This year had it all in Maine. A quirky small-town vote involving the Hells Angels, immigration raids, a partially eaten black bear and celebrity sightings on the coast.
In 2025, we declared that going “upta camp” had officially become financially out of reach for most Mainers. Unless of course you’re a mysterious new landowner who can afford to buy 1,400 acres along Moosehead Lake and then close the hiking trails to the public. You might not be able to afford a waterfront compound, but at least a motorcycle gang wasn’t gifted 14 acres in Buckfield.
The Bangor Daily News published thousands of stories this past year, but these were the most popular.
The dream of owning a rustic Maine waterfront camp is dead
For generations of Mainers, the tradition of heading “upta camp” meant escaping to a rural cabin or waterfront cottage for the weekend or week. But those properties are no longer affordable to the average person here. While the entire state is facing a housing crisis, the prices of seasonal homes with waterfront access have skyrocketed. “It used to be if you were heading up to Greenville or Jackman you could find something for around $250,000,” said Kara Bickford, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Augusta. “You can’t find that anymore, which is sad.”
US Border Patrol, Homeland Security agents raid Bangor restaurant
In June, U.S. Border Patrol and other federal agents raided Kobe Ninja House Japanese Grill in Bangor and arrested three people for what a spokesperson said were “immigration violations.” The raid came amid President Donald Trump’s immigration sweeps across the country. Two agents wearing Border Patrol vests had badges, but no badges were visible on the 10 other agents who walked out of the restaurant carrying boxes and told a Bangor Daily News reporter they work for the “federal government.”
Maine Guide and tracker recover partially eaten black bear
Lindsay Ware, a large-game blood tracker, was called in to assist in a black bear recovery in September. But what made the recovery unusual was the condition of the animal. The black bear Robinson carried out of the woods was partially eaten, with its lower limbs and much of its torso gone. Ware suspected another bear scavenged it. “It happens very rarely,” Ware said. “But we do see it once every couple of years or so.”
Northern Light surgeon removed bladder instead of ovarian cyst, lawsuit says
A Skowhegan woman filed a lawsuit in July against Inland Hospital in Waterville and Northern Light Health after a surgeon allegedly removed the woman’s bladder instead of her ovarian cyst.
After the surgery the woman was admitted to the hospital because she had “intense pain and discomfort, bloating, and trouble urinating,” the lawsuit said. After she was transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, two surgeons were unable to find her bladder wall, the lawsuit said.
This Maine town has a choice: Accept a gift of land or hand it over to the Hells Angels & Maine town rejects giving property and nearly $1M to the Hells Angels
When lifelong Buckfield resident James Jordan died in 2024 at age 80, he offered the town his nearly 14-acre property, along with $850,000 to maintain it and additional funds for scholarships. But if voters rejected the gifts, they would all go to the nearest Hells Angel chapter. Jordan didn’t have any apparent ties to the notorious motorcycle gang, but a friend guessed it was a joke to ensure the town accepted the gifts. Unsurprisingly, residents in November did overwhelmingly vote in favor of accepting them.
Rumors of a wealthy landowner swirl after Maine hiking land closes
Rumors of a super-wealthy landowner circulated in the Moosehead Lake region after a newcomer closed a prime piece of hiking land along Maine’s largest lake and began building a large waterfront home. The owner bought four parcels totaling more than 1,400 acres for $8.1 million in 2022 through two holding companies in a transaction that included Burnt Jacket Mountain and its trail system, which was closed to the public in October 2024, along with 12,000 feet of lake frontage. The new owner applied for a permit last year to build a 3,750-square-foot home in the center of a large lot. “It’s what everyone is wondering,” said Joe Babbitt, the Select Board chair in Beaver Cove, a town of just over 130 people. “There’s all kinds of gossip out there, saying it’s everyone from the sultan of Egypt to ‘insert your billionaire of choice here.’”
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani spotted on the Maine coast
Summer in Maine means more visitors of all kinds, including celebrities. Unlike most other tourists road-tripping the state’s coast, country singer Blake Shelton and pop icon Gwen Stefani had their stops documented by numerous locals, who posed for photos with the musical power couple.
A group of nine archaeologists from across New England spent 11 days in August digging two holes in Bradley. They were collecting dirt and artifact samples to carbon date in their laboratory in an effort to date an artifact found there in 1987. The artifact, projectile point that could have been used on a spear, dart or as an arrowhead, had not been precisely dated, but it was believed to be around 10,000 years old.
Canadian company says it will open in northern Maine because of tariffs
The co-owner of a Canadian fertilizer company located 3 miles from the Hamlin, Maine, border crossing said in March that the firm would set up a facility in northern Maine in 2026 because of the tariffs that went into effect that month. Grand Falls Agromart in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, imports fertilizer ingredients from the United States and then mixes in minerals to make fertilizers for specific crops like potatoes before exporting them back to Maine and elsewhere. Co-owner Danny Blanchette said the company could survive this year but that in 2026 he would need to set up a location in Maine, somewhere between Presque Isle and Van Buren.