A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.
Happy Tuesday.
Summer is quickly coming to a close — fall is only three weeks away! — and maybe it’s finally hitting you that your ambitious plans came to naught. After all, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
But then we all have such good excuses: too little time, too tired, and on and on.
On Monday, 91-year-old Dale Sanders, aka Grey Beard, put us all to shame, reclaiming the title of the oldest person to complete a thru-hike of the nearly 2,200-mile-long Appalachian Trail. Sanders spent six months training, and over the course of his hike, fell 71 times, including one just 200 yards from the summit of Katahdin. At one point, he even considered giving up, but Sanders’ wife convinced him to keep pushing.
Sanders had just one critique of himself after the journey: “I feel that I should probably be in better shape than I am.” Of course, Sanders gives himself grace, because he is, after all, 91.
And if you need any more convincing that all you need is gumption and perseverance to achieve your goals, remember that a 10-year-old also completed a full hike of the Appalachian Trail this year.
So, what are you waiting for?
Greater Bangor towns are struggling to get enough candidates to run for public office
Maybe it’s the threat of getting wrung out on social media, a shift in thinking after the pandemic, or just a lack of free time. Whatever the case, officials in Bangor-area towns aren’t seeing as many candidates for public office as they used to.
“I hear from people saying they don’t want to put themselves out there,” Orono Town Council Chair Dan Demeritt said, noting that social media can be “hard on local officials.”
The trend isn’t fatal yet — most area races will have at least one name on the ballot — but a lack of options doesn’t bode well for election turnout and public engagement.
Bangor is a notable exception. The City Council currently has its biggest candidate pool in more than 40 years.
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From the Opinion Page
“Here in Maine, a record 4,200 cases were reported in 2025, more than three times the number reported in 2020.”
Opinion: With tick-borne illnesses surging, we must strengthen research, prevention, and education