The January Dexter Tea Talk featured speaker and musical performer Rose Hinkley, director of the Central Maine Country Music Association, presented information about charitable work and membership within her organization on Jan. 9 at Gatherings 4 Main St.

If you’ve always wanted to visit a bear den and check out the cubs, this may be your lucky year. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is taking entries into its latest Keeper of the Maine Outdoors contest, and the grand prize is a den visit for two people.

State regulators have cleared the way for Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft to join Northern Light Health, the Brewer-based health system that includes nine other hospitals stretching from Portland to Presque Isle.

Maine’s ATV task force, created by Gov. Janet Mills to address opportunities and issues associated with increasing ATV registrations, submitted a report and recommendations to the governor, which include limits on ATV sizes and weights and recognizes the importance of private landowners who allow public use of their land.

Team dual-meet state championships will be added to Maine high school wrestling’s postseason agenda this winter. The top four teams in the North and South regions of each class will square off in a succession of head-to-head matches involving all 14 weight classes, with quarterfinals and semifinals leading to state championship matches.

The Classes B, C and D South and Class A North regional meets will be held in Augusta while the Classes B and C North and D North/South will take place at the Cross Insurance Center. In Bangor, the Class B North competition will begin at 9 a.m. to be followed by D North/South at 11:15 and the C North at 1:45.

Upcoming events around the region.

As a general rule, I try to avoid actually watching political debates anymore. They have long since stopped being either useful or meaningful, and the media's obsession with them as some kind of important guidepost for the campaign is as disappointing as the event is predictable.

Gov. Janet Mills allowed the passage of Rep. Norman Higgins’, I-Dover Foxcroft bill to create a comprehensive career & technical education system to examine a comprehensive 4-year high school career & technical education program.

Danny White of Foxcroft Academy and Chris Kates of Lisbon have been named head coaches for the 2020 Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic high school football all-star game by the event’s board of governors.