Maine

Skijor circuit kicks off in Bangor

Published

4 days ago

January 31, 2026

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – Saturday saw the first round of Maine’s skijor circuit, kicking off in Bangor and featuring 44 professional and novice teams.

This marks the Queen City’s second year hosting one of Maine’s three races. It was brought in by Skijor Bangor organizer Jodi MacGregor.

“When Skowhegan started it, I was there at the very first one and fell in love with it. I think 10-ish years ago, and they have just built on it,” recounts MacGregor. “Topsham picked it up five or six years ago, and then I came on board to make it a circuit so we could do a Triple Crown.”

Skijoring, or having a reindeer or horse pull you on skis, originally came out of Central Asia thousands of years ago. Derived from the Norwegian word snörekjöring, the practice was first used as a mode of transportation.

Nowadays, it has transformed into a highly competitive equestrian sport.

“With the horse and rider pulling a skier, it’s an 1,000 foot track,” MacGregor describes. “Pros have to navigate gates and jumps and grab rings around the down the track and go over rollers at the end.”

Horseback rider Brighton Sawyer summarizes the sport as “where the horsepower meets the hang time!”

For participants saddled up or strapped in skis, the experience can be described as “pure adrenaline.”

“It’s really kind of cool because it does bring two communities together, right?” comments skier Matt Lush. “So, you got the horse community, you got the skiing community.”

Orono resident Zoe Maltese says this is her first year skijoring.

“I’ve been skiing and riding horses my whole life. It’s like the perfect sport for me, you know?” Maltese explains. “It’s both of them, both the things I love and it’s just super cool.”

On frigid days like Saturday, skijoring brings the community together, giving people a reason to celebrate the season.

Despite the low temperatures, Saturday’s skijor competition saw a high attendance.

“Because it’s something different,” MacGregor cites for the excitement. “And in the middle of the winter, I think at this point, people want to get outside and get some fresh air and get off the couch, so, and it’s exciting to watch!”

Whether it be cheering on successful ring grabs and jumps or supporting skiers who fall, Lush says it’s the high energy horsepower that rev crowds up.

“Mainers are hardy people. They want to get out and they want to have fun,” comments Lush. “They want to see something kind of crazy, and that’s what we’re giving them!”

MacGregor adds that the creation of the circuit not only brings the sport of skijor to more places, but it also elongates the season for competitors.

The skijor spree is just getting started in Maine!

Next week, the circuit moves to Topsham.

The week after will see the Triple Crown, hosted at Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

Source link

Related Topics:Featured poll question and results.

Click to comment

Maine

Snow showers on tap for Maine on Wednesday before a blast of arctic air, more snow chances

Published

4 hours ago

February 4, 2026

Press Room

Snow showers on tap for Maine on Wednesday before a blast of arctic air, more snow chances

PORTLAND (WGME) — Scattered snow showers return to the forecast on Wednesday ahead of a major cool-down coming up this weekend.

Wednesday planner.{ }(WGME)

A weak system is set to swing through the area on Wednesday bringing clouds and some scattered snow showers.

High temperatures on Wednesday will run in the upper 20s and low 30s.

Scattered snow showers.{ }(WGME)

Scattered snow showers will be in the area around late morning through the early afternoon.

Not everyone will receive a snow shower. There will be little to no accumulation, however.

Weekend planner.{ }(WGME)

By Thursday, we will turn brighter with highs sinking to the 20s.

A weak clipper will approach from our west late on Friday bringing more clouds to the area.

Snow chances this weekend.{ }(WGME)

A round of snow is expected at this time late Friday night through Saturday morning.

There is a possibility of an inverted trough to set up then, which will be difficult to forecast where it will set up.

Cold weekend ahead.{ }(WGME)

The bigger weather story this weekend will be a blast of cold, arctic air Saturday afternoon into all day Sunday.

Very cold wind chills late Saturday through Sunday.{ }(WGME)

Wind chills into the negative 20s and possible close to -30 degrees, specifically late Saturday into the day on Sunday.

Windy Saturday and Sunday.{ }(WGME)

There will be a gusty northwesterly wind up to 30 MPH as of midweek.

Next 8 to 14 days in the Northeast will experience above-normal temperatures according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.{ }(WGME)

On a more positive note, an above-normal temperature trend could possibly take over the Northeast for February 11 – 17. Stay tuned.

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Do you have any weather questions? Email our Weather Authority team at weather@wgme.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Source link

Maine

Police Blotter: Brockton murder suspects apprehended in Maine

Published

16 hours ago

February 3, 2026

Press Room

Police Blotter: Brockton murder suspects apprehended in Maine

Two suspects in a Brockton murder were arrested in Lewiston, Maine, on Monday, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.

Both suspects had been fugitives for months, the DA’s office said in a statement.

Michael Thompson, 35, faces a first degree murder charge while Dayana Slade, 25, was charged with accessory after the fact in connection to the killing of 40-year-old Mike Jonas.

Thompson allegedly shot Jonas following an altercation on September 23, 2025, the statement said, and was then seen on surveillance footage leaving the area of the shooting with Slade and another woman in a car.

Thompson and Slade are expected to be arraigned in the coming days.

Former Gloucester cop sentenced for child porn

A former Gloucester police officer was sentenced to four years in federal prison on a child porn charge.

Alexander Aiello, 34, was sentenced at the end of January after pleading guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in October, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office.

Following his prison sentence, Aiello will have five years of supervised release.

“On several occasions in 2024 and 2025, Aiello accessed a website on the dark web that was dedicated to downloading, viewing, advertising and distributing [child sexual abuse materials],” the statement said.

Law enforcement had searched Aiello’s residence in April 2025 where they said found an encrypted thumb drive that contained more than two hundred files of child porn.

Incident Summary

BPD responded to 286 incidents in the 24-hour period ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the department’s incident log. Those included arrests for one robbery, four aggravated assaults, three commercial burglaries, 18 larcenies, and four auto thefts.

Arrests

All of the below-named defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

— Jazmine Scott, 11 Page St., Dorchester. Shoplifting more than $100 by asportation.

— Rafael Canderlario, 49 St. Germaine St., Quincy. Distributing a Class B drug.

— Roque Rosario, 11 Cortes St., Boston. Possession of a Class B drug.

— Eduardo Rosario-Quinones, 291 Eustis St., Roxbury. Possession of a Class B drug.

— Danyell Hardy, 15 Frawley St., Roxbury. Assault and battery.

— Matthew Hennigan, 41 Mountain Ave., Norwood. Possession of a Class A drug.

— Tyler Jones, no address listed. Warrant arrest.

— Victor Santana, 2 Arion St., Dorchester. Distributing a Class B drug.

— Dayna Ram, 160 Westminster St., Hyde Park. Uninsured motor vehicle.

— Carlos Diaz Sarmiento, 58 Revere Beach Pkwy., Chelsea. Operating a motor vehicle with suspended license.

— Kimberly Burnett, 38 Browning Ave., Dorchester. Assault and battery.

— Trahern Combs, 170 Norfolk St., Dorchester. Distributing a Class A drug.

— Robert Guerra-Taylor, 34 Moultrie St., Dorchester. Shoplifting more than $100 by asportation.

— Chukwuma Ajene, 130 Hamilton St., Dorchester. Shoplifting by concealing merchandise.

— Rebecca Spencer, 150 Draper St., Dorchester. Shoplifting more than $250 by asportation.

— Damari Evans, 11 Abbotsford St., Roxbury. Trespassing.

— Julio Hordequint Lugo, 670 Columbia St., Dorchester. Uninsured motor vehicle.

— Santo Lara, 1865 Columbus Ave., Roxbury. Uninsured motor vehicle.

— Jude Bernardin, 31 Woolson St., Mattapan. Uninsured motor vehicle.

— Erick Conroy, 112 Southampton St., Boston. Trespassing.

Source link

Maine

Maine Water staff donate coats to help communities stay warm

Published

1 day ago

February 3, 2026

Press Room

Maine Water employees once again came together to support local communities by collecting and donating more than 140 winter coats this season.

Maine Water’s Coats for Kids program is an employee-funded program to purchase brand new coats for families in need this winter. This year, employees’ contributions purchased 146 new winter coats, according to Maine Water, in a news release.

“Our dedicated water professionals, who live and work in the very Maine communities we serve, once again showed they are as passionate about contributing to the quality of life in our communities as they are about delivering high-quality water to our customers each and every day,” said Maine Water President Mark Vannoy. “Since starting the initiative, our teams helped more than 1,300 people stay a little warmer through the cold, Maine winters.”

The coats were distributed to the following organizations:

Homeless Liaison for BD/Saco/Dayton schools
Thomaston Grammar School
Owls Head Community School
Union Elementary School
Warren Community School
Skowhegan School
Seeds Of Hope
Knox County Homeless Coalition
Bucksport – Pastor Remick

Maine Water employees stretch the donated funds by shopping off-season and at clearance sales, according to Maine Water. Shopping for 2026 will begin in a few weeks. Since beginning in 2013, Maine Water employees have donated more than 1,300 coats in its communities.

Maine Water is a public water utility regulated by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The company owns 12 public water systems engaged in the collection, treatment and distribution of drinking water for homes, businesses and fire protection service to more than 32,000 customers in 21 Maine towns.

Source link