Vermont
VT Pride events mix protest, joy as LGBTQ groups see threat in new laws
Over the last few years, many states have made it harder for transgender people to access gender-affirming care, or in some cases have outright banned it for minors.
Transgender people in many states have been restricted from playing sports or using bathrooms that match their identities, and some states have censored school curricula that discuss LGBTQ+ people more broadly and limited free expression. At the federal level, the Trump administration has sought to limit people’s ability to update IDs like passports to reflect their gender.
That’s why many local LGBTQ+ organizations say celebrating Pride Month, which traditionally occurs in June to commemorate the Stonewall riots, is more important than ever.
“Looking at so much of how this country is portraying queer and trans people, we need to celebrate who we are as a people,” said Essex Pride President Kris Smith Thyme. “We need to show that we’re not monsters in a closet, that we’re friends and partners, neighbors, artists and creators.”
“There’s nothing more beautiful than celebrating queerness and transness in the face of all this hatred,” Thyme said.
St. Albans Pride Corps President Scott Bushey echoed Thyme’s sentiments.
“Pride celebrations started out as the very first protests,” said Bushey, and today holding a Pride event is practicing peaceful protest.
“(We’re) standing up for the fact that we deserve the same rights that everyone else gets,” Bushey said. “That we shouldn’t have to fight to get them or to keep them. That we shouldn’t have to worry about what we’re legally able to do.
Essex Pride and St. Albans Pride Corps are two of a number of Vermont LGBTQ+ organizations preparing to host events — festivals, movie nights, arts performances and social hours — to honor people who’ve faced discrimination for their sexualities or genders around this time of year.
Essex Pride’s three-day celebration is slated to take place a few days before Pride Month, from May 29-31, St. Albans Pride Corps’ six-day celebration is set for June 7-14.
Both Thyme and Bushey said their groups’ plans include “something for everyone,” regardless of age or interests.
Essex Pride events
Essex Pride’s fourth annual Pride celebration includes a garlic bread-eating social gathering; a comedy show and dance party; a drag story hour; a festival; a families and friends happy hour; a festival afterparty, which will include a drag and burlesque show with local performers; and free movie screenings of “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” and “Paris is Burning.”
The festival will include local performances, vendors, food trucks and creative activities for all ages and abilities. There will also be a quiet indoor space for people to view the Vermont Queer Archives and a memorial to trans people who have died from violence.
“Joy is the greatest act of resistance, but we can’t ignore what’s happening to the community now,” said Thyme.
St. Albans Pride Corps events
St. Albans Pride Corps’ third annual Pride celebration includes a Pride-based church service; a film screening of and panel discussion about “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar”; Pride game and karaoke nights; its Pride in the Park festival; a drag show; a parade; and a family day and ice cream social, with free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
St. Albans Museum will also have a monthlong exhibit about Pride in Vermont through the years. Attendees can add to a storytelling quilt at the museum.
Bushey said his organization included a Pride-based church service in its lineup because religious spaces are where many LGBTQ+ people have historically faced significant discrimination. He added that St. Albans has a “very large LGBTQ church-going community.”
“It’s really important to us that we really highlight the support of these local churches,” said Bushey. “There are lots of people who go to church who don’t come out because they’re afraid of being kicked out or pushed away.”
The five churches that will share the service believe “everybody is loved by God, that everyone is welcomed in church,” Bushey said.
Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.
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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