Conscience, and the role of "othering" in US politics. Read the Declaration of Conscience here: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/p...

June 26, 2026 (prerecorded 6/23): Regional Collaboration. The state talks about it. Many Vermont communities could benefit from it. But what does it take to build successful cooperation? Abby Long, executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Collaborative, shares her experience building coalitions across the NEK's three counties. Long previously served as the executive director of Kingdom Trails,...

June 19, 2026: Randolph T. Holhut of The Commons joins this week's conversation to update listeners on what's happening in Windham County. Read The Commons here: https://www.commonsnews.org/ Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://rhtt.net

June 5, 2026: Windham County Sheriff Mark Anderson outlines a multi-year pilot to establish a regional policing governance program in Windham County. The legislation enabling this pilot is S.255, which sets up the Windham County Law Enforcement Governance Council. The council will be made up of representatives from participating municipalities without police departments. Read S.255 / Act 104 here:...

May 29, 2026 (prerecorded 5/28): Journalist John Walters updates us on the issues he's watching as the Legislature plans to wrap up for the year. There are a number of bills still moving through conference committees; specifically, we're watching the education reform bill H.955. John will also touch base on campaign season. Read John's work at https://thevpo.org/ Theme music by Red Heart the Ticke...

May 22, 2026: Have you heard of the Vermont tax? If not, it's a tongue-in-cheek way to explain the calculation many Vermont workers make: do they choose Vermont and a high quality of life, or move away for better wages? In this episode, Public Assets Institute State Policy Fellow Katrina Menard shares data on the state's income gaps, including rising income inequality, and on what most residents e...

May 15, 2026 (prerecorded 5/11): State Senator Scott Beck discusses H.955 (education reform), CESAs, and the state budget. He also shares his thoughts on how to lower costs and make Vermont more affordable. Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://www.rhtt.net

May 1, 2026: The Commons News Editor, Randy Holhut, joins this week's conversation. He updates listeners on local issues and examines potential education changes that could affect Windham County schools. He also shares memories of reporting on outgoing Representatives Mollie Burke and Leslie Goldman. Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://www.rhtt.net

April 24, 2026: John Watlers from The Vermont Political Observer is back! In this episode, we discuss the ongoing Legislative Session, Act 181, and Primary Candidates. Read John Walters' work at The VPO: https://thevpo.org/ Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://www.rhtt.net

April 17, 2026: With Act 181 in the news, here is a rebroadcast of the first conversation with then Rep. Bongartz about the revisions to Act 250 that eventually became Act 181. From the January 26, 2026, broadcast: Rep. Seth Bongartz joins this week's show to continue the housing conversation. Bongartz has worked on a number of housing-related bills and will share his insight on what's working (or...

April 10, 2026: "Act 181 was the straw that broke the camel's back," explains Loralee Tester in this week's episode. Tester, the executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, shares her concerns about how revisions to land-use laws might hurt small communities. Her worries don't stop with Act 181. For Tester, the policy's potential impacts on small towns are broad and likely to...

April 3, 2026: John Walters from The Vermont Political Observer is back and filling us in on what he's seeing on Vermont's political landscape. In today's conversation: Democrat candidates' frustrations with the VDP, campaign finance filings, ICE in South Burlington, the role of agitators, and why we're still optimistic. Read John's work here: https://thevpo.org Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker...

March 27, 2026 (originally aired 12-27-2019): This week, we continue our conversation about infrastructure with a twist. Instead of built infrastructure like roads and bridges, we're discussing regulations. Rep. Emilie Kornheiser and the Commissioner of the Department of Financial Regulation share their thoughts on positive regulation and how it can support businesses. Theme music by Red Heart the...

February 20, 2026: Annual Town Meeting is around the corner. It's a day wrapped in traditions, stories, civic engagement, potluck lunches, and discussions about dollars and cents. But it is also an annual gathering that raises questions about how we ensure access, practice self-governance, build community, and the health of our local democracy. Writer and educator, Susan Clark, has studied town-me...

January 29, 2026: In today's conversation, John Walters of the Vermont Political Observer updates listeners on Nick Deml's new job, shares his thoughts on Governor Scott's budget address, and questions the need for county sheriffs.  As mentioned: PAI's 2019 State of Working Vermont Report, looking at underinvestment in public needs:  https://publicassets.org/research-publications/state-o...

January 23, 2026: Housing, raising more local revenues, lowering property taxes, and transportation funding are just a few of the issues facing municipalities this year. Josh Hanford, director of intergovernmental relations, updates listeners on VLCT's work on behalf of Vermont's towns. The Vermont League of Cities and Towns: https://www.vlct.org/ VLCT's testimony on Housing, including Act 181: ht...

January 16, 2026 (recorded on 1/15): Every year, the Public Assets Institute releases its State of Working Vermont report. The document outlines the economic landscape for working Vermonters. Unfortunately, the ratio of costs to wages is out of whack for many households. Julie Lowell, PAI's Economic Security Policy and Outreach Director, breaks down the full report.  Read the full SWVT report...

January 9, 2026: Welcome to a new year and the second half of the Legislature's biennium! This week, lawmakers returned to the State House. Gov. Phil Scott focused the majority of his State of the State Address on education reform and Act 73. Journalist John Walters joins the conversation this week to reflect on the opening of the session. He shares his thoughts on campaign announcements by Molly...

December 19, 2025: As we finish up 2025, Rep. Emilie Kornheiser joins the show to break down the annual "December 1st letter." In this document, the VT Department of Taxes outlines the expected education tax yields for the upcoming fiscal year. This year, the department is forecasting an average increase of 11.9 percent.  NOTE: The number, however, is not set in stone and may change by the en...

December 12, 2025: Overhauling Vermont's school districts and governmental structures are two options being floated to control education costs. Enter the School District Redistricting Task Force and its examination of the state's education system. Windham County State Senator Wendy Harrison served on the task force and today outlines its recommendations and report. Read the Task Force's report her...

December 5, 2025: John Walters of The Vermont Political Observer is on the show this week. We discuss education, housing, and tariffs.  View the Agency of Commerce and Community Development's Canadian visitation data: https://accd.vermont.gov/canada-research Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://rhtt.net

November 28, 2025: Randy Holhut, news editor for The Commons, joins this week's conversation with an update on local news. He shares his thoughts on high school sports, changes at Vermont Independent Media, and what the 2026 elections could mean for VGOP.  The Commons: https://www.commonsnews.org/ The Deerfield Valley News: https://www.deerfieldvalleynews.org/ Theme music by Red Heart the Tic...

September 12, 2025: Gov. Phil Scott surprised many when he vetoed H.91. Lawmakers designed the bill to address homelessness while phasing out what is commonly known as the emergency hotel/motel program.  This week's episode features a reading of the bill as it passed the Vermont Legislature and is one piece of multiple conversations exploring the thoughts and decisions that go into developing...

September 5, 2025: Rep. Leslie Goldman dives into systems and health care in this week's episode. Paraphrasing a former professor, Goldman said that systems get the results they were designed to achieve. If so, what does that say about health care in Vermont? Goldman represents Windham 3 and serves on the House Committee on Health Care. Read S.27 (Act 21): https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/stat...

August 29, 2025—Rep. Christopher Morrow weighs in on his first session as a new lawmaker. He's mulling over issues around leadership and investing in government oversight, education, and health care. Morrow represents the tri-county Windham-Windsor-Bennington district.  Theme music by Red Heart the Ticker: http://rhtt.net