The list of those dealing with fallout from the federal government’s ongoing partial shutdown keeps growing the longer the shutdown persists.

Good morning from Augusta, where Medicaid expansion is ticking on under Gov. Janet Mills and a staff at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services that has done a 180-degree turn from the new governor’s predecessor in less than three weeks.

After a long history of being the main funding source for state government, the property tax lives on as the mainstay for every Maine city and town budget.

President Donald Trump offered to extend temporary protections for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children and those fleeing disaster zones in exchange for his long-promised border wall.

In her last Cabinet nomination, Gov. Janet Mills announced Friday afternoon that she has chosen the president of Maine Farmland Trust to head the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

The Maine Republican Party is pressuring U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to approve President Donald Trump’s wall along the southern border, a request that’s at odds with the Republican Senator’s expressed desire to end the partial federal government shutdown first.

PAWS Animal Welfare Society presents KitKat as the Pet of the Week. KitKat is a healthy

The Fort Kent Green Bean Ski Club will host its annual spaghetti fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Medical science has shown that the short days and lack of sunlight in northern latitudes can have negative physical and emotional effects on some people. In fact, seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is treated by doctors and therapists as a real and potentially life-threatening condition.

Young wordsmiths will test their skills next month when the University of Maine at Fort Kent Office of Community Education hosts the Northern District (Aroostook County) Scripps National Spelling Bee competition

The Fort Kent Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization has openings for vendors at its 6th annual Craft and Vendor Fair in early March to coincide with the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race.

All the reports that I have been hearing from all the snowmobilers are the trails are in the best shape that they have seen at this time of year. This is true from the southern reaches of The County to the Allagash and all trails in between. All the clubs have been doing an outstanding job with their respective sections of trails. The groomer operators of The County are truly the best around.

Well, we certainly saw a swift snow recovery following the big pre-Christmas thaw, with more than two feet falling at Caribou between then and the 11th of January.

As I write this, we are in the midst of week four of the government shutdown -- and while I’m hopeful that we may have reached a solution by the time you read this, the fact remains that every day of this shutdown has been completely irresponsible and unnecessary.

Last week my computer locked up in the middle of an update. My computer is my right hand.

In George Part I, you met George – a man who worked hard his whole life to provide for his family, but whose body eventually put a stop to his ability to sustain that lifestyle.

E.A. Williams cartoon for January 16, 2018.

From humble beginnings in the cool Alaskan bush, to struggling in Florida’s heat, George’s path eventually led him to Aroostook County, which he now calls home.