Three U.S. Geological Survey centers in Wisconsin would close under the Trump administration’s plans for changes to the Department of the Interior, ending decades of research on the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and wildlife health. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-research-center-cuts
The future of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s successful sea lamprey control program is unknown amidst funding cuts and signs of the invasive creatures developing pesticide resistance. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-invasive-lamprey-comeback
A meteorologist explains the story behind the formation of Great Lakes, which started a billion years ago and involved mid-continental rift formation and ice age glaciers. Read the full story by WHEC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-great-lakes-formation
An iconic, 150-year-old lighthouse sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan was damaged in the massive Thanksgiving storm system that recently slammed Grand Haven, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-damaged-lighthouse
The Palisades Nuclear Plant, a facility that sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, was shut down just two years ago due to financial pressures. As a result of a $400 million federal investment, the plant is now poised to become the first U.S. commercial nuclear power reactor ever to be restarted. Read the full story by the Ottawa News Network.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-nucelar-plant-restart
Wisconsin’s wetland development program is in serious trouble, just as similar programs are in other Great Lakes states. Legislation safeguarding surface waters is eroding and the importance of local, preventive action has never been greater. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-wetland-protection
Michigan’s abundant water has turned into a cash cow for private bottled water companies who are making large profits off publicly owned water, while paying next to nothing for water extraction. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-water-company-profits
To combat the population loss of spectaclecase mussels, which are native to parts of the Great Lakes basin and some tributaries connected to the Great Lakes watershed, researchers with both the Minnesota and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources released over 177 mussels into the Chippewa River in Northwest Wisconsin. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251210-mussel-reintroduction
A group of Canadian divers exploring beneath the surface of Lake Ontario encountered the wreck of a British ship believed to have sunk 200 years ago. Read the full story by WPVI-TV – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-shipwreck-encounter
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources reports that the annual Chinook salmon spawning run in the Door County, Wisconsin, region is proceeding on schedule and showing strong signs for the future of Lake Michigan’s fishery. Read the full story by Door County Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-salmon-run
A small houseboat navigating the waters of the St. Clair River onto Lake Huron has caught the fascination of witnesses and social media users alike as they capture the vessel’s every move. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-house-boat
In Michigan, water safety advocates applauded the promotion of South Haven’s new police chief, pointing out how he has deep experience in water safety and lifeguard training. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-police-chief
Mariners, boaters and lakeside communities are preparing across the region as strong winds from a storm system heading for Michigan are expected to create monster waves on the Great Lakes this week. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-high-waves
Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials are urging waterfowl hunters to take extra precautions this season to protect themselves from highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu which has so far been detected in 130 birds in the state. Read the full story by WILX-TV -Lansing, Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-bird-flu-warnings
Invasive species cost the United States billions of dollars and climate change could make the situation worse. Scientists say funding cuts by the Trump administration could have major long-term ecological and economic consequences. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251126-invasive-funding-cuts
Lawmakers from around the Great Lakes are hoping to make the area a little greener. Members from the Great Lakes Commission planted trees on Tuesday near Bayfront Festival Park in Duluth, Minnesota. It’s part of a regional goal to plant 250 million trees around the Great Lakes by 2033. Read the full story by Northern News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-commission-tree-planting
Far from Gulf Coast hurricanes and California wildfires, Chicagoland seems like a safe place to be in a warming world. But is it? Read the full story by WBBM-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-chicaog-climate-haven
At least 89 confirmed fair-weather waterspouts and funnels were reported to the International Centre for Waterspout Research this past week, but continued activity is unlikely. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-waterspouts
More than 300 students from schools in Ohio and Michigan learned about different careers associated with the Great Lakes as part of the National Museum of the Great Lakes’ career fair event. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-career-fair
Construction of a proposed data center in Hermantown, Minnesota, just off the shore of Lake Superior would include up to four buildings housing equipment on more than 200 acres. Some are concerned about the non-disclosure agreements protecting the interest and trade secrets of companies constructing this center. Read the full story by the North Shore Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-superior-data-center
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum located in Paradise, Michigan, is closing out what appears to be a record-breaking season on Friday with ticket sales possibly surpassing 80,000 before the season ends. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-museum-ticket-sales
Earlier this month, the state of Illinois announced it had acquired land needed to move along the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, a $1.15 billion barricade aimed at keeping invasive carp from entering the channel that connects the Mississippi River Basin with the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Outdoor News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-brandon-road-project
Behind thick museum glass at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum sits a 200-pound bronze bell, the centerpiece of an exhibit honoring one of Lake Superior’s most famous maritime tragedies. Read the full story by the MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-fitzgerald-bell
The Great Lakes Writers Festival has been bringing together students, readers, writers and authors since 1991. This year, the two-day festival, which is free of charge, will include readings, book signings, master classes and open mic sessions. Read the full story by the Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-gl-writers-festival
Throughout November, Studio 23 Gallery, an art studio in Bay City, Michigan, is presenting the biennial exhibition “50 Artists of the Great Lakes Bay Region.” Read the full story by the WCMU Public Media.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251029-great-lakes-artists
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has completed the construction of a 2.5-acre reef built from 20,000 tons of limestone in Lake Huron. Its purpose is to increase spawning habitat for native Great Lakes species such as walleye and whitefish. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-new-reef
In Michigan, the 1-mile segment between Petoskey and Bay Harbor on Lake Michigan’s shoreline has been closed since late 2019 due to erosion caused by record high lake levels. Reconstruction costs are estimated at $19.8 million. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-trail-reconstruction
A low water advisory was put in place for Western Lake Erie’s exposed shorelines after strong steady winds and gusts up to 40 mph pushed waters toward the opposite end of the lake. Read the full story by Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-lake-erie-seiche
For the first time, the Global Oceans Conference set up shop on the shores of the Great Lakes in Chicago. The Freshwater Research Center showed off its budding status as a blue tech hub. Read the full story by the Ticker.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-global-oceans-conference
A 2.2-magnitude earthquake shook in Lake Ontario just north of Wayne County, New York, on Wednesday night at a depth of 7.9 kilometers below the surface. Read the full story by the Democrat & Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-lake-ontario-earthquake
Boardman High School in Ohio is being awarded $4,800 to fund high school students to learn hands-on at Lake Erie’s Stone Laboratory through the “Great Lakes, Great Futures: Inspiring the Next Generation of Environmental Stewards” program. Read the full story by WFJM – Youngstown, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-highschool-grant
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Lake Huron Forever initiative hosted a successful One Water Gathering event in Goderich, Ontario, bringing together Canadian and U.S. partners to strengthen cross-border collaboration for the shared ecosystem. Read the full story by The Sarnia Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-one-water-gathering
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum that stands on the shore of Lake Superior holds the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald and hosts an annual ceremony at which family members gather to remember the lost laker. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-shipwreck-museum
Several local officials recently took a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Coast Guard’s station in Marblehead, Ohio, which is the busiest station on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-coast-guard
Also known as lake-effect rain, a cousin of lake-effect snow, cold air moving over the warmer Great Lakes water is generating narrow, intense bands of precipitation affecting roughly a dozen states. Read the full story by Akron Beacon Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251024-gl-rain
Michigan’s premier birding hotspot is nestled at the tip of Whitefish Point where the land juts out into Lake Michigan and acts as a natural migration corridor. Thousands of birds travel through the flyway with over 340 species on record. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-birding-hotspot
After a dry summer and fall, The International Lake Ontario–St. Lawrence River Board says it will temporarily increase outflows from Lake Ontario this week to help recreational boaters on Lac Saint-Louis, southwest of Montreal, remove their watercraft for the season. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-grounded-boats
A 24-year-old adventurer canoed the Great Loop, a 6,000 mile trip between the Great Lakes and Florida. The Michigander returned home to share his journey about enduring obstacles like floodwaters, fire ants, invasive carp. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-great-loop-paddling
Initiatives such as the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program and the Save Our Lights program have raised money to keep historic lighthouses along the Great Lakes coastline intact amidst initiatives to privatize their control. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-lighthouse-funding-need
The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority is celebrating a successful first year of the Sydenham Phosphorus Reduction Initiative, a project focused on improving water quality in the Sydenham River and protecting the long-term health of Lake Erie. Read the full story by the Sydenham Current.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-phosphorus-reduction
Recovery efforts have delisted the once threatened Lake Erie water snake, a native of the Great Lakes islands. The species can grow up to 3.5 feet long and their favorite prey is the round goby, an invasive, nuisance fish species. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-water-snake
Two statewide environmental advocacy groups and other local leaders met at a library in Erie, Pennsylvania to highlight the threat and urgency of mitigating harmful algal blooms and call the public to action. Read the full story by WJET – Erie, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-erie-algal-blooms
A brand-new luxury cruise ship, the American Patriot, will begin making regular stops in Rochester, NY next year, providing a boost to local tourism and the city’s image. Read the full story by WXXI – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-cruise-stop-rochester
The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad brings passengers on a 2-hour through the St. Louis River estuary aboard what most call the Duluth River Train. To celebrate the railroad’s 45th anniversary, the train is open for its longest season ever. Read the full story by WIDO – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251015-river-train
In the middle of Lake Superior, near the boundary between Canadian and US waters, sits the Superior Shoal, a mountain that’s completely underwater. Known to some as the “Freshwater Everest,” filmmakers and researchers are now exploring it with underwater drones. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-superior-drone-exploration
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced Wednesday that, after decades of community engagement and cleanup efforts, a west Michigan Lake has been removed from a list of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-mukegon-cleanup
It’s ‘see ya later alligator’ for the newest resident at Detroit’s Belle Isle. An alligator was captured on cell phone footage by a woman who was paddle-boating at Belle Isle on Sunday. The animal has now been captured and found a new home in Westland, Michigan, at the Great Lakes Serpentarium. Read the full story by WJBK-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-alligator-rehome
Despite a 55% cut to its portion of H2Ohio funding, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is “still in the fight” to build, expand, or enhance wetlands as a means of controlling western Lake Erie algal blooms. Read the full story by The Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-wetland-protection
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will release 2,000 fingerling sturgeon into the Cuyahoga River, hoping that in 15 to 20 years they will come back to reproduce. The goal is to reestablish a healthy sturgeon population in Lake Erie that was depleted starting in the 1800s. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-sturgeon-stocking
A Chicago man biked 1,000 miles around Lake Michigan in eight days, battling self-doubts and a major thunderstorm while raising $25,000 for the Michigan Credit Union Foundation. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251003-lake-michigan-bike-ride
