Liam Elder-Connors
Senior ReporterLiam is Vermont Public’s public safety reporter, focusing on law enforcement, courts and the prison system.
Liam has worked at Vermont Public since 2015 and has reported several special projects, including an investigation into one of the state's prominent landlords and a series of remembrances of Vermonters killed by COVID-19. In 2018, he reported and co-hosted JOLTED, a five-part podcast about an averted school shooting and was a finalist for the Livingston Award for his work on that project.
Leave Liam a voicemail at 802-552-8899 or send Liam an email.
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We speak with FIFA World Cup champ Sam Mewis as she prepares to coach two women’s exhibition games for the Burlington-based Vermont Green FC soccer club. Plus, cuts to federal food benefits could affect thousands of low-income Vermonters, computer chip manufacturer Global Foundries announces a 16 billion dollar investment in its New York and Vermont plants, a federal pause on the nationwide Job Corps program leads to the expected closure next month of a workforce development center in Addison County, and the search is on in New Hampshire for a missing three foot long fiberglass banana.
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Considering the fate of Vermont’s electric vehicle sales mandate now that the Governor has paused its implementation. Plus, Gov. Scott says he will sign a bill delivering 14 million dollars in tax cuts to young families, older Vermonters, and people with military pensions, House lawmakers reject a bill that would have allowed cannabis growers to sell directly to consumers, Green Mountain Power offers free energy storage batteries for homes in remote areas of Windham County, the Vermont Food Bank in Rutland reopens after a year-long renovation, and state wildlife officials ask anglers not to disturb sea lamprey as they migrate up the Connecticut River to spawn.
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A reporter roundtable discussion about the extra work needed this legislative session to pass an education reform bill. Plus, it’s unclear whether Gov. Scott will sign a bill that would shift the workings of Vermont’s homelessness response system from state government to private nonprofit organizations, Vermont receives a top grade for senior health and well being, the state has seen an unusually long string of soggy Saturdays since mid-March, nearly 2 million dollars in grant funding will help expand access to organic dairy products in northeastern states including Vermont, and officials in New Hampshire issue a consumer alert regarding real estate fraud.
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Democratic lawmakers have spent the last five years laying the groundwork for the most aggressive emissions-reduction policies Vermont has ever seen. But a political seachange after the November election has brought that work to a standstill.
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A young Vermonter debates whether to leave the state after graduation and a dispatch from the annual state surplus auction. Plus, Vermont’s unemployment rate ticks up slightly in April, federal immigration authorities arrest at least four people on their way home from their landscaping jobs in Vermont, investigators determine the cause of a plane crash in Manchester this winter, and runners prepare for the Burlington marathon this weekend.
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Lake Champlain’s wild lake trout population is sustaining itself on its own again, but scientists aren’t sure what’s brought the fish back. Plus, voters in Bethel and Royalton shoot down a school bond for the third time, a new federal COVID vaccine policy gets mixed reviews from a leading state infectious disease specialist, plans move ahead for a Canadian entrance to a historic library that straddles the U.S.-Canada border, and the Milton selectboard appoints a new town manager.
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Members of Odanak First Nation in Quebec use food to preserve their knowledge, culture and homelands. Plus, Governor Scott signs a bill that keeps education property taxes nearly flat, a state budget proposal includes efforts to soften the blow of possible cuts to federal funding, the Vermont Medical Society sues the Trump Administration, and the state agency of transportation reminds people to buckle up.
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How do we manage forest and the human-need for wood in the face of climate change. Plus, fatal opioid overdoses declined in Vermont last year, flash flooding closed roads and inundated downtowns across Vermont over the weekend, Franklin County Field Days won’t happen this summer, and 11 days after opening, the first truck of the year got stuck in the infamous “Notch.”
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Former Human Services Secretary Mike Smith outlines his plans for looking into the cost effectiveness of programs at the University of Vermont Health Network. Plus, the Trump Administration has terminated a grant for infrastructure projects in Northwestern Vermont. Vermont is dedicating 22 million dollars in federal "Solar for All" funds to affordable housing projects, and state officials are warning people that even with a wet spring, brush fires can get out of control.
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We finish our series showcasing Vermont musicians who entered this year’s NPR Tiny Desk contest with Fawn and the Wormdogs. Plus a federal judge orders the release of a Vermont farmworker who was detained last month, state lawmakers pass a bill to make it easier for undocumented parents to make sure their children end up with trusted guardians if they’re detained or deported and commencement ceremonies for the University of Vermont will be held this Sunday.