Gov. Janet Mills suggested on Monday that she might reduce restrictions on businesses when a stay-at-home order expires at the end of April, but she told Mainers to “stay the course” on public health measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus.

Thompson Free Library will host Mary Freeman, assistant professor of history at the University of Maine, live via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 as the first speaker in a series celebrating Maine's Bicentennial.

While Mayo had established historical relationships with some system members, like Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, the close of the merger opened up vast new resources, Vienneau says. Leaders at Mayo are now included in daily COVID-19 incident command meetings, where they can tap the expertise of the system’s healthcare professionals all over Maine. In addition, subgroups focused on clinical and support areas including infection control, facilities management, pharmacy services and many others are meeting as needed during the week. 

Bishop Robert P. Deeley has announced that  Fr. Mark Nolette, parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Dover-Foxcroft/Dexter will retire from full-time active ministry effective July 1 for medical reasons. For the foreseeable future, he intends to continue celebrating Mass, on a limited basis, in his current parishes where he will continue to reside.

Libraries in other parts of the state have started similar projects to document the evolving coronavirus pandemic, too. The Heart of Maine Community Stories is taking submissions for its online emergency archive, created by the Hartland Public Library, Newport Cultural Center, Pittsfield Public Library and Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft.  

More than 400,000 Maine residents have already received economic impact payments from the federal government, according to data released jointly by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Friday.

We have heard the word “unprecedented” more than we care to acknowledge since COVID-19 invaded our planet. We have seen pandemics before, yes we have had economic crises before as well but the impact of COVID-19, coupled with the federal and local government’s response and controversial remedy, has ushered in a season unlike this generation has ever seen before in this country.

Self-distancing and other stay-healthy-at-home mandates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have made for an unusual level of isolation, even for the most outgoing Mainers. But consider the lot of those additionally isolated by declining health, particularly those residing in the state’s nursing homes.

Better habitat in Maine streams may lead to a substantial increase in the number of brook trout living there after Trout Unlimited completes projects that will be funded by a nearly $1.8 million grant.

Maine will take a gradual approach to lifting restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus, but things “will not return to normal soon,” Gov. Janet Mills said Thursday.

When 25-year-old Dennis Allen saw that other 3D printing enthusiasts across the world were lending their skills to the fight against COVID-19, the lifelong Dover-Foxcroft resident thought “well, why not put my Christmas gift to good use?” So in early April he began donating 3-D printed plastic facemask holders to his hometown hospital, Northern Light Mayo Hospital.

Rachael Sickles, a senior at Dexter Regional High School, has been selected to receive the school’s 2020 Principal's Award, Principal Stephen Bell announced.  The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals' Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior's academic achievement and citizenship.

Dexter Regional High School Principal Stephen Bell is honored to announce the Valedictorian for the Class of 2020, Rachael Sickles and Salutatorian Logan Perkins.

A widely used model that projects the path of the coronavirus outbreak in each state estimates that Maine could start relaxing its social distancing rules by May 13. But that prediction includes a number of conditions that have yet to be met.

Many Maine hospitals have more critical care beds and ventilators available right now than before the coronavirus pandemic began, positioning medical providers to be able to handle an increase in critically ill patients if a surge occurs, a top hospital administrator said Wednesday.

Similarly, the Ridge View Community School that runs a school pantry program in Dexter has gone from serving 40-50 families a week to 110 and the nearby Dover-Foxcroft Area Food Cupboard has gone from serving 85 households to 140, plus an additional 10 deliveries to home-bound community members.

Whom do you and other members of your group believe deserves to be your community’s 2020 Spirit of America Foundation Tribute honoree for their help to your organization and/or other causes?

I was 12 when my family moved into the lodge on the western shore of Umsaskis Lake. The lodge sat up on a high bank overlooking the lake. My siblings and I would spend the next five summers exploring the outdoors there. As long as Mama had a general idea of where we were, we were allowed to be free range kids. We did a fair amount of canoeing, berry picking and hiking, but most of my free time in the out of doors was spent swimming and fishing off the dock in front of the lodge. We could swim or we could fish, but never at the same time. I now realize that Mama didn’t want to be digging fishhooks out of my younger brothers.