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Three reporters are joining the Sun Journal news group, covering education, northern Franklin County and sports.

Emily Duggan, previously the education reporter for the Central Maine newspapers, has shifted to coverage for the Sun Journal, where she will stay on the education beat with a focus on Lewiston and Auburn schools.

Duggan brings with her years of experience covering Maine school districts. In that time, she has reported extensively on the rising influence of conservative parental-rights groups, including a six-month investigation that identified a widespread effort to remake public education funded by prominent Republican donors.

“Emily has shown the ability to take the complex issues facing our schools and tell readers what they need to know,” said Ben Bragdon, the Sun Journal managing editor. “She also excels at holding school officials accountable. We’re excited to have her on board covering two of the state’s largest districts.”

Prior to Central Maine, Duggan interned at the Portland Press Herald and freelanced for the Granite State News Collective. She graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire, where she was a news editor and staff writer for The New Hampshire.

Quentin Blais has been hired as the new community reporter for the Rangeley Highlander, part of the Sun Journal’s group of biweekly papers. Blais will cover the northern Franklin County towns of Rangeley, Carrabassett Valley, Strong, Kingfield, New Vineyard and others, as well as focusing on the many recreation opportunities the area has to offer, like Sugarloaf and Saddleback ski areas and the abundant trails, rivers and forests across the region. He will also write the weekly Rangeley Now newsletter.

Blais, who will start Feb. 17, comes from the Chicago area, and is a 2025 graduate of DePaul University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a photography minor.

Blais was a staff photographer and writer for The DePaulia, his college’s student newspaper, a freelancer reporter for The Rockford Register Star, and an editor for The Marengo-Union Times. Blais comes from a family of journalists — his family ran the Marengo-Union Times for years before it shut down during the pandemic. Since November, he has helped lead successful efforts to get that paper up and running again.

“We’re thrilled to be adding Quentin to the Western Maine group of community reporters,” said Scott Monroe, managing editor of the Maine Trust for Local News. “The Rangeley area deserves strong, on-the-ground reporting, and Quentin’s hire shows we’re continuing to invest in important local coverage.”

In addition, Jimmy James recently started as a staff writer with the sports department. James will play a major role in covering sports in Auburn, Lewiston and beyond, according to Varsity Maine Editor Lee Horton.

James is from Maryland and is a recent graduate of the University of Richmond. He has some ties to Maine, as his parents met at Bates College and other family live in southern Maine.

“I recognized pretty quickly Jimmy is loaded with curiosity and has an interest in storytelling, and I think that’s a great combination for a journalist,” Horton said. “He also puts thought into the way he tells stories. Jimmy has a good-tempered and contagious personality. He’s smart but still accessible. He also has a can-do attitude and is eager to work.”

The Maine Trust for Local News, which is owned by the nonprofit National Trust for Local News, is the parent company of the Sun Journal, as well as the Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal in Augusta and Morning Sentinel in Waterville, among other publications.

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