Sawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News

2 posts

Sawyer Loftus is an investigative reporter at the Bangor Daily News and was Maine's 2023-2024 journalist of the year.

Sawyer previously worked for Vermont Public Radio, The Burlington Free Press and VTDigger. He was also the editor-in-chief of the Vermont Cynic, the University of Vermont's independent student newspaper.

Contact Sawyer via email: moc.s1752911782wenyl1752911782iadro1752911782gnab@1752911782sutfo1752911782ls1752911782

A gif of housing images that disappear to reveal the cover page of a lawsuit.

The USDA wouldn’t let her give up her house when she couldn’t pay her mortgage. Instead, it crushed her with debt.

The USDA failed to follow its own guidance for a rural mortgage program, taking years to foreclose on delinquent loans. As a result, 55 Maine borrowers racked up, on average, $110,000 in additional debt before the agency moved to take the homes.

BySawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News

July 18, 2025

Linda Gallagher-Garcia poses for a photo.

Maine public housing tenants face eviction at high rates. A new program to keep renters housed excludes them.

A new eviction prevention program fails to protect some of Maine’s most vulnerable residents from homelessness.

BySawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News

December 12, 2024