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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s like a treasure hunt … It’s like finding gold out in the forest.”
— Lagrange fungi farmer Magan Mishio, who found her first patch of wild black morel mushrooms last week after years of fruitless searching.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Feds join probe of deadly Searsmont lumber mill disaster. The state fire marshal’s office called in ATF investigators to help determine what caused the Searsmont fire and explosion.
Maine mushroom foragers find treasures in the woods after last year’s disappointments. They say they’re seeing early signs of an abundant spring season, as climate change shifts how mushrooms fruit in the future.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Susan Collins says Iran war should be authorized by Congress or ended
- Maine Republicans point fingers over anonymous website attacks
- Fact-checking JD Vance’s and Janet Mills’ dueling statements on healthcare fraud
- It’s peak moose collision season in Maine. Here’s what to know.
- Five Below opened new Bangor store Sunday
- No injuries reported in early-morning fire in Brewer
- Grant contest aims to boost self-reliant businesses in East Grand region
- Federal judge overturns part of Bar Harbor’s cruise ship ban
- Former Bar Harbor state rep loses law license after misusing client funds
- Body of missing paddleboarder found in Ellsworth lake
- Listen: Searsmont fire chief describes lumber yard explosion
- 10 injured in Searsmont explosion still hospitalized
- Hundreds honor fallen firefighter killed in Searsmont lumber yard disaster
- Fire unfolded at business that has been part of Maine’s forest industry ‘since forever’
- UMaine basketball coaches support NCAA tourney expansion but unsure of its impact
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“Our children love Maine as much as we do, but they are struggling to find a path to build a life here.”
Opinion: I support Jonathan Bush because I hope the next generation can also come home to Maine
LIFE IN MAINE
I went on my first bear hunt in 1977. Two years later, Maine ended spring bear hunting. “I didn’t kill a bear that first day, but I did learn two important things that I have carried with me ever since.”
The simple trick that makes bird songs easier to recognize. “The most important thing to know is that most of the sound comes from just a handful of birds.”
Go back in time by hiking along this old Bar Harbor railway. “Spanning Point Road and Old Route 1 in Hancock, the trail travels through a lovely forest of oaks, maples, balsam firs and other trees.”
What are those beautiful neon pink slime balls in the Maine woods? Slime molds aren’t fungi or lichens. They’re single-celled organisms that move around, similar to an amoeba.
