Vermont
UVM wants to use state scholarship money to pay for a new sports complex. Vermont legislators are skeptical. – VTDigger
The University of Vermont is asking legislators for $15 million from a statewide student financial aid fund so the school can put it toward a long-planned campus sports complex instead.
While Gov. Phil Scott supports the proposal, it has gotten a cold reception so far from lawmakers. Scott included the funding move in his state budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts in July. And he highlighted the project in his budget address to lawmakers at the start of the legislative session in January.
The House took the plan out of the version of a spending package it passed last week. The chamber’s bill, H.951, is now being considered in the Senate.
Both supporters and detractors of the plan agree it would mark a shift in the use of the state’s Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund, which helps pay for aid to students at UVM, in the Vermont State Colleges System or attending other schools in-state.
Last year, the trust fund paid for 675 scholarships averaging $1,400 each, according to data from the Vermont State Treasurer’s Office, which manages the pot of money. About three-quarters of the beneficiaries were first-generation college students.
But for UVM, the state fund — which recently saw a large infusion of cash — is an attractive option to get construction back underway on its “multipurpose center” project, which broke ground in 2019 but has stalled since the Covid-19 pandemic. The indoor venue would be among the largest in the state, school leaders have said.
Rep. Robin Scheu, D-Middlebury, chairs the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee. She said she opposes UVM’s plan because taking money out of the trust fund would make less available for student aid. Doing that, for a building project, is a policy decision that needs more scrutiny, she said.
“It’s completely unrelated to the uses of the fund — and that’s a huge policy shift,” she said of UVM’s project Wednesday.
One member of the appropriations panel was blunt in his criticism during a hearing on the plan earlier this year: “I don’t like this,” said Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury. The House Education Committee has also voiced its opposition to the proposal, calling it “well outside” the fund’s current purpose in a February memo.
State lawmakers put $6 million into the fund when they set it up in 1999. It gets new money from the estate tax on high-wealth individuals’ assets when they die, as well as an annual infusion of cash from the state’s collection of unclaimed financial property.
Every year, the state withdraws up to 5% of the fund’s assets for aid to students at UVM, Vermont State University and Community College of Vermont. Money is also sent to the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. for its financial aid programs.
The aid is drawn from the interest the fund accrues, because state law does not allow withdrawals that would reduce the amount of its principal. A smaller percentage of the fund can also be used to bolster UVM and the state colleges’ endowments — provided there are matching private donations available.
Both UVM and the governor’s office are pitching to take $15 million out of the trust fund’s principal. They argue the timing is ripe because the fund got a historic windfall of estate tax revenue last year: more than $26 million, which brought its total assets to nearly $66 million. Even after taking out $15 million for UVM’s new facility, they’ve argued, the fund would still be larger than in years past.
“I know it’s a departure from how those funds have been used for the past,” Marlene Tromp, the UVM president, told House Appropriations last month. “We believe this one-time investment is an appropriate use of those funds, because it will allow us to make such an impact on the state.”
The new facility would be able to seat 5,000 people, Wendy Koenig, UVM’s director of government relations, said at the same committee hearing. It would house the men’s and women’s basketball teams and host concerts, lectures, conferences and other events, according to previously-detailed plans. The project would also renovate existing athletic facilities on the site.
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UVM has spent $75 million on the project so far and needs $100 million more to finish it, according to Tromp. The state’s infusion of cash would make some major donors who are on the fence more likely to step up, she said, as well as prevent UVM from needing to raise fees on its students to make up the funding gap.
She argued the facility would attract visitors to Burlington, boosting the local economy. It would also make UVM a more attractive campus for more students, which is a boon to the region and its future workforce. She recalled a similar facility at Boise State University, where she was the president before being hired at UVM last year.
“I used to be really proud when we hosted ‘Disney On Ice’ at my last campus, and all those kids and their families would come,” she said. “Because when you set foot on campus, it starts to change the way you think about college. It becomes your place. And we want people to feel like UVM is their place.”
Scott’s secretary of administration, Sarah Clark, reiterated the governor’s support for the project this week.
In a letter outlining areas of disagreement with the House-passed budget, she said the project would “not only be an investment in our higher education system, but in an economic development and cultural engine for Vermont.”
Vermont is the home to several notable sports legends over the decades, from Susan Dunklee to David Ball to Albert Gutterson and beyond.
And that trend continues today, with high school athletes creating storylines across the state.
Which high schools in Vermont are considered the best for athletes in 2026?
According to a study conducted by Niche, which accounts for “reviews of athletics, number of state championships, student participation in athletics, and the number of sports offered at the school”—and data from the U.S. Department of Education—these are the top 25.
25. Spaulding High School (Barre)
Total number of sports: 19
24. Bellows Free Academy (Saint Albans)
Total number of sports: 15
23. Danville School
Total number of sports: 22
22. Montpelier High School
Total number of sports: 19
21. Hazen Union School (Hardwick)
Total number of sports: 19
20. Brattleboro Union High School
Total number of sports: 19
19. Otter Valley Union High School (Brandon)
Total number of sports: 19
18. Milton Senior High School
Total number of sports: 20
17. Enosburg Falls Junior/Senior High School
Total number of sports: 20
16. Champlain Valley Union High School (Hinesburg)
Total number of sports: 23
15. Thetford Academy
Total number of sports: 10
14. Mt. Anthony Union High School (Bennington)
Total number of sports: 28
13. Vergennes Union High School
Total number of sports: 15
12. Colchester High School
Total number of sports: 22
11. Harwood Union High School (Duxbury)
Total number of sports: 17
10. Bellows Free Academy (St. Albans)
Total number of sports: 9
9. Lyndon Institute
Total number of sports: 28
8. Woodstock Union High School
Total number of sports: 26
7. Burlington Senior High School
Total number of sports: 16
6. Essex High School
Total number of sports: 18
5. South Burlington High School
Total number of sports: 25
4. U-32 Middle & High School (East Montpelier)
Total number of sports: 22
3. Burr and Burton Academy (Manchester)
Total number of sports: 35
2. Rice Memorial High School (South Burlington)
Total number of sports: 24
1. St. Johnsbury Academy
Total number of sports: 30
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The Vermont Lottery offers several draw games for those willing to make a bet to win big.
Those who want to play can enter the MegaBucks and Lucky for Life games as well as the national Powerball and Mega Millions games. Vermont also partners with New Hampshire and Maine for the Tri-State Lottery, which includes the Mega Bucks, Gimme 5 as well as the Pick 3 and Pick 4.
Drawings are held at regular days and times, check the end of this story to see the schedule.
Here’s a look at May 16, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from May 16 drawing
08-37-40-44-65, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from May 16 drawing
Day: 4-6-6
Evening: 0-9-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 16 drawing
Day: 7-9-5-2
Evening: 9-9-8-5
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Megabucks Plus numbers from May 16 drawing
02-06-08-18-26, Megaball: 02
Check Megabucks Plus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from May 16 drawing
07-17-24-38-45, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
For Vermont Lottery prizes up to $499, winners can claim their prize at any authorized Vermont Lottery retailer or at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters by presenting the signed winning ticket for validation. Prizes between $500 and $5,000 can be claimed at any M&T Bank location in Vermont during the Vermont Lottery Office’s business hours, which are 8a.m.-4p.m. Monday through Friday, except state holidays.
For prizes over $5,000, claims must be made in person at the Vermont Lottery headquarters. In addition to signing your ticket, you will need to bring a government-issued photo ID, and a completed claim form.
All prize claims must be submitted within one year of the drawing date. For more information on prize claims or to download a Vermont Lottery Claim Form, visit the Vermont Lottery’s FAQ page or contact their customer service line at (802) 479-5686.
Vermont Lottery Headquarters
1311 US Route 302, Suite 100
Barre, VT
05641
When are the Vermont Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Gimme 5: 6:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3 Day: 1:10 p.m. daily.
- Pick 4 Day: 1:10 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3 Evening: 6:55 p.m. daily.
- Pick 4 Evening: 6:55 p.m. daily.
- Megabucks: 7:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
What is Vermont Lottery Second Chance?
Vermont’s 2nd Chance lottery lets players enter eligible non-winning instant scratch tickets into a drawing to win cash and/or other prizes. Players must register through the state’s official Lottery website or app. The drawings are held quarterly or are part of an additional promotion, and are done at Pollard Banknote Limited in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Vermont editor. You can send feedback using this form.
STRAFFORD — Justin Morrill Homestead will partially reopen later this summer, though work to fix longstanding drainage issues at the state historic site is expected to continue into the fall.
Flooding from an overflowing tributary of the Ompompanoosuc River damaged the state historic site, which is located at 214 Justin Morrill Highway in Strafford, in July 2023.
While the site reopened in 2024, state officials made the decision to close it for the 2025 season — which traditionally runs May through October — to conduct more permanent, long-planned fixes, particularly repairs to the 1851 historic home that the senator who represented Vermont in the U.S. Congress for 44 years, until his death in 1898.
Though state officials had hoped to have the work completed by the end of last fall, the upgrades proved more complicated than expected.
“Because of it being a very old building that Sen. Morrill tweaked as he was in it … we found things were not exactly as we first thought,” State Historic Preservation Officer Laura Trieschmann said.
The plan now is to partially reopen the site, which is also on the National Register of Historic Places, in time for the Friends of the Morrill Homestead’s annual “Minis for Morrill” art auction fundraiser, which is scheduled kick off with an opening reception July 3 at the site’s education center.
The roughly $1.9 million drainage project is being funded by a mix of state and federal grants, as well as money the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Vermont after the 2023 floods.
 100vw, 684px”/><figcaption class=)
Jamie Duggan is director of preservation for Vermont State Historic Sites and is working on a project to improve drainage at remediate moisture damage at the Justin Smith Morrill Homestead in Strafford, Vt., on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley NewsThe drainage around Morrill’s Gothic Revival Mansion has proven to be particularly challenging and the state has had to make adjustments to its original plans, said Jamie Duggan, director of preservation at the state’s Division for Historic Preservation. The topography of the site is such that a pond sits on top of a hillside and the house at the bottom.
“There’s water everywhere up on that hillside,” Duggan said. “It’s all sloping down toward where the house is.”
Those challenges have been compounded by a complex — and unmarked — system of stone channels Morrill installed to move water around the property, including to what once was an operating farm and the apple orchard, which has since been restored. The state has been using ground-penetrating radar to figure out where the channels, most of which are around a foot below ground, are located, Duggan said.
“We need to make sure the water flowing through those channels is not causing water infiltrations to any of the buildings or compromising the landscape, or the channels are caving in,” Trieschmann said, adding that historians have yet to find any documentation of Morrill’s original plans. “We need to make sure we’re doing it right and that we have explored any mysteries that might pop up and change our plans.”
 100vw, 780px”/><figcaption class=)
Jesse Smith, of Northwoods Excavating, right, talks with Jamie Duggan, director of preservation for Vermont State Historic Sites, left, on Wednesday, May 14, 2026, about a buried stone culvert built by Justin Smith Morrill to divert water away from the Gothic Revival home he built in Strafford, Vt., in the 1850s. Duggan said he hopes to locate the full path of the culvert, document it and keep it functioning. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley News
While parts of the grounds and the education center are expected to reopen this year, the mansion itself is not expected to reopen until the start of the 2027 season.
As part of the project, the house’s foundation has been exposed and state officials are documenting what they’ve discovered.
Duggan is scheduled to give a talk about the work at the site’s education center June 27.
“We all have to exercise patience,” Friends of Morrill Homestead director Kumari Patricia said about the repair delays. “I look at all of this work as an opportunity to grow the awareness of the site, the importance of the site and educational opportunities.”
The work has involved excavating an area that is referred to as the kitchen gardens. Volunteers, under the direction of master gardeners, were able to salvage plants, including herbs, berry bushes and perennials, Patricia said. The nonprofit’s members are looking forward to rebuilding the gardens when the work is complete.
This summer, they’ve planned trips to Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock on June 20 and to The Fells in Newbury, N.H., July 31. Part of the goal of the trips, which are open to the public, is to get inspiration for the Morrill Homestead.
“We are very eager,” Patricia said. “It’s going to be lovely.”
Visit morrillhomestead.org for more information about Friends of Morrill Homestead programs scheduled for this summer.
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