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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Campaigns now have to generate content continuously … People sometimes have a knee-jerk reaction that every politician is trying to manipulate. That’s not necessarily true — they’re often trying to educate and you can use AI to generate content that’s engaging and educating, so [voters] are better equipped to make decisions.”

— Mark Brewer, who chairs the University of Maine’s political science department, on the use of artificial intelligence by Maine candidates.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Maine campaigns are ramping up AI use to reach and persuade voters. Voters across Maine should be on the lookout for AI-generated photos, videos, games and automated outreach efforts as November approaches.

A house that’s falling into the Penobscot River has been stuck in years-long wait for FEMA funding. The longer the county waits for the funding, the greater the possibility becomes of the house collapsing into the river.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

A double-stacked stone wall at Woodlawn in Ellsworth shows the land was once a crop field. New England has more than 250,000 miles of these fences, according to author and retired professor Tom Wessels, who helps people “read” forests to discover the history often hidden in plain sight in nature. Credit: Elizabeth Walztoni / BDN

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

Visitors atop Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park on Oct. 11, 2025. Credit: Esta Pratt-Kielley / Maine Public

“When property owners ignore maintenance, they aren’t saving money — they’re simply postponing costs and making them worse.”

Opinion: Maintaining public lands is good business for our state

LIFE IN MAINE

The easiest way to identify birds? Start by ruling them out. “First, don’t blindly trust books, apps or yourself. Books mislead, apps misidentify and people make mistakes. Forgive them all, especially yourself,” Bob Duchesne writes.

If you want to catch more trout, start by understanding these three bugs. A hatch of these insects might last for minutes or hours a day, over several days or a week, sending trout into a feeding frenzy, Outdoors contributor Bob Romano explains.