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Good morning:
I returned to my desk on Tuesday after several months on maternity leave. Thank you to Deputy Editor Stephanie McFeeters for her excellent leadership while I was away. And thank you to Erin Rhoda, who joined Stephanie as interim deputy editor in September. I am delighted to announce that Erin will staying on with The Monitor as a deputy editor. She brings a wealth of expertise to our newsroom, and we are thrilled to have her on the team!
It feels fitting, having just returned from having a baby in a rural area (our labor and delivery unit closed midway through my pregnancy, forcing me to deliver at another hospital), that we have a deeply-reported story by Emily Hedegard on what happened when a labor turned dangerous in Patten, a small town on the outskirts of Baxter State Park. The closest hospital — 40 minutes away — had stopped delivering babies the month before.
The big news this week, of course, was a surge in Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in the state. The Monitor team was out on the streets, reporting on ICE detentions and activity, including an incident in Portland in which agents detained a civil engineer from Colombia after smashing his car window, leaving the vehicle running in the street.
We’ve also got great pieces on why people love one of Maine’s most isolated frontier towns and an outlook on a few key forest pests and diseases in Maine for 2026.
As always, we welcome tips and story ideas. If you see or hear anything you think we should follow up on, please get in touch.
—Kate |
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Her labor turned dangerous. The closest hospital had just stopped delivering babies.
Paramedics asked the rural hospital for help anyway. Its initial answer was no.
Read this story by Emily Hedegard |
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Masked agents detain civil engineer in Portland, leave his car running in the street with a smashed window: The man is in the country on a work visa after receiving a master’s degree at UMaine, his colleagues said. Read this story by Rose Lundy and Josh Keefe |
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Mother of 4 detained in Portland as immigration enforcement ramps up in Maine: Agents followed the woman home after she dropped off a child at school, a daughter said. Read this story by Rose Lundy |
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An immigration lawyer or an ICE supporter? In the end, Lewiston council picked neither for open seat: On Tuesday, officials representing Maine’s second largest city chose a youth counselor to serve on the council instead, after a long and heated public meeting where tensions about ICE filtered into the debate. Read this story by Josh Keefe |
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The outlook for 6 forest pests and diseases in Maine: Deep freezes in 2023 and 2024 provided relief for some of Maine’s most preyed-on tree species. Will that continue in 2026? Read this story by Emmett Gartner |
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There’s ‘nothing’ in this isolated corner of Maine, and that’s why people like it: Moose River, which is north of Jackman and lies closer to Quebec City than Portland, may be Maine’s most isolated frontier town. Read this story by Daniel O'Connor of The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News |
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Note: Monitor Local publishes stories on Downeast and Western Maine every Saturday. Here are two highlights from this weekend. For more, visit our website. |
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Emergency bill to let towns, counties file for bankruptcy protection garners little support: The Maine County Commissioners Association and the Maine Municipal Association testified against the bill Wednesday, citing concerns that interest rates could rise if banks get nervous about lending. Read this story by Judith Meyer |
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Farmington weighs $5.9 million budget in shift to fiscal year: Voters to decide in March on a six‑month transition budget as the town shifts from a calendar year to a fiscal year to align with other governments. Read this story by Ben Hanstein |
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ICE activity increases in Maine as anxiety grows in immigrant communities: Maine is seeing an increase in immigration enforcement activity this week. The state’s secretary of state has responded by declining to issue more undercover license plates for federal immigration officers. Read this story by Patrick Whittle and Rodrique Ngowi of the Associated Press |
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Why it’s hard to figure out where Maine immigrants go after ICE arrests them: ICE detainees are often moved quickly out of state, with one Maine immigrant getting to Massachusetts before winning a court order that blocked such a transfer. Read this story by Sawyer Loftus of the BDN |
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ICE is keeping Maine’s Congressional Delegation in the dark about its operations in the state: “How is it you have time to talk to Fox News but you can’t explain to members of Congress exactly what’s going on?” Rep. Chellie Pingree said. Read this story by Torrie Herrington of NOTUS for The Maine Monitor |
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The working immigrants caught up in Donald Trump’s crackdown on Maine: The focus on Maine has brought the might of the federal government down on a state with one of the smallest immigrant populations in the country. Read this story by Callie Ferguson of the BDN |
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Court records raise doubts that ICE is detaining the ‘worst of the worst’ in Maine: Court records show some were violent felons. But they also show other detainees with unresolved immigration proceedings or who were arrested but never convicted of a crime. Read this story by Patrick Whittle, Holly Ramer and Leah Willingham of the AP |
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‘A lawless force’: Democratic candidates criticize deportation surge in Maine: Trump’s ‘Operation Catch of the Day’ injects immigration into Maine politics. Read this story by Torrie Herrington of NOTUS for The Maine Monitor |
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Mills demands data on immigration arrests as fear spreads amid enforcement surge: Maine’s Democratic governor has challenged federal immigration officials to provide arrest warrants, real-time numbers and information about detainees amid a sweeping enforcement operation in the state. Read this story by Patrick Whittle, Rodrique Ngowi and Leah Willingham of the AP |
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ICE detainees are being removed from the Portland jail: It is unclear whether the federal government or Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce’s office initiated the removals. Read this story by Sawyer Loftus and Callie Ferguson of the BDN |
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Judge orders ICE to say why it detained Maine immigrant at routine check-in: An Angolan man whose lawyer said he was picked up during a routine immigration check-in is the first immigrant to challenge their detention since an enforcement surge began in Maine. Read this story by Sawyer Loftus of the BDN |
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‘We know you live right here,’ ICE agents tell Maine woman who followed them: The confrontation was condemned by Westbrook’s mayor and came after parents blew whistles and honked horns at an agent who was parked at a school bus stop. Read this story by Callie Ferguson of the BDN |
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Bangor police investigate property manager who reportedly owes landlords thousands: It represents a major development in the effort by clients to recoup money from Roland “Chip” Foss, who shuttered his company last year. Read this story by Callie Ferguson of the BDN |
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The Monitor, MCPIR announce trio of personnel moves
The moves include the hiring of a director of finance and operations and an additional editor.
Read this story |
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Have feedback or a correction to send to Kate Cough? Send it to her directly via email: kate@themainemonitor.org.
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. |
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