Steve Collins

Columnist

Steve Collins became an opinion columnist for the Maine Trust for Local News in April of 2025. A journalist since 1987, Steve has worked for daily newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Maine and served as the State House reporter for the Sun Journal since 2016. The Maine Press Association named him Maine's Journalist of the Year in 2022. Among his other awards are the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2016 Ethics in Journalism Award, the I.F. Stone Whistle-Blower Award in 2015 and the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. Steve is a founder and board president of Youth Journalism International, a charity that teaches students around the globe about news writing, media literacy and issues of the day. His wife, Jackie Majerus, serves as its executive director. Born in Massachusetts, he grew up in a military family that took him to Norway, Ohio and Virginia, where he earned a degree in history from the University of Virginia. He and Jackie live in Auburn. They have two adult children, two collies and not enough time.

Maine, Nation & World, Politics

Maine’s Democratic representatives criticize Republican moves in U.S. House

by Steve Collins January 12, 2023January 13, 2023

Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree opposed a number of measures pushed by the new congressional majority.

Business, Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, Schools and Education

Worried about rising costs, Bates College plans budget cuts

by Steve Collins January 9, 2023January 9, 2023

College says its finances remain strong, but ‘serious challenges’ are looming.

Maine

Former Franklin County prosecutor suspended from legal practice for 9 months

by Steve Collins December 9, 2022December 9, 2022

Kayla Alves had already pleaded guilty in federal court to tampering with possible evidence.

Lewiston-Auburn, Maine, Politics

Fresh off election victory, Golden again bucks Biden over deal to avert rail strike

by Steve Collins December 2, 2022December 2, 2022

The Lewiston Democrat said imposing railroad pact by legislation was ‘premature.’

Maine

‘No hunting ground left — the moose, the deer and beaver are all gone’

by Steve Collins November 27, 2022November 26, 2022

A newly discovered 1839 letter spotlights the poverty and powerlessness of a Penobscot Nation trying to survive.

Election 2022, Lewiston-Auburn, Politics

Brakey’s win in state Senate race confirmed by recount

by Steve Collins November 21, 2022November 22, 2022

After a seven-hour recount by the Secretary of State’s Office on Monday, officials reaffirmed Republican Eric Brakey’s victory in Maine Senate District 20. The recount trimmed 16 votes off Brakey’s tally while adding two votes to the total for Democrat Bettyann Sheats. But Brakey won by a 146-vote margin out of 18,243 votes cast, according […]