A Vermont school district has sparked national outrage after district leaders raised the flag of Somalia on campus.

The Winooski School District — located just outside Burlington, where roughly 9% of students are Somali — raised the light-blue flag on Monday to honor the “Somali youth and families in Winooski and Vermont.”

The clip of the flag-raising was shared online and was quickly flooded with hundreds of furious messages. It came after bombshell revelations about a massive $1 billion aid fraud scandal involving Somali immigrants in Minnesota.

The backlash forced district officials to shut down its website and disconnect many of its phones on Monday, VT Digger reported.

“First, we want to assure everyone that the United States flag remains in its proper place at the highest point, in full compliance with the U.S. Flag Code,” the district said in a statement.

“The district has three flag masts: the U.S. flag on the top mast, the Vermont state flag on the second, and— this week — the Somali flag on the third.”

The Winooski School District said it planned to raise the flag for one week “as a gesture of support for Somali students and families.”

“Winooski is a proudly diverse community, and we are committed to recognizing and uplifting the cultures and identities represented in our schools,” it added in the statement.

President Trump last week raged against Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future fraud scandal and torched “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar — who represents the North Star State — as a “terrible person.”

Wilmer Chavarria, the Winooski schools superintendent, claimed the school was the target of a “coordinated national campaign.”

As the calls began pouring in, the district routed callers directly to voicemail. Some callers screamed racial slurs while others issued explicit threats, officials said.

It also temporarily shut down its website, which was replaced by a warning that its site had been “removed from public view” while it worked to “address and mitigate an unprecedented volume of illegitimate traffic targeting our services.”

The school district notified the Winooski Police Department, which was visibly present on campus on Monday.

Conservative podcaster Benny Johnson commented on the flag-raising video on X, writing, “I’ve got a suggestion for ICE’s next stop.”

“Is the American flag burning ceremony next week?” another critic commented in response.

“I hope the school district loses all federal funding. There is only one flag — the American flag,” another wrote.

BURLINGTON, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – More than half of bee colonies in Vermont were lost over the last year, according to a survey by UVM’s Bee Lab.

“This is not a normal loss year – this is an emergency signal.”

The Vermont Beekeepers Association (VBA) highlighted the report on Monday. They wrote that pesticide use and a parasite that feeds on honeybees have been the main forces behind the more than 56% drop.

According to the USDA, the average annual losses were around 20% before 2006, and have been above 30% in recent years, but this is the highest rate recorded.

UVM’s survey reportedly covered more than a third of registered bee colonies in the state.

“Beekeepers are doing everything they can, but we cannot solve this alone,” said Andrew Munkres, former president of the VBA. “These numbers prove that bee health is now a food system issue. Vermont needs to respond at a food system scale.”

A survey released earlier this year by Auburn University showed similar losses across many parts of the country.

Also according to the USDA, honey prices have risen sharply this century. After adjusting for inflation, honey was almost three times the price in 2024 across the country compared to 2000.

Four Vermont high school soccer teams have been recognized with regional awards for setting the standard in sportsmanship this season.

The Vermont Soccer Officials Association named the Enosburg Falls Hornet boys and U-32 Raider girls from the north, along with Fair Haven Slater girls and Sharon Academy Phoenix boys from the south, as winners of the state’s 2025 Sportsmanship Award.

This inaugural award follows a new process where referees rated teams after every regular-season and tournament game on player, coach, fan and administrative behavior, according to an announcement from the association. Officials worked more than 1,700 games this fall.

Association president Marvin Pritchard said, “The school, community and soccer official relationship you have developed is a model for others to emulate.”

Frank Martel, a longtime referee and Northern Vermont Athletic Conference assignor, said true sportsmanship means respecting opponents and officials — even when calls don’t go your way.

The association also highlighted finalists that displayed exemplary conduct. Southern Vermont League finalists included MSJ, Stratton and Randolph girls and Otter Valley, Brattleboro and West Rutland boys. Northern finalists included Caledonia United, South Burlington and Richford girls and Richford, Essex and BFA Fairfax boys.

Eric Evans, Southern Vermont League assignor, noted that poor sportsmanship is common nationwide but praised Vermont’s positive culture. “It is refreshing to see Vermont high school soccer be immune to this trend,” Evans said.

Athletic directors at the winning schools are planning recognition events. Association officials are expected to attend and present banners and certificates to the honored teams.

This story was created by Dave DeMille, ddemille@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.