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V O L . X X X I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 6 , 2 0 2 5 6 Airport projects get key funding Runway rehabs and new hangars are part of a slew of projects at 11 airports slated to receive a total of $4,201,355 to support impor- tant infrastructure improvements. "Maine's airports are vital pieces of our state's transportation network that promote job creation and eco- nomic development," said U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. e money comes from the Federal Aviation Administration's Fiscal Year 2025 Airport Infrastructure Grants pro- gram. Airports receiving funding are in Fryeburg, Pittsfield, Old Town, Carrabassett, Augusta, Princeton, Rangeley, Frenchville, Presque Isle and Lincoln. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E John Butera, who served as labor com- missioner under Gov. Paul LePage, will serve as the USDA Rural Development state director for Maine, replacing Rhiannon Hampson, who left the post in January. Butera most recently was vice president and commercial loan of- ficer at Skowhegan Savings Bank. UNE unveils new medical building e University of New England unveiled its new medical school building on the Portland campus. e $93 million, 110,000-square-foot Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences relocates the College of Osteopathic Medicine from UNE's Biddeford campus into a new build- ing that will also serve the other health degree programs — including nursing, dental hygiene, social work, physical therapy, exercise science and pharmacy. It's on UNE's existing Stevens Avenue campus. York Hospital invests in cardio upgrades York Hospital completed a $6.4 mil- lion upgrade of its cardiac catheter- ization laboratory that's projected to increase patient capacity by 10% to B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N This Brunswick-made gelato is no fiasco B y A l e x i s W e l l s A s you step inside Gelato Fiasco, an Italian ice cream store in Portland, you are greeted by several gelato fla- vors and the sweet smell of homemade waffle cones. The counter is filled with several varieties of gelato, including Maine blueberry crisp, as well as chocolate and cake batter. The gelato is made at Gelato Fiasco's kitchen in Brunswick (where the company also has a store). It all starts with the hot process in a pasteurizer, where a combination of whole milk, light cream, sugar, skim milk powder, guar gum and xanthan gum is used. Once the base has been aged and cooled, it's time to add the flavors. The kitchen staff uses an immersion blender to incorpo- rate ingredients such as cocoa powder, mint, caramel and coconut cream, as required by the specific gelato flavor. The ingredients are blended and then placed in a batch freezer to harden the gelato. "We get our milk and cream for the base from local farms here in New England," says Mitch Newlin, retail director and an owner of Gelato Fiasco. Ingredients come from Pineland Farms Dairy Co. in Bangor, Houlton Farms Dairy in Houlton and Kingdom Creamery in East Hardwick, Vt. Seasonal berries come from Fairwinds Farm in Bowdoinham. Two items that aren't grown in New England, pistachios and hazelnuts, are imported from Italy. Two decades of gelato making Gelato Fiasco, was founded in 2007 by Joshua Davis and Bruno Tropeano, is sold in Maine stores like Warming's Market in Brunswick, the Georgetown General Store and Nezinscot Farm in Turner. Gelato served at the stores in Portland and Brunswick, as well as food trucks on Portland's Eastern Promenade, is made in Brunswick. The company makes as much as 400 gallons of gelato daily. Since 2019, Gelato that's sold in pints in supermarkets and specialty stores has been outsourced to an out-of-state ice cream maker. In 2013, Gelato Fiasco built a gelato manufacturing plant with a room-sized continuous freezer, pasteurizing vats and a three-story fridge. But bigger is not always better, Newlin said. The company closed the plant in 2019, and wholesale production was turned over to a third-party producer, Royal Ice Cream, in Manchester, Conn. Pints of Gelato Fiasco are sold at Whole Foods and other retailers. "Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have refocused on producing premium, small-batch gelato of exceptional qual- ity and have scaled back our wholesale business from over 10,000 grocery stores to fewer than 500," Newlin says. "While we have a much smaller overall volume today, we are able to make the creative flavors with the highest quality ingredi- ents and not risk losing money on each pint from attempting to match the price of Ben and Jerry's or other brands," he adds. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY SP ONSORED BY Alex Huston, right, and Brandon Goldrup, make Baileys Oreo cheesecake gelato at the Gelato Fiasco store in Brunswick. We get our milk and cream for the base from local farms here in New England. — Mitch Newlin Gelato Fiasco

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