Maine
A dancing lobster, Chuck Norris, and lots of trees: Take a look at the rejected Maine flag designs – The Boston Globe
Created by Gardiner architect Adam Lemire, the design beat out entries from nearly every state (and abroad), ranging from the “clearly not serious,” as one person put it, to the more elaborate.
In November, residents will decide whether they want to make Lemire’s design the official state flag in a statewide ballot measure.
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows organized the contest this summer after the state Legislature passed “An Act to Restore the Former State of Maine Flag” last year.
The legislation held that the redesign “must be buff, charged with the emblem of the state, a pine tree proper, in the center, and the North Star, a mullet of 5 points, in blue in the upper corner.”
The contest and upcoming referendum follows years of debate and attempts by lawmakers to readopt the original flag, Bellows said.
Many have criticized the current state flag, which replaced the first after eight years, saying it is too crowded and bears too many similarities to others, such as Vermont’s. The same color blue as the American flag, it features the state coat of arms, a pine tree flanked by a farmer and a seaman, and the motto “Dirigo,” meaning, “I lead,” in Latin.
Since Maine’s bicentennial in 2020, the old-school design has seen a resurgence in popularity — appearing on items such as tees and tote bags, as well as a simpler version on flags created by the Maine Flag Company in Portland.
“When you drive the coast of Maine, you will often see, waving at people’s dooryards, flags with a pine tree and a North Star,” Bellows said. “That’s a nod to our heritage, but also a design that a lot of Mainers just think is cool.”
Yet like many issues nowadays, whether to replace the flag has become a proxy for the culture wars, with those favoring the status quo — mostly Republicans — bemoaning fading traditions.
(Massachusetts has also tried — and failed — to replace its own controversial flag.)
But Bellows, whose office was charged with approving a model design that she will send to the state’s National Guard to use for official purposes, said she doesn’t see it that way.
“In these challenging times, people are really seeking community. Our symbols, like our state flag, bring people together. The decision on Question 5 … is a question without politics,” she said. “It’s really one of personal taste and design. It’s a fun question that brings some community and identity and unity, potentially, to our state.”
Her office initially considered a longer process for the flag redesign, as Minnesota and Utah have done, but opted for the contest given the tight deadline with the referendum, she said.
The proposed designs varied from the “very serious to the amusing,” she said.
Moose, lobsters, pine cones, the Maine coastline, and yes, Norris of “Walker, Texas Ranger” fame (but no immediately apparent connection to the state) were among the unsuccessful designs.
The “most fun” designs were those “clearly done by kids,” Bellows said.
“It made me so happy that there were some kids who wanted to participate,” she said. “I sent a thank-you note to everyone who participated via email, and one of the Moms wrote back and said, ‘My 10-year-old son is a budding vexillologist. He loves flags.’ And that just made me so happy.”
Bellows and her team selected 10 finalists, which were brought to an advisory panel that included Democratic and Republican lawmakers and community advisors. They used software to see how the designs would look as flags waving in the wind and as small lapel pins. In the end, Lemire’s design emerged victorious.
He told Bellows that his final design was based on an Eastern white pine in Augusta’s Viles Arboretum that he saw while taking walks with his son.
He worked on it for a while and submitted it as his wife was in labor, Bellows said.
“Her due date happened to coincide with our deadline for the flag design contest,” she said. “So it was really delightful to meet him and his partner.”
A future nursery decoration, perhaps? “I think so for sure,” Bellows said with a laugh.
Take a look at all of the rejected submissions:
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
HARPSWELL (WGME) — The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office says a person was hospitalized after a shed fire Wednesday night.
Firefighters were called to 23 Smokehouse Road in Harpswell for a shed fire around 7 p.m.
Crews quickly put out the fire and kept it from spreading into the woods.
An unhoused person who had been living in the shed suffered burns and smoke inhalation.
They were taken to Maine Medical Center for treatment.
Investigators believe the fire may have been electrical in nature.
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The fire remains under investigation.
Three tornadoes have been confirmed across New England so far in 2026, and remarkably, all of them have occurred in Vermont.
Two of those tornadoes touched down during severe thunderstorms on June 18, when a potent weather system swept across the region.
Vermont tornadoes in 2026 (WGME).
The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Lincoln with peak winds of 105 mph and another EF-1 tornado in Woodstock with winds reaching 100 mph.
Earlier this spring, an EF-1 tornado struck Williamstown on April 16 with estimated winds of 90 mph.
This week’s Climate Chronicles question comes from Kate:
With severe weather last week, how often do we actually see tornadoes touch down in Maine?
Maine tornado activity (WGME).
Historically, Maine averages about two tornadoes each year, with most occurring between June and August.
Most storms develop during the late afternoon and early evening, typically between 3 and 9 p.m., when hours of sunshine have heated the ground and created the instability needed for thunderstorms to form.
The last confirmed tornado to touch down in Maine was in 2023.
Average amount of tornadoes that touch down in each New England state per year (WGME).
Massachusetts and Connecticut also average about two tornadoes per year, with many occurring across the flatter terrain of western portions of both states.
In Massachusetts, the broad Connecticut River Valley stretching through Springfield has earned the nickname “New England’s Tornado Alley” due to its history of tornado activity.
Vermont, on the other hand, typically averages just one tornado annually. With three confirmed tornadoes already in 2026, the state has already exceeded its yearly average by two, making this an unusually active year for tornadoes in the Green Mountain State.
Maine’s tornado history (GoSanAngelo, WGME).
Since 1950, Maine has recorded 140 tornadoes. None have been rated stronger than an EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, the system used to classify tornado intensity based on the damage they cause.
Unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not assigned ratings while they are occurring. Instead, National Weather Service survey teams assess damage after the storm has passed, examining impacts to homes, buildings, trees, and other structures.
From that damage, meteorologists estimate the tornado’s wind speeds and assign an EF rating ranging from EF0 to EF5.
While Maine has experienced its share of tornadoes over the decades, the state has never recorded a violent EF4 or EF5 tornado.
Do you have any weather questions? Email our Weather Authority team at weather@wgme.com. We’d love to hear from you!
PORTLAND — Perhaps the June Swoon is over for the Portland Hearts of Pine.
A flurry of second-half activity Wednesday night resulted in four goals and a much-needed 5-1 USL League One victory against the Richmond Kickers that had fans buzzing with feel-good frenzy at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
Ollie Wright scored the go-ahead goal on a header off a great cross from Jaden Jones-Reilly in the 57th minute. In short order, Konstantinos Georgallides and Aboubacar Camara each added a goal, and then Camara got a second late in extra time.
Diego Gonzalez, playing his third game with Portland, added friskiness to the midfield and opened the scoring with a header in the first half. He also assisted on Camara’s first goal with a slick through pass.
Portland had lost four straight games, including three in a row in USL1. The Hearts are now 4-5-5 in league play and moved from 13th to 10th in the 17-team league, just three points out of the eight-team playoff picture.
It was a dramatic reversal from Portland’s most recent game, a 5-1 loss at Westchester SC on Friday that was shown live back in Portland at an open-air setting in Monument Square.
PREVIOUSLY IN JUNE
When the month of May ended with a gritty home win against Spokane, Portland was 3-2-4 in league play and overcoming injuries.
June has not been as kind. Portland entered Wednesday’s game on a four-game losing streak. Digging into the numbers, the skid looked even worse.
It was the first time the Hearts had lost four straight games in their brief year-and-a-half history. They were outscored 15-5 in that stretch, and 15-3 starting with the two extra-time goals they allowed in a 3-2 loss at Corpus Christi.
Portland had also lost three straight against USL League One games for the first time.
Two of the four losses were ugly 5-1 affairs. Portland didn’t lose by more than three goals and had just four losses by two or more goals in 2025.
RETURNS AND NOTES
Portland was glad to have Mikey Lopez back on the game-day roster. Lopez, who had bene out more than month because of an injury, entered as a 75th-minute sub with Portland leading 4-1. … Sean Vinberg, one of Portland’s primary starting center backs in 2025, became the second former Hearts player to return to Fitzpatrick, wearing the captain’s band for Richmond. Vinberg was released at the end of the 2025 season. He made 33 starts for Portland, second most on the team. … Maine Gatorade High School Soccer Players of the Year Finn Coburn (Scarborough) and Noelle Mallory (Cape Elizabeth) handled the honorary coin toss before the match.
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