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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We will be the first ones in the nation to cover the whole spectrum from playing with Play-Doh to actually printing a whole house.”

— Giovanna Guidoboni, interim vice president for research and dean of the Maine College of Engineering and Computing, on the K-12 learning opportunities that UMaine’s new Green Engineering and Materials Facility will offer.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Wave of high-profile murder trials are expected in Penobscot County next year. After nearly three years without one, four murder trials are scheduled for the county in 2026.

Maine set a new record for reports of tick-borne diseases in 2025. Known cases of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis all exceeded report numbers from 2024, which broke records from the year before.

Here’s how many houses sold in every Maine county this year. Maine’s real estate market sees increased home sales in 2025, with Cumberland, York and Penobscot counties leading the way.

It was a difficult year for Washington County. Things won’t let up in 2026. Washington County officials grapple with financial crisis and debt, as they seek solutions and reforms to address years of poor bookkeeping.

The delivery of Maine Maritime Academy’s new training ship has been delayed by months. During shipyard trials, the vessel had issues with its propulsion shaft and stern tube bearing. It’s now expected to arrive in February.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

In this 1986 file photo, author Stephen King, dressed in a tuxedo, feeds chicken to Bangor Daily News sportswriter Bob Haskell, who lost a bet on the Boston Red Sox. The wager, co-sponsored by the BDN, encouraged readers to donate to the Jimmy Fund for young cancer patients. Haskell, a longtime sportswriter and editor for the paper, is one of several Maine sports legends who died in 2025.  Credit: File / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

A statue of Joshua Chamberlain stands sentinel near an entrance to Bowdoin College in Brunswick on June 26, 2014, where he served as president. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

“As Mainers prepare for a new year, it is fitting to remember messages that appeal to the country’s better nature.”

Editorial: 10 inspirational quotes from Joshua Chamberlain for a new year

LIFE IN MAINE

Why this angler avoids ice fishing for brook trout. “I know it will raise some hackles when I say any brook trout is too special to haul through the ice,” Outdoors contributor Al Raychard writes.

Where to find Maine ice thickness reports this winter. The Lake Stewards of Maine maintain an ice-in and ice-out map that tracks when lakes freeze over and thaw, based on volunteer observations.

2026 birding resolutions: Bird naked or use every tool. “It wasn’t that long ago that the only identification tools available to budding birders were binoculars and a guidebook.”