Derek Brouwer
ReporterDerek reports on business and the economy. He joined Vermont Public in 2026 after seven years as a newspaper reporter at Seven Days in Burlington, where his work was recognized with numerous regional and national awards for investigative and narrative reporting. Before moving to Vermont, he worked for several daily and weekly newspapers in Montana.
Derek grew up near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and studied history at Montana State University. He enjoys dogs, music and women’s sports.
Contact him with tips, ideas and critiques at 802-654-4317 or dbrouwer@vermontpublic.org.
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Amazon filed paperwork disclosing its investment in the Vermont aviation startup. But the investment was nothing new. -
Segway inventor Dean Kamen, now on leave from Beta’s board, was a longtime adviser who helped route public money to the Vermont aviation startup. -
Vermonters are wagering millions on table tennis, video games and other unconventional events, data show. -
A law enforcement board planned to create a statewide policy for when police can pursue suspects. Now members say it isn’t necessary. -
Vermont posted the largest population decline by percentage in the country last year, losing more than 1,800 residents, Census estimates show. -
The South Burlington aviation startup has applied to participate in a Trump administration program intended to fast-track development of the small, electric aircraft. -
A sophisticated scam ring took a 71-year-old Bennington woman’s entire life savings. More than four years later, the feds clawed it back. -
Amid an increase in ridership, the service has nearly blown through its annual budget in a matter of months, prompting a scramble by officials to find more cash and control costs. -
A first-of-its-kind analysis by Vermont Public and Seven Days identified at least 82 people who died either living outside or sheltered in motels between 2021 and 2024. Many of these deaths happened in largely invisible ways: in tents, sheds, motel rooms and dumpsters. -
The settlement covers Greg Bombard's 2018 arrest by a state trooper who said Bombard flipped him the middle finger — and a second, related citation nearly six years later, on Christmas Day.
