In their inaugural season, the Hearts of Pine took Maine by storm. The USL League One soccer team sold out every home game at Fitzpatrick Stadium and set the league’s average attendance record. Each game was a unique experience because of the atmosphere created by the team’s fans. From lighting colored flares in the stands, to chanting, to forming their own band dubbed the Valentine Band, fans showed their eager support for their favorite team.
POY2025
Posted inLife & Culture, Local & State
Cooper Flagg takes the court | Year in Photos
The Maine Event. Not since Stephen King has a person put Maine on the national map at this scale. Newport native Cooper Flagg captured the attention of basketball fans nationwide with his sheer talent and performances on the court. In 2025, Flagg brought Duke to the NCAA Final Four and became the NBA No. 1 first round draft pick, scooped up by the Dallas Mavericks. He came back to Maine in August to hold a basketball camp with his brother, Ace, for young players. He has thrilled fans at home and in Texas during his games with the Mavericks and in December became the youngest player to ever score 42 points in a game. Though his team is in Texas, Mainers still regard him as The Maine Event.
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A year of protest | Year in Photos
2025 was a year of discontent for many throughout Maine. Numerous protests and rallies were held throughout the state over the course of the year, with many drawing very large crowds. Some were dubbed “No Kings” protests and were part of other national demonstrations opposing many of the policies of the Trump administration, citing the president’s abuse of power and attempts to erode democracy. Protesters’ concerns included the administration’s crackdown on immigration, federal worker layoffs by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, efforts to restrict press freedom and the rollback of environmental laws. At some of the protests, groups of counter protesters gathered to show support for President Donald Trump and his policies.
Posted inLife & Culture, Local & State
Maine fairs and festivals | Year in Photos
A collection of images from the Maine Trust for Local News photographers from agricultural fairs and community festivals throughout the state in 2025.
Posted inLife & Culture, Local & State
Mt. Blue High School prom | Year in Photos
The prom night excitement couldn’t be dampened by the cold and rainy weather on May 17, when Mt. Blue High School students lined up outside the doors of the Farmington school waiting to be let in. Once the doors opened, 321 students walked down a long hallway into the “Old Hollywood”-themed night. At a time where many schools pay to host their proms at off-site locations, Mt. Blue reversed course and began hosting it at the school again in 2019. The school leaned into the classic prom elements: a gym decorated with balloons, streamers covering the doors and students running down the hallway to the dance floor when they hear a song they love.
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Central Maine 2025 Photos of the Year
Acclaimed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange once said, “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” That speaks to the core of our job as photojournalists: within the blur of the constant motion of life, we search for moments, stopping time for an instant to reveal some character, beauty or deeper meaning. This collection of images are some moments during 2025 that are worth pausing to contemplate. We hope you appreciate viewing them as much as we enjoyed finding them.
Posted inLife & Culture, Local & State
Maine Trust for Local News 2025 Photos of the Year
In “On Photography,” a seminal collection of essays by Susan Sontag that examines the impact and meaning of photography, Sontag writes that “to collect photographs is to collect the world.” Gathering this collection of images from all the photographers of the Maine Trust for Local News, our aim is to show you a gallery that reveals glimpses of Maine, our part of the world.