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School buses, cooler nights and crunchy leaves mean that fall is here. And with it comes an important Maine tradition: the agricultural fair.

A number of the larger fairs — Litchfield, Farmington, Fryeburg, Cumberland County, the Common Ground Fair in Unity, and so many others — showcase the state's rich agricultural history in September. (Come find The Maine Monitor's tent at the Common Ground Fair!)

Ox and horse pulls announced over scratchy loudspeakers, 4-H judges inspecting nervous sheep and their even-more-nervous owners, pie baking contests, heaps of softly glowing corn, pie eating contests, perhaps the county's largest pumpkin — the fair has it all.

There are 25 fairs listed by the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs and all of them offer a different piece of our state's history — or at least a candied apple or two.

‘All emergencies are local until they’re not’: How Norridgewock is prepping for its next disaster

Like much of inland Maine, Norridgewock was isolated when rivers surged late last December. Town officials don’t want to be in that position again.

Read this story by Emmett Gartner of The Maine Monitor.

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

State officials are sounding the alarm after a horse was infected with eastern equine encephalitis, a mosquito-borne pathogen. | Kennebec Journal

Among the problems caused by last winter's torrential storms was an enormous amount of damage to the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Phillips, which reopened recently after months of volunteer labor. | Daily Bulldog

Utility companies would be banned from using ratepayer funds to pay for advertising or lobbying efforts under a proposal from Maine regulators. | Portland Press Herald

ICYMI: A transportation broker company with a pending contract to handle all MaineCare rides throughout the state is facing complaints from vulnerable riders who say they’re being left at their appointments and declined for rides without receiving the required documentation giving the reason. | The Maine Monitor

Hydroelectric dams in Maine will benefit from $34 million in federally funded upgrades, including new power generation equipment and fish ladders for dams along the Kennebec. | Maine Public

The planning board in Norway has approved a 17-unit, co-op-style apartment building on Whitman Street, following a number of meetings and hearings. | Advertiser Democrat

A total of $15.5 million in federal funding has been approved to build a new border crossing station in Coburn Gore. | Sun Journal

Commissioners in Franklin County appointed three people to serve on the Opioid Settlement Committee. | Daily Bulldog

Roughly 20 students from Bates were evacuated off a bus tilting down a steep bank in northern Oxford County this week, after a neighbor helped secure the vehicle with a chain. | Sun Journal

Our public health reporter Rose Lundy and former government accountability reporter Samantha Hogan were each awarded a 2024 Publick Occurrences accolade from the New England Newspaper & Press Association for their investigations. | The Maine Monitor

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.