Kate Cough

149 posts

Kate Cough is the editor of The Maine Monitor, previously serving as environmental reporter and enterprise editor for the newsroom.

As an eighth generation Mainer, Kate believes her responsibility as editor is deeply personal — shaping and implementing The Monitor’s coverage of the issues that matter to people, the place she calls home and where she is raising her family, is about serving her community and our future Maine. She lives in Bar Harbor.

She has received recognition from the National Headliner Awards, Maine Press Association and National Newspaper Association, among others.

Contact Kate with questions, concerns and story ideas: kate@themainemonitor.org

Language(s) Spoken: English and Italian

algae lines the shores of a body of water

How pesticides, road salt threaten Maine’s water supply

The amount of road salt being using, coupled with leaking old septic systems and an increased use of fertilizers and pesticides to kill ticks and mosquitoes and manage invasive plants, are among the greatest threats to future water supply.

ByKate Cough

January 14, 2024

map showing an area of Willard Beach in South Portland.

State readies update to dune maps, despite objections

Those in favor of updating the maps say the changes will help clarify the location of the dunes, which are at risk of erosion and submergence from flooding and sea level rise.

ByKate Cough

December 31, 2023

Rendering of how the flagpole on a cloudy day will look from across the body of water

How we reported on the world’s largest flagpole proposal

The reporting process included a three-hour interview with Rob Worcester, attending local and state hearings, and reviewing annexation records.

ByKate Cough

December 24, 2023

Trail signs attached to a wooden pole along the side of a trail.

Officials question whether mining company has the money to pull off its plans

One commissioner said the amount of money in the company’s accounts would not cover requirements for financial assurance or other concerns.

ByKate Cough

December 17, 2023

Mining rulemaking process begins; Committee rejects water bill

Rulemaking process begins amid increasing interest in mineral resources, and increasing pushback against companies wanting to dig them out of the ground.

ByKate Cough

December 3, 2023

There’s federal money to shield communities from disasters. Why isn’t Maine getting more of it?

Maine, with its thousands of miles of serpentine coastline and communities highly vulnerable to flooding and storms, would seem the perfect candidate for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants, an umbrella of awards aimed at making towns and cities more resilient to natural disasters and less reliant on federal funding when calamities do strike. But communities aren’t applying for the funding — and when they do, few are successful.

ByKate Cough

November 25, 2023

A hydroelectric dam as seen from the river.

What counts as clean energy? It depends on who you ask.

As states bump up against goals to source more clean energy, some are expanding (or narrowing) their definitions of what counts.

ByKate Cough

November 19, 2023