This February let’s go beyond “Be My Valentine” and cute cupid cards. While love may be all we need, connection is arguably even more important, especially these days. The Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft is a great place to connect with people, programs, books, ideas and, yes, even computers.

Ice fishing derbies typically offer participants the chance to engage in some good-natured competition, and to perhaps take home a prize for their efforts. In Greenville, organizers are preparing for a derby that has helped reshape the fishery in the state’s largest lake.

The structure of high school basketball in the state is expected to proceed without significant change for the next two years after the Maine Principals’ Association classification committee recently voted to maintain enrollment cutoff standards for the next two years.

DEXTER -- A man was allegedly driving a snowmobile under the influence of alcohol early in the evening on Saturday, Jan. 19 when his machine struck a 16-year-old boy who was walking across a lake in Dexter.

Kim Cavanagh, a local lawyer and Foxcroft Academy alum, was celebrated recently at the Center Theatre for the Performing Arts Board of Director's annual meeting. The meeting was Cavanagh's last after being on the Center Theatre board since 2012.

Here in the sun-drenched Florida Keys, the nearest thing to an ice shack is a small shed near the marina that holds two big chest freezers where boaters get their 10-lb bags of ice cubes every couple of days.

In a major victory for sound public policy over naked politics, Gov. Janet Mills continued her efforts to expand access to health care to Maine people. This time, she bucked the Trump administration and former Gov. Paul LePage by rejecting a change to the state’s Medicaid program, which would have erected unnecessary barriers to health insurance for low-income families.

There’s this phenomenon I’ve heard talked about among outdoorsy folks, that out in the wilderness, food tastes better. During a mountain hike or an ocean paddle, even the simplest fare can be enjoyable and nourishing. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put a little extra thought and effort into what you pack to eat - the opposite, in fact.

The cure at the southern border is to identify the problem first. The number one problem is illegal drugs. The greatest percentage of illegal drugs cross the border by legal points of entry. We need more inspectors and electronic equipment to get this under control.

The latest journalistic debacle of BuzzFeed proportions has shown the spotlight again on a once revered institution devoid of any integrity. The nation has in many ways become numb to it, even at times accepting this as the new normal. Despite this, the next station in the march of relativism should leave even the most morally callous appalled.