Maine is home to some truly challenging hiking trails. Mud, steep slopes, slippery stream crossings, exposed tree roots, ridiculously rocky terrain. Maine has it all, and often hikers must contend with all these things at once. But here’s the thing: It’s worth it.

Schools in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties will remain closed for at least another month, through the normally scheduled week of April vacation.

Registered Maine guides are among those in industries in which face-to-face service is an essential part. But as spring and early summer fishing seasons near, some guides have already begun seeing a dropoff in reservations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Piscataquis County Democrats gathered for party caucuses in 15 communities throughout the region on March 8.  Close to 100 individuals rallied to Rise and Organize! in four locations including Greenville, Guilford, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced stricter limits on public gatherings on Wednesday, ordering restaurants and bars to stop dine-in service effective that day, banning social gatherings of more than 10 people and urging many private businesses to close.

All five of the region’s school districts will be closed through at least late in the month in response to the coronavirus.

Before adjourning on Tuesday because of the coronavirus, the Maine Legislature passed a package of bills letting municipalities and schools operate on current budgets through January and giving Gov. Janet Mills wide authority over the June primaries.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil emergency on Sunday as the state announced seven confirmed positive tests of the coronavirus with another five likely cases over four days, including a couple that lives in a Falmouth retirement community.

Four of the region’s five school districts will be closed for the next two weeks in response to the coronavirus. The Dexter-based SAD 46 will be closed on Monday, March 16 and that evening the school board is set to meet to decide whether the district should join others in making a similar decision on a prolonged closure.

The woods and waters of what is now Piscataquis and Aroostook counties were largely uncharted territory for the people of European descent in Maine in the years prior to statehood in 1820.

Roughly half or more of all Maine adults -- particularly older and rural people -- are at risk of developing serious illnesses if they contract the new coronavirus, making the state’s older population one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to the virus.

Connor DiAngelo of Greenville is this year’s Piscataquis County recipient of the Legislature’s $1,000 Memorial Scholarship. DiAngelo is majoring in finance and financial economics at the University of Maine. He also received the scholarship in 2019.

Today, after yet another report of a monster brook trout coming from the state’s largest lake, I’m changing my stance a bit and offering up some enthusiastic advice. If you want to catch the fish of a lifetime, you might want to consider Moosehead Lake.

"I'd go, 'Well, we're going fishing this weekend. We can't do that,'" Brann said. For 11 years, that excuse worked. But this year, with an annual fishing vacation to Moosehead Lake with three other couples looming, Collins made Brann a deal he couldn't refuse.

Jim Young reached out to share his story and a photo of the impressive brookie he caught while fishing Moosehead Lake recently. The monster squaretail weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 25 inches long. The fish was also 18 inches around at its widest point.

With the pending retirement of a Waterville hospital executive and the recent addition of a new hospital, Northern Light Health is shuffling around the leadership of its hospitals in central Maine and Piscataquis County.

The plan for Legislative District 119 includes work in seven of the district’s towns: Abbot, Greenville, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec and Shirley. It includes 12 projects over the next three years, totaling over $12.88 million. Highlights include reconstruction of Route 6 in Abbot ($8,680,000) and work on Route 23 in Sangerville ($2,660,000).

Two organizations with a shared vision to meet the health care needs of the people of Piscataquis County have officially come together. Northern Light Health and Mayo Regional Hospital completed their merger agreement on Sunday, March 1. On Monday morning, Michelle Hood, president and CEO of Northern Light Health, joined with Marie Vienneau, president and CEO of the newly named Northern Light Mayo Hospital, for a press conference and celebration at  the hospital with employees.