Vermont

This Central MN Small Town Was Named After a Town in Vermont

Published

1 year ago

November 9, 2024

This Central MN Small Town Was Named After a Town in Vermont

Royalton is a small town in Central Minnesota between Rice and Little Falls along Highway 10 and the Platte River residing in both Morrison and Benton Counties with a population of 1,281. Most of Royalton is in Morrison County.

photo – Jay Caldwell

According to author Frank B. Logan in his book “Historical Sketches of Royalton and Vicinity” the first settler came to what is modern day Royalton in 1853. His name is R.D. Kinney. He was a native of Vermont and came west into this territory as a missionary among the native Americans. He built a log home in Royalton and was appointed postmaster of the office there. Mr. Kinney suggested several names for the settlement which included “Burr Oak”, “Platte River” and “Royalton”.

Royalton was the name of the village of his birth in Vermont which was his preference and that name was approved. Royalton, Vermont still exists today…it’s a town of 2,750 people which is the home of Vermont’s lone accredited Law School.

Kinney didn’t stay in the new Royalton settlement long before moving back east. Frank Logan indicated more people from the northeast portion of the United States in New York and Maine settled in Royalton and the town grew because it was along the Ox Cart trail and then the railroad. In addition to Kinney, early settlers included Calvin A. Tuttle, who was born in Connecticut and Robert Russell, a native of Scotland who was well known to the settlers as “Scottie”.

photo – Jay Caldwell

To learn more about the history of Royalton I talked with longtime resident and the owner of Treasure City in Royalton since 1977, Bob Janski and retired teacher/coach and longtime resident Jerry Goedderz. Janski lived the first 10 years of his life in Rice before his father relocated the family to Royalton when he bought a hardware store in the community in 1949. Janski told me he grew up in the store and helped out when necessary. He is the 3rd owner of Treasure City which opened in 1962. Janski is proud of how identifiable Treasure City is to Minnesotans especially those who travel to their cabins north of Royalton.

photo – Jay Caldwell

Goedderz is originally from Cross Lake, Minnesota. When he graduated from St. Cloud State he was offered a job at Royalton Schools and he stayed in the school district for 35 years. He coached the baseball team for 6 years and explains the moving of the ball field from the west side of the tracks to school grounds made a big difference.

if you’d like to listen to my conversations with Bob Janski and Jerry Goedderz they are available below.

Bob Janski

Jerry Goedderz

LOOK: Biggest Tornadoes in Minnesota of the Past Decade

Stacker compiled a list of the biggest tornadoes in Minnesota over the past decade using data from NOAA.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

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Vermont

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

Published

5 minutes ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Wrong-way driver stopped on I-89, charged with DUI

BOLTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A wrong-way driver was safely stopped on Interstate 89 overnight Sunday.

Vermont State Police say just before 12:30 a.m., they stopped the car near marker 77, near Bolton.

The driver, Denise Lear, 60, of Revere, was charged with driving under the influence and gross negligent operation.

Lear is expected in court Monday.

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Vermont

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Published

12 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Women’s Lacrosse Bested in Burlington by Vermont – University at Albany Great Danes

Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14

Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.

Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)

Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.

Key Stats

Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.

Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.

Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.

Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.

Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.

How It Happened

The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.

Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.

The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.

Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.

Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.

Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.

The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.

Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.

Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.

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Vermont

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Published

1 day ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Vermont lands two cities in America’s top 15 happiest list

Is creativity the missing key to better health?

Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.

Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.

Plus, it has another within the top 15.

Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.

The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.

To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.

Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.

South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11

South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15

Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.