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Speaker of the House Jill Krowinski is not running for re-election in November after 14 years as a legislator and speaker since 2021. The 46-year-old Burlington Democrat discusses accomplishments, disappointments and challenges including a swatting incident and a stalker who required court intervention. 

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Ryan McLaren, a former top aide to Sen. Peter Welch, is running for lieutenant governor. He faces Molly Gray and Esther Charlestin in the August Democratic Party primary. The winner will face incumbent John Rodgers, a Republican, in November. McLaren, 40, says his campaign is focused on hope, housing and health care and his "opponent in this race is nihilism, the sense (people have) that nothing matters."  He suffered a spinal cord injury skiing in 2017 that resulted in partial paralysis. 

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Molly Gray, a former lieutenant governor, wants her old job back and is in a three-way primary for the Democratic Party nomination. The winner will face incumbent Lt. Gov. John Rodgers, a Republican, in November. Gray, 42, was elected as lieutenant governor in 2020 and lost a bid in 2022 for Vermont's lone seat in the U.S. House in the primary to Becca Balint. Since then, she's served as executive director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance.

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Amanda Janoo, an economics and policy expert, is running for governor. She faces child care advocate Aly Richards for the Democratic Party nomination. The primary will be in August. Janoo, 38, grew up in Strafford, Vermont, lives in Burlington and works with the Wellbeing Economy Alliance.  

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The former chief executive director of Let's Grow Kids is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for governor. Richards, 40, will face economist Amanda Janoo in the Democratic Party primary in August for the chance to run against Republican Gov. Phil Scott, who will be seeking his sixth two-year term.

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Vermont investigative journalist Jasper Craven's new book "God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood" explores how the military and its training institutions have shaped the meaning of manhood and fueled toxic masculinity. 

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Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt, calls the war in Iran a "catastrophe." He also discusses the firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi and the role of state and local police in a recent ICE raid in South Burlington. 

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Innovation has increased maple syrup output over the last two decades, reducing fears that climate change could cause a "maple-pocalypse." Vermont sugar makers are thriving, producing half the country's syrup, using practices like vacuum tubing and reverse osmosis to increase the amount of sap per tree. Steve Palmer owns Shelburne Sugarworks, a 170-acre farm that uses many of the new techniques to produce 1,200-1,500 gallons a year as well as maple candy and maple-based ice cream.

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Leaders of South Burlington, Burlington and Vermont State Police defended their departments' actions during a March 11 federal immigration enforcement effort in South Burlington. Police Chiefs William Breault and Shawn Burke, Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison and VSP Col. Matthew Birmingham appeared before the Vermont Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Afterward, protesters and activists, including Will Lambek of Migrant Justice, criticized Vermont police actions during the day-long operation by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. 

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State Sen. Phil Baruth recounts the highs and lows of his 16 years in the Vermont State Senate, including efforts to pass gun control legislation and boosting childcare subsidies. The Democrat/Progressive is stepping down after this session and will keep writing and teaching at the University of Vermont.