Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, construction workers have always been in high demand, and we need them now more than ever before. We need construction workers in order to build housing, apartments, and homes -- the things that workers, families and older adults are searching for all the time across Maine.

We need skilled workers to fix our roads and bridges, to improve our infrastructure, and to build out high speed internet, and make our transportation network safe.

We need to expand the construction workforce, and this means recruiting and training more women. Women are underrepresented in this critical industry.

Nationwide, women make up only 11 percent of the construction industry. In Maine, that statistic is a little better, but not by much, where women make up only 15 percent of the construction industry.

I know a little something about being the only woman in the room, as the first woman District Attorney in New England, the first woman Attorney General of Maine, and now the first woman Governor. I didn't run for office to be the first woman in any of those positions, however, I ran because I believed I was the most qualified person for the job. There are qualified women across Maine who belong in fields dominated by men, and I want to knock down the barriers that are keeping them from pursuing good-paying jobs. So, two years ago, I signed an Executive Order to create pathways for more women to join the construction workforce. And this year, I'm proud to have declared March 1-7, 2026 as "Women in Construction Week" in order to reflect on how far we've come.

Since I signed that Executive Order for Women in Construction, my administration has worked with employers, unions, and training partners to get more than 300 women jobs in the trades, and to get more than 400 women into job training programs. These people are earning CDL licenses and other credentials to run heavy equipment and machinery, the things they need to succeed in the evolving construction industry in Maine.

Other women are following in their footsteps. In 2025, more than 300 people participated in pre-apprenticeships, and another 3,800 people took part in our apprenticeship programs, earning money and getting job experience at the same time. Well, more than 1,000 of those people were women.

Maine needs to fix our roads and bridges, to build more homes, to expand high speed internet, and to improve our transportation network. We cannot afford to leave any talented workers on the sidelines. Women are a crucial part of Maine's workforce, and they should be welcomed and embraced in every sector of our economy, including those traditionally dominated by men, including the construction industry and the trades.

So to women across Maine who are interested in a good paying job in the trades, I say: there are opportunities waiting for you.

To celebrate Women in Construction Week, the Maine Department of Labor has created a new Women in Trades page on its website to share the inspiring stories of women in Maine's construction industry, highlighting training opportunities with industry, union, and education partners, promoting networking with women led organizations, and offering resources to employers, and to connect people with job opportunities near them. You can learn more at apprenticeship.maine.gov/women-in-trades.

To businesses in the construction industry across Maine who are looking to hire: there are women waiting to fill the good-paying jobs you offer. Women in Construction Week is the perfect time to recruit those talented individuals to support your businesses.

This is Governor Janet Mills. Thank you for listening.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Well, I'm pleased to report that Maine is seeing progress in our fight against the deadly opioid epidemic. Last year, fatal overdoses were down by 20 percent statewide. That's the third year in a row that overdose deaths have dropped by double digits here in Maine. It's good news, but we know that every single overdose is a tragic and preventable loss of a valued life, and we cannot become complacent.

For the last seven years, my administration has acted responsibly to stop deadly drugs from reaching Maine in the first place, and to prevent addiction, and to treat people who are addicted to drugs, and set people on a lifelong path to recovery. Above all else, we're simply working to save lives.

We're supporting law enforcement like the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, as it interdicts illicit drugs. Last year, the MDEA seized more than 24 pounds of fentanyl, which is a leading cause of fatal overdoses.

We're providing health insurance coverage through MaineCare expansion to nearly 230,000 Maine people, with more than 69,000 individuals in that group receiving treatment for addiction since 2019.

We've distributed nearly 800,000 doses of the life-saving overdose reversal medication naloxone, and that medication has been used to reverse more than 12,000 overdoses that otherwise clearly would have been fatal.

We've established the OPTIONS program to create partnerships with behavioral health liaisons, recovery coaches, and first responders in communities across the state. These folks work together to turn lives around and get individuals into treatment after an overdose.

We increased the number of residential treatment beds, and we invested heavily in proven community recovery programs. We designated 86 businesses as recovery friendly workplaces -- businesses that employ nearly 25,000 people.

And we expanded our Good Samaritan Law to encourage people to call for life-saving help if someone is experiencing an overdose.

Look, saving a life is the highest priority. I want to do everything we can to keep people from starting down the road of addiction in the first place, but fundamentally, what we need is leadership. Leadership in every community across the state. Leadership on the part of every young person who is offered a drug to get high, a drug they're led to believe will make them popular or more accepted. The leadership and the character to say, "I'm better than that, and my life is more valuable than that." And leadership from all of us to tell that person that they are loved and valued, and that their lives are indeed far better than that.

That's how we build a better future, with strong communities and communication, and a state with endless opportunity.

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, on July 26, 1819, the citizens of Maine voted decisively in support of Maine separating from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and becoming an independent state; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress received Maine’s petition for statehood and voted affirmatively to accept Maine as the 23rd State of the United States; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Secretary of State James Monroe notified Maine that it would formally and legally be an independent state beginning on March 15, 1820; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine has long been a haven for writers, musicians, painters, sculptors, poets, dancers, folk artists, culinary artists, and creative thinkers of all kinds; and

WHEREAS, Maine enjoys a worldwide reputation for the quality, quantity, and variety of its cultural community; and

WHEREAS, Maine features a broad and significant array of historic and architecturally significant structures; and

WHEREAS, on March 17th, during the annual celebration of the Feast of Saint Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, Irish-Americans join with men, women and children of all other ethnic origins who, for one day, become Irish and celebrate Saint Patrick and the love of Ireland; and

WHEREAS, millions of Irish people emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s to escape brutal poverty and starvation due to the Irish potato famine, and most of those people came to America to start new lives and to embrace and contribute to a new land; and

WHEREAS, women make up only 15 percent of Maine’s construction industry; and

WHEREAS, as Governor, I have long advocated for more women to join traditionally male-dominated fields, including construction and the trades, and in 2024, I signed an executive order to improve the recruitment, training, and retention of women in Maine’s construction industry; and

WHEREAS, the Peace Corps stands as a lasting symbol of America’s commitment to fostering progress, creating opportunity, strengthening communities around the world, and promoting America’s global competitiveness; and

WHEREAS, since its founding in 1961, approximately 250,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 144 countries; and

WHEREAS, over the past 65 years, 2_,_015 men and women from the State of Maine have answered the call to service by joining the Peace Corps; and

WHEREAS, Senior Games are an integral part of communities throughout Maine and the United States that offer Olympic-style multi-sport competitions for adults aged 45 and up and engage over 100,000 people nationally each year; and

WHEREAS, the Maine Senior Games were first established in 1986, and today, the organization offers 20 competitive sports to both men and women with events throughout the state; and

This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

You know, it's just not enough to simply say "thank you" and pat ourselves on the back for fulfilling a promise to honor our nation's veterans. As President Kennedy once said, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

As the proud daughter, and sister, and niece of veterans, I am committed to making sure that Maine is the best state in the nation for our veterans to live, work, and raise a family. And I'm proud to have continued the annual Hire-a-Vet campaign, which has expanded Maine's workforce, and supported businesses, and improved the financial well-being of our veterans.

This campaign has successfully connected more than 2,200 veterans with good-paying jobs in Maine since its creation a decade ago, and in 2025 alone, 100 veterans and military family members were hired across every county in our state. The average hourly wage of veterans hired through the 2025 Hire-A-Vet campaign was $27.69. Employers hiring the most veterans last year included the State of Maine, Bonney Staffing, Northern Light Health, and Bath Iron Works.

So, to those employers in every county and in every industry, I just want to say thank you. I say thank you because you did not hire veterans merely out of a sense of charity or obligation. You hired Maine veterans for jobs that are at the foundation of our economy, because you recognize what we all know to be true: veterans make good employees.

Veterans know what it means to work as a team. Veterans know that they can't leave anyone behind. They know how to serve with integrity and commitment to a vision and mission, while being able to adapt and being flexible to a mission's evolving needs. Sounds like pretty good employees to me!

According to the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, there are more than 102,000 veterans in Maine. That includes thousands of working age men and women who are ready to apply the skills our businesses need to expand and modernize and succeed. Maine's Hire-A-Vet campaign is critical to making the connection between an army of workers and high-quality jobs across the state. So my administration will continue Maine's Hire-A-Vet campaign and continue our partnership with employers, big and small, with nonprofit and private organizations, to make those connections happen for more veterans in our state.

I look forward to the 2026 Hire-A-Vet campaign, and I thank Maine businesses and organizations for their enduring commitment to our honorable veterans. This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

WHEREAS, the State of Maine continues to experience an extended period of cold temperatures statewide, which has significantly increased heating demand for residences and businesses;

WHEREAS, the increased heating demand has resulted in delivery backlogs by heating fuel delivery crews statewide;

WHEREAS, the increased heating demand and delivery backlogs have resulted in propane supply chain shortages at all regional propane offloading facilities;