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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I wrote my name in as a joke. Kind of like how people write in Mickey Mouse for the president sometimes.”

— Morgan Gunnell, who won a seat on the Milford School Committee with seven write-in votes.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

On the verge of leaving office, Janet Mills becomes an anti-Trump ambassador. Mills’ family and former colleagues said she did not instigate the fight with Trump, but took it on aggressively when it came to her.

What the average Maine house price gets you in each county. The average cost of a single family home in Maine now stands at $425,000. 

He wrote his name down as a joke when no one ran for school committee. Then he won. Milford firefighter Morgan Gunnell didn’t campaign and only learned he was a contender on voting day, when a colleague said they’d written in his name.

Bangor City Hall reopens today. The updates, which include a new HVAC system, bulletproof glass for service windows and a reorganization of the building layout, cost about $10 million.

Bangor Mall owner fined $1.8 million in Pennsylvania as court case in Maine drags on. A Pennsylvania township issued 400 citations this spring against the Bangor Mall’s owners over maintenance problems at another mall they own.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Michael Whitmore stokes a fire in his blacksmithing forge using a bellows that he made himself using drawings in an old book. “I tell the young folks when they come in here, read as much as you can, learn as much you can how the old guys did it, and they’ll help you in the future,” he said. “It has me, anyway.” Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Sydney Sweeney stars in American Eagle’s latest ad campaign. Credit: Courtesy of American Eagle / AP

“This is the media world we live in today, one with at least two completely different media realities: one for ‘libs’ concerned about health, environment, democracy, and common sense, the other for Republicans apparently so addicted to ‘owning the libs’ that they allow themselves to be led by media outlets that protect the president from inquiries into his relationship with a convicted sexual offender.”

Opinion: News divide means Americans are living in two different worlds

LIFE IN MAINE

This Mainer found a purpose by keeping traditional blacksmithing alive. Michael Whitmore has made his own tools to fill his 1800s-style blacksmith shop in Hancock, where he teaches classes and gives demonstrations.

How Maine’s birds use molting to survive and thrive. “Replacing our outer covering is straightforward and routine for humans. However, this isn’t the case for birds,” Bob Duchesne writes.

Get a taste of the Maine Appalachian Trail with this incredible hike. Rising 2,447 feet above sea level, Pleasant Pond Mountain is just one of the many mountains along the Appalachian Trail.