Nonprofit: Number of drownings in Great Lakes jumps in 2021

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (AP) — More drownings have been reported in the Great Lakes so far in 2021 than by this time last year, prompting officials to urge swimmers to practice water safety measures.

As of July 2, there were 32 drownings in the Great Lakes, compared to 25 as of July 4, 2020, according to data collected by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/ap-nonprofit-drownings-great-lakes-jumps-2021/

The Associated Press

Good News for Lake Erie: 2021 algal bloom severity forecast is 3

For the second year in a row, scientists predict the annual Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom will be smaller than it has been in the past decade.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast, assembled with the help of multiple partners, indicates an expected bloom severity index of 3 on a scale of 10.5.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/07/2021-harmful-algal-blooms-toxic-algae/

James Proffitt

Public Resource: Around the Great Lakes, everyday people help make science possible

Collecting data for scientific research across large geographic areas can be challenging, but researchers have found an easy solution – the public.

The Huron River watershed covers 900 square miles, and the Huron River Watershed Council has been collecting data from the watershed for years. Yet collection from such an expansive area would not have been possible without the help of an army of dedicated citizen, or community, scientists.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/great-lakes-everyday-people-science-public/

Noah Bock

Second Spike: Great Lakes parks anticipate increased visitation this summer

Parks around the Great Lakes are expecting a spike in visitation this season as the United States and Canada continue to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. 

At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, the park campgrounds and backpacking sites are booked for the summer after a record 1.2 million visitors last year.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/great-lakes-parks-increased-visitation-summer/

Rachel Duckett

Dune Dispute: Wisconsin Lake Michigan shoreline threatened by adjacent golf course development

A Wisconsin State Park bordering the shoreline of Lake Michigan is teeming with dunes, preserved wetlands and protected plant species. It’s a great view – making it an ideal neighbor for a new golf resort that one of the state’s manufacturing giants has been fighting for years to build.

Kohler-Andre State Park is located in Sheboygan County and comprised of two state parks, Terry Andrae State Park and John Michael Kohler State Park.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/wisconsin-lake-michigan-dune-shoreline-golf-course-development/

John McCracken

Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday.

Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-chicago-man-jumps-into-lake-michigan-for-365th-straight-day/

The Associated Press

Chicago man jumps into Lake Michigan for 365th straight day

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago bus driver looking for a way to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic jumped into Lake Michigan for a 365th straight day on Saturday.

Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-chicago-man-jumps-into-lake-michigan-for-365th-straight-day/

The Associated Press

Marquette gets 1,000 feet of Great Lakes beach from utility

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — The largest city in the Upper Peninsula is getting 1,000 feet of valuable shoreline along Lake Superior.

The Marquette City Commission recently voted to accept the land at no cost from We Energies, a utility, the Mining Journal reported.

“There’s no contamination that we’re aware of and we’re not taking on a problem area.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-marquette-1000-feet-great-lakes-beach/

The Associated Press

Algal blooms close 5 Madison-area Wisconsin beaches

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Algal blooms have forced health officials to close five Madison-area beaches.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Friday that the first tests of the season revealed blue-green algae blooms at beaches at BB Clarke, Olbrich and Warner parks and the Hudson Park lake access point.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-algae-blooms-wisconsin-beaches/

The Associated Press

Lifeguards up for discussion in Lake Michigan beach town

SOUTH HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A popular Lake Michigan beach town has been discussing whether to bring lifeguards back to the waterfront.

The South Haven Beach Safety Committee recently voted against recommending lifeguards or a second line of buoys, said City Manager Kate Hosier.

The committee’s work will be reviewed by the city council in South Haven, 60 miles southwest of Grand Rapids.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/06/ap-lifeguards-south-haven-lake-michigan/

The Associated Press

If it’s summerish time, it’s mussel time

This article is part of a collaboration between The Char-Koosta News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television. Our partnership brings readers stories about issues of, research about and solutions to the invasive mussel problem – a challenge that’s shared by communities around Flathead Lake, its nearby waters and the Great Lakes.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/summer-time-invasive-mussel-boat-inspections/

Char-Koosta News

If it’s summerish time, it’s mussel time

This article is part of a collaboration between The Char-Koosta News and Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television. Our partnership brings readers stories about issues of, research about and solutions to the invasive mussel problem – a challenge that’s shared by communities around Flathead Lake, its nearby waters and the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/summer-time-invasive-mussel-boat-inspections/

Char-Koosta News

Sarah Douglas: From Lake Ontario to the Tokyo Olympics

Canada has nine sailors heading to the Olympics, six of which hail from the Great Lakes. Sarah Douglas is one of them.

“I’m excited, you know, I’m trying to treat it like any other competition,” Douglas said, “I think with the restrictions that we have, it’s going to be easier, the less distractions, but I’m just going out there to race.”

Douglas, a Toronto native who grew up in Barbados, will be competing in the Laser class in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/05/douglas-lake-ontario-tokyo-olympics/

GLN Editor

Drownings Increase: Research shows possible connection between COVID-19 restrictions and Great Lakes drownings

As COVID-19 changed the pattern of life around the Great Lakes region in 2020, it also altered the pattern of Great Lakes drownings in unfortunate if predictable ways.

With larger than normal crowds and a fatigue with restrictions, the rise in drownings isn’t a surprise.

“You get no lifeguards, heavier beach crowds, more people who were just escaping their house in the heat, going to the beach, and you’re putting more people into a dangerous situation,” said Chris Houser, a professor in the school of environment at University of Windsor.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/drownings-increase-research-connection-covid-19-restrictions/

Andrew Blok

Lake Michigan town installing lights to improve beach safety

FRANKFORT, Mich. (AP) — A popular summer town along Lake Michigan is trying to improve beach safety through technology.

Frankfort will use cellular phone networks and weather data to regularly update lights installed at the beach entrance and at the pier, 9 & 10 News reported.

Signs will explain the different lights and beach conditions.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/ap-lake-michigan-town-lights-beach-safety/

The Associated Press

Great Lakes Moment: A Great Lakes Way stretching from southern Lake Huron through Western Lake Erie

Great Lakes Moment is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor John Hartig. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.

The Eastern Seaboard has the Appalachian Trail, the Western Seaboard has the Pacific Rim Trail, and the Rocky Mountains has the Continental Divide Trail.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/04/great-lakes-way-southern-lake-huron-western-lake-erie/

John Hartig

COVID-19 Concerns: Economic recovery plagues the minds of many in the Great Lakes region

With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, many people are shifting their worries to the economy and how to recover from the state that it has been left in – with numerous local and regional industries gutted after this past summer.

“Until we start working together and work together to make sure that we keep the pandemic down while the vaccine is coming in, we’re not going to be able to rebuild this economy for quite some time,” John Dickert of the Alliance for Regional Development in a Great Lakes Now interview.

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Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/covid-19-concerns-economic-recovery-plagues/

Natasha Blakely

Lifeblood: Photographer shares the Lake Erie connection uniting shoreline residents

Along the shores of Lake Erie live a wide range of people whose lives might seem very familiar to or wildly distinctive from your own.

In the documentary photo series North of Long Tail, photographer Colin Boyd Shafer tells the stories of more than 20 residents of Lake Erie’s north shore.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/lifeblood-photographer-lake-erie-shoreline-residents/

Grace Dempsey

Unexploded Ordnance: Lake Erie shoreline site of long-term munitions study

In 1991, a Lake Michigan fishing vessel crew netted an object they later deposited on a beach in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It was subsequently identified as a fully-armed Sidewinder missile. While this is an extreme example of unexploded ordnance (UXO) pollution, it highlights the issue of old military munitions in the Great Lakes.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2021/01/unexploded-ordnance-lake-erie-shoreline-site-munitions-study/

James Proffitt

Hundreds of boats likely destroyed in Michigan marina fire

LASALLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A fire Friday destroyed an enormous building loaded with hundreds of boats stored for the winter in southeastern Michigan, sending smoke for miles along Lake Erie.

Neighbors and boat owners rushed to get as close as possible to Toledo Beach Marina. Aerial video showed clouds of black smoke and a building overwhelmed by flames.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/12/ap-hundreds-boats-likely-destroyed-michigan-marina-fire/

The Associated Press

Summertime Spike: Great Lakes parks a source of balm and vexation for many during COVID-19

Great Lakes parks have always been popular among outdoor enthusiasts. This summer, however, pandemic-weary residents on both sides of the border flocked to them – many for the first time – just as services such as campsites, visitors’ centers, washrooms and interpretive programs were closed to help contain COVID-19.

The spike in summertime numbers was doubly challenging this year as the lakes’ record-high water levels have washed away some beaches and trails.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/summertime-spike-great-lakes-parks-covid-19/

Sharon Oosthoek

All-terrain wheelchairs added at Indiana Dunes State Park

CHESTERTON, Ind. (AP) — Three new all-terrain wheelchairs have been added for guest use at Indiana Dunes State Park.

The park in Northwest Indiana says the chairs were purchased by the Friends of Indiana Dunes. Two of the chairs are designed for use on trails, and one chair is designed for use on the Lake Michigan beach.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/10/ap-all-terrain-wheelchairs-indiana-dunes-state-park/

The Associated Press

Outdoor Escape: Visitors flock to parks, beaches, lakes as states reopen

Great Lakes states and provinces have opened up their parks to overnight campers again now that COVID-19 closures have been lifted.

In March, national parks were closed in Canada, along with Ontario provincial parks. In the U.S., while parks remained open to visitors, facilities and many campgrounds were closed to the public.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/07/visitors-flock-parks-beaches-lakes-provinces-states-reopen/

Emily Simroth

COVID-19 Comeback: Great Lakes businesses and scientists bounce back

In March, COVID-19 brought the Great Lakes economy and society in general to a grinding halt.

Three months later, it’s not yet business as usual and challenges remain.

That’s the consensus of a group of Great Lakes industries and scientific researchers Great Lakes Now first spoke with in April.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/covid-19-great-lakes-shipping-charter-boats-research/

Gary Wilson

Conflicted Over Copper: Technological advances clash with environmental concerns in Twin Metals case

This is the third in a three-part series that will explore the history of Lake Superior and the Boundary waters, the communities affected by two proposed copper mines, the arguments in favor and against the mines, and what the mines might mean for the future of the Great Lakes.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/twin-metals-copper-mine-minnesota/

Lorraine Boissoneault

Great Lakes Learning: Take to the lakes without a boat

As the author of Great Lakes Now’s Collection of Lesson Plans, educational consultant Gary Abud Jr. is now providing more support for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to incorporate Great Lakes learning into their time with children and students. His series of writings can be found HERE along with the lesson plans and a Virtual Field Trip.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/06/great-lakes-learning-lakes-no-boat/

Gary Abud Jr.

Indiana Dunes starts beach parking information line

PORTER, Ind. (AP) — Indiana Dunes National Park has started an information line to help visitors find an open beach with available parking amid severe shoreline erosion along Lake Michigan and the need for social distancing.

Beginning Saturday morning, visitors can call 219-395-1003 to hear recorded information on available parking at Indiana Dunes National Park beaches and nearby Indiana Dunes State Park.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/ap-indiana-dunes-covid-19-beach-parking/

The Associated Press

COVID-19 Next Steps: Great Lakes outdoor recreation begins move toward normalcy

After nearly two months of reduced access, various levels of restrictions and outright closures, thousands of national, state, provincial and municipal parks, boating ramps, wildlife areas and other outdoor recreation areas are making their return from COVID-19.

Officials are hoping the move will help push life closer to normal for millions of people.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/05/coronavirus-covid-19-great-lakes-outdoor-recreation-reopening/

James Proffitt

Fishing and Freighters: Great Lakes industries take COVID-19 economic hit

Lake Erie fishing charters reel from stay at home orders, and lake freighters idle due to industry shutdowns.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-fishing-freighters-great-lakes-industries/

Gary Wilson

COVID-19 Complaints: Out-of-towners coming to fish in spite of stay home orders

Residents and locals aren't happy with the number of non-residents coming to town to fish without adhering to social distancing measures.

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Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/04/covid-19-coronavirus-complaints-anglers-out-of-towners/

James Proffitt

Taking It in Stride: How Great Lakes islanders are weathering the COVID-19 storm

The tourism that usually rises around this time is on hold, but residents are battening down with ease.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/great-lakes-islands-ferry-coronavirus-covid-19/

Sharon Oosthoek

Missing Opportunity: States, industry work together to promote outdoor recreation

Michigan and Wisconsin are currently the only Great Lakes states with an Office of Outdoor Recreation, though Indiana and Minnesota might see one soon.

Read Now at Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Now

Great Lakes Now

https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2020/03/outdoor-recreation-industry-great-lakes/

George Elkind