Nearly 100 residents of the Northeast Kingdom traveled to Montpelier on January 22 for NEK Day, a lobbying event focused on the region's needs. Participants from Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties met with lawmakers, testified before committees, and attended a press conference with U.S. Senator Peter Welch, State Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Representative Mike Marcotte, Representative Leanne Harple, and Lieutenant Governor John Rodgers.
Welch said the government's role is to create a level playing field for rural communities. "That means affordable and accessible health care. That means state-of-the-art broadband," he said.
Abby Long of the NEK Collaborative highlighted the region's designation as a federal REAP Zone, one of five in the nation. She said data from the collaborative's November 2025 NEK Together convening showed that "housing, healthcare, affordability, flood and climate resilience all layered with the concern over the shift in sustainable funding are our highest priorities."
Marcotte tied workforce needs to housing, child care, and education. Pieciak promoted his NEK Baby Bonds pilot program to address wealth inequality. Harple said small schools are not a flaw but "a feature of a very special place defined by distance, independence, and strong local ties." Rodgers, a fifth-generation NEK resident, said the day was about "showing up together and celebrating the power that comes from who we are."
Originally reported by Newport Dispatch.
Photo: Tony (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0). Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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