Our Citizen’s Agenda election reporting initiative takes us to Rutland to hear what residents are doing about the state’s housing crisis. Plus, more than 2,000 Vermonters file for individual flood-related FEMA assistance, the deadline to file for individual help has been extended, a Vermont-based company announces layoffs of more than 100 workers, Vermonters planning to vote by mail are advised to send their ballots by the middle of the month, another mistrial is declared in the case of a Franklin County sheriff accused of assault, and a geneticist who grew up on a dairy farm in Hartland and formerly taught at Dartmouth wins a Nobel Prize.

Checking in with former residents of the Heartbreak Hotel, a Plainfield apartment building that was washed away in last July’s floods. Plus, Montpelier at long last has a new post office following last year’s flooding, Vermont median household incomes spiked far beyond the national average last year, Goddard College’s campus has a(nother) new buyer, Rutland is taking steps to boost its housing stock amid a statewide shortage, and a young lynx has been spotted meandering north through Vermont.

Vermont Department of Corrections officials are working on improving visitation policies for the children of incarcerated fathers, saying strong family bonds can improve outcomes for families. Plus, UVM Medical Center is halting plans for a new outpatient surgery center, immigrant dairy farmworkers are picketing outside Hannaford stores to secure better working conditions, a renowned Abenaki artist has a new retrospective exhibition on display in Montreal, and Springfield residents will weigh whether to ban guns in a town park.

Why a central Vermont school board decided not to ask voters whether to close two of the district’s elementary schools in November. Plus, the young NFL season has brought a huge upswing in Vermont online sports betting, Northeast Kingdom residents whose jobs were affected by the late-July floods may now be eligible for federal unemployment aid, West Windsor adopts short-term rental fees, why Burlington’s former racial equity director is demanding a multimillion dollar payment from the city, for the first time ever Vermont went nearly a year without a vehicle getting stuck at Smuggler’s Notch, and in our sports report we discuss the harsh realities for first place teams knocked out of the playoffs in the league’s new wild card format.

With the November election just weeks away, we hear the chief issues of concern from voters who attended our Citizens Agenda ice cream social in Rutland. Plus, legislation introduced by Sen. Peter Welch would require an audit of FEMA’s administrative costs, Vermont lawmakers sign a letter calling on Gov. Scott to stand up emergency shelters for families exiting the motel voucher program, concerns about oversaturation in some of the state’s retail cannabis markets, Vermont swiftwater teams help with rescue efforts in Florida and North Carolina, and Frontier Airlines will resume some nonstop flights from Burlington to Florida.

The state is scaling back the emergency motel voucher program, despite hundreds of families with children having few other options for shelter.. Plus, Vermont’s Catholic Diocese files for bankruptcy protection, pressure ramps up on the U.S. Postal Service to set a date for reopening Montpelier’s post office, public flood insurance claims are paying out much more on average than FEMA aid, the state wants public feedback on plans for improving water quality in the Connecticut River, and Vermont libraries will be awarded millions of dollars in grants from the American Rescue Plan Act.

A documentary tells the painful story of efforts to wipe out the heritage of Indigenous children at boarding schools in the US and Canada. Plus, a plan to sell the now-closed Goddard College campus to a group of former alumni and faculty has fallen through, the director of a Lakota spiritual learning center recounts trauma suffered by Indigenous children sent to government-funded residential schools in the US and Canada, a horse in Addison County has died after being infected with EEE, advocates for legislation to expand home services access for people with disabilities visit the Statehouse, and Seven Days is named Newspaper of the Year by the New England Newspaper & Press Association.

Trying to get a look at ocean birds that visit Vermont each year as they migrate over Lake Champlain. Plus, a superior court judge tosses a lawsuit aimed at ending the interim appointment of Vermont’s education secretary, federal disaster aid is declared for Northeast Kingdom communities affected by late July floods, thousands of older Vermonters will be dropped from their Medicare Advantage health care plans next year, and Sen. Peter Welch urges approval of a proposal to provide longer range missiles to the Ukrainian military.

In an excerpt from Rumble Strip, a mother speaks with Erica Heilman about the experience of ultimate loss. Plus, the Scott Administration considers creating a rainy day fund for farmers who suffer weather-related damages, Woodstock reaches a deal to buy the privately-run water system serving the town, three Vermont school districts may not be able to provide the special education services they’re legally required to, state regulators take steps to create a temporary moratorium on new retail cannabis stores, and a Vermont nonprofit gets grant money to bring more arts and culture to underserved populations, and we discuss the sad reality of racism rearing its ugly head amid the WNBA playoffs in our weekly sports report.

The latest on a horse breeding facility in Townshend whose owner has been charged with animal cruelty. Plus, pressure mounts on Gov. Scott to intervene amid fresh waves of evictions from the state’s motel housing voucher program, business owners who suffered financial losses from summer floods begin applying for state aid, Vermonters affected by early July floods have a 30-day window to apply for FEMA assistance, Burlington will set up a centrally located hub to address public safety concerns, and for the first time since mid-July tests came up negative for EEE in mosquitoes tested by Vermont health officials.