QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We were freaking out. We were jumping around like little kids.”

— Fabian Corriveau Jr. recalling helping his friend Caleb Merrill pull up an 8-pound 27-inch brown trout opening day of ice fishing in Oxford County.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Maine broke its tick-borne disease record in 2024. Lyme disease cases rose to 3,218 from last year’s 2,943, which had broken the previous record.

Voter ID backers want to get their referendum on Maine’s 2025 ballot. Organizers said Thursday that they have more than 170,000 signatures from voters, more than the roughly 67,000 they needed.

A historic Deer Isle inn built in the 1790s has a new owner. The Pilgrim’s Inn was listed for more than $2.2 million, but the sale price has not been publicly disclosed.

Maine’s latest cosmic light show is late. Every 80 years, two stars tangle with each other causing a runaway thermonuclear reaction bright enough to see from Maine. The problem is, scientists don’t know exactly when it will happen.

UMaine men’s hockey is hosting defending NCAA champ Denver this weekend. The Black Bears bring a 12-game Alfond Arena unbeaten streak into the hotly anticipated battle.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

A short-eared owl chases a harrier hawk off its hunting grounds. The two birds hunt in the same types of territory. This time the owl won. Credit: Courtesy of Bob Duchesne

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin stand in front of the billowing national flags of the U.S., Egypt and Israel, as the national anthems are played before the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt at the White House in Washington on March 26, 1979. Credit: File / AP

“In addition to a day of mourning and a month of lowered flags, we can honor Jimmy Carter’s legacy by making 2025 a year of peacemaking.”

Editorial: Make 2025 a year of peacemaking in honor of Jimmy Carter

LIFE IN MAINE

A Greenwood man landed an 8-pound brown trout. “It was the biggest fish I’ve ever seen come through the ice,” Caleb Merrill said Thursday.

These are the owls that come to Maine and their hangouts. “The first clue you’re watching a short-eared owl is when you see a hawk-sized bird floating in air, drifting slowly over a frozen marsh or field, hunting.”

Save your coffee grounds if you don’t want to slip on your icy walkway. Your woodstove ash, too.