Recent sightings of the latest class of captive-reared Great Lakes piping plovers on their wintering grounds in Georgia highlight ongoing recovery and tracking work for this small shorebird species, which nests on sandy Great Lakes beaches in summer. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-piping-plovers-boys-of-summer-georgia-islands
Powerboat racing is set to return to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in summer 2026 as part of the city’s ongoing hosting of high-speed offshore racing events, continuing a tradition that draws competitors and fans for exciting summer weekends on the water. Read the full story by Sheboygan Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-powerboat-racing-sheboygan-august
Michigan’s aging water infrastructure — much of it over 50 years old and underfunded — faces increasing pressure to support growing demand from new data centers while also addressing wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater challenges. The state is seeking more investment and planning to upgrade systems and manage capacity amid public concern and climate‑related stresses. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-michigan-aging-water-infrastructure-demand-data-centers
New guided tours aboard the historic S.S. Badger will give visitors a behind‑the‑scenes look at areas like the ship’s engine room and pilot house, offering insights into how the last coal‑fired passenger steamship in the U.S. operates. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-ss-badger-new-guided-tours
Winter may have come early for the Great Lakes this year, but neither the U.S. nor the Canadian coast guard can keep traffic moving through the ice. Frozen waters are currently impacting commercial traffic between ports across the Great Lakes in places like Toledo, Sandusky, and even ports in Michigan and Minnesota. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-frozen-waters
The U.S. Coast Guard has started its winter task of keeping newly formed ice from hindering commercial vessel traffic on the Great Lakes. Overall, the ice formation for winter 2025-26 is trending at about average for the region. Read the full story by CBS News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-ice-breaking
The number of invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes has gone down after regular control and treatment efforts resumed. Lamprey surveys show their numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-lamprey-control
As of Sunday afternoon, 13 vessels had yet to pass through the St. Lawrence Seaway’s final lock near Montreal, Québec. The seaway closes Monday. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-ice-delays
Federal regulators have officially revoked the operating license for the troubled Au Train Dam in Au Train, Michigan, citing the owner’s long-running failure to address safety problems and maintain control of the site. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-dam-license
Will the Black Lake lake sturgeon fishing season again set a time record in 2026? We’ll find out February 7 when the season begins — and most likely also ends. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-sturgeon-season
Detroit’s Gordie Howe International Bridge is set to change the way people cross the Detroit River. For the first time in decades, residents will be able to walk or bike, in addition to driving, into Canada. Read the full story by Bridge Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-international-bridge
Dozens of swimmers took to Lake Michigan in Ogden Dunes, Indiana, as part of an unofficial New Year’s Day polar plunge. The air temperature was 20 while the water temperature was about 35 as swimmers defied the weather to take a brief dip. Read the full story by the Post-Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-polar-plunge
Thanks to a perfect mix of wind, waves, and freezing temperatures, Mother Nature has been busy sculpting some incredible ice formations along the Lake Erie shoreline near Cleveland, Ohio. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-cleveland-ice
Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief to strike down EPA standards that don’t require existing ships on the Great Lakes to install treatment systems for ballast water discharge. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-ballast-water
A bomb cyclone winter storm brought wind gusts over 50 mph to much of Michigan and those winds pushed water out of western Lake Erie in a massive way exposing the lake bottom and leading to all sorts of odd discoveries. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-erie-seiche
Gale force winds producing waves not seen since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 are hitting the Great Lakes. Giant waves in some parts of Lake Superior were more dangerous than ocean waves. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-risky-waves
The Great Lakes are roughly “on schedule” for their ice season and researchers have begun to track lake ice percentages daily. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-great-lakes-ice
From data centers, coal plants and solar arrays to petroleum pipelines and aging dams, energy-related decisions next year could shape Michigan’s environment for decades to come. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-michigans-future
More than 30 years ago, a group of scientists planted seeds of the rare Pitcher’s thistle in the sandy dunes of the Great Lakes. Three decades later, restored populations are thriving. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-dune-plant-restoration
Pink salmon hail from the Pacific Northwest but were stocked in Lake Superior in 1956. By 1979 the species had spread throughout the Great Lakes. Read the full story by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-pink-salmon
With so much ice and wind in the Great Lakes region, most people would think twice before heading outside for very long. But for others, the conditions are perfect. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-ontario-ice
Windy conditions and colder temperatures have created more ice on the St. Lawrence River causing seaway traffic to slow down with up to a half a dozen ships being anchored. Read the full story by the WWNY-TV- Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-stlawrence-conditions
Michigan has a mussel expert who wants to save the native filter feeders from being smothered by invasive mussels now in the Great Lakes. The state scientist will discuss during an upcoming free webinar how Michigan can prevent invasive mussels from harming native populations. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250102-invasive-mussels
Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has released the annual State of the Great Lakes Report. The report covers environmental cleanup, waterfront restoration, invasive species, groundwater management, and wildlife protection. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-sogl-report
In Michigan, the first payments from a more-than $600 million fund to settle Flint water crisis lawsuits have been made. It’s another step in the years-long effort to compensate people who were hurt by elevated lead levels in the city’s water supply. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-flint-claims
Technology from Chicago and around the world promises to clean up water. An effort in Illinois is trying to speed it to market while navigating new federal funding challenges. Read the full story by Inside Climate News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-water-startups
U.S. Representatives recently introduced a bipartisan bill that seeks to strengthen the Port Infrastructure Development Program to bring critical investments for port infrastructure and intermodal improvements to ports in the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Ripon Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-port-bill
After 25 years, the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota, is celebrating a standout season that’s benefited the local economy. The year brought record crowds and nearly $43 million for Duluth and officials say even more tourism-related growth is on the way. Read the full story by Northern News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-aquarium-attendance
Winter storms on the Great Lakes have a habit of briefly giving things back — from exposed reefs and forgotten shorelines to shipwrecks that have sat underwater for more than a century. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-shipwrecks-resurface
The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) has started building a new tunnel in southwest Detroit. To reduce the risk of flooding, the project will divert excess stormwater from a large sewer line along the Rouge River to a retention and treatment basin nearby. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-glwa-tunnel
Little Sable Point Lighthouse near Pentwater, Michigan, went dark this fall and remained in shadow for about a month. Thanks to the unexpected help of a neighbor, this Lake Michigan lighthouse is shining bright again. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-michigan-lighthouse
A historic lighthouse on Lake Superior’s north shore was dropped from cruise ship itineraries after Canada suspended an agreement with a charity managing the site. The move relates to a Pays Plat First Nation land claim that includes Battle Island near Rossport, Ontario. Read the full story by SNnewswatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-superior-lighthouse
Some of the best surfing is possible during those icy, windy months before the lakes freeze over. Those willing to face the frost actually help boost beachside communities. Read the full story by Marketplace.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251224-surfonomics
The Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act, introduced by Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted and Michigan Democratic Senator Gary Peters, has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives after Senate approved it last month, sending the bipartisan bill to President Donald Trump for his signature. The program provides dedicated funding to the USGS’s Great Lakes Science Center to conduct research supporting the region’s fishing industry. Read the full story by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-fisheries-research-bill
The Onondaga County Water Authority is urging customers in six towns to conserve water after a major break in a large-diameter transmission main that carries Lake Ontario water from a pump station in Clay, New York, to reservoirs. Read the full story by Syracuse.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-ny-water-break
Wisconsin boasts about 400 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. But a dispute in the village of Shorewood is bringing up an age-old question: who has access to that shoreline? Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-wisconsin-public-access
New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed a groundbreaking nuclear energy agreement Friday in Buffalo, marking the first advanced nuclear power initiative in New York state in over a generation. Read the full story by WKBW – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-newyork-ontario-nuclear
The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan has launched the Lake Huron Fund with a $25,000 seed to back projects protecting the lake’s watershed and wildlife across nine counties in Michigan’s northeast region. Read the full story by Cheboygan Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-lake-huron-fund
Buffalo will welcome its first Great Lakes cruise ship on May 27 when a 250-passenger American Cruise Lines ship pulls into the Erie Basin Marina for an eight-hour stopover and will host four Great Lakes ships during the summer of 2026. Read the full story by WBEN – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-buffalo-cruises
Officials are pushing back the anticipated restart date to early 2026 for Palisades Nuclear Generating Station, which is located on the Lake Michigan shore in Van Buren County, Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-palisades-delay
A life ring and piece of wood found after the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 were sold at auction on Friday, Dec. 19, for $150,000 — more than seven times the pre-auction estimate. Read the full story by Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251222-fitzgerald-auction
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s attempt to shut down a pipeline segment called Line 5 – which runs beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes – finding that only the federal government can regulate interstate pipeline safety. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-pipeline-shutdown-blocked
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has approved the changeover to Lake Michigan water for the Pekara, Inverrary and Horatio Gardens neighborhoods near Buffalo Grove. The final step in the process, including adjustments and flushing the water system to remove remaining well water, is underway. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-lake-michigan-water-project
As Ohio’s data center boom continues, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is considering a permit to allow new data centers without access to central sewerage systems to dispose of water used to cool servers directly into lakes, rivers and streams. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-data-center-discharge
Advocates, local politicians and a Toronto doctor are raising environmental concerns about the provincial government’s redevelopment of Ontario Place in Toronto, with some warning the plans could involve dumping sewage in Lake Ontario. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-sewage-dumping
Michigan environmental regulators held a hearing Thursday night on a proposed permit to disturb 10 acres of wetlands for a $7 billion Oracle and OpenAI data center in Saline Township. The hearing came hours after the Michigan Public Service Commission approved DTE Energy’s application for quick approval of its power contracts for the 1.4 gigawatt data center, which met with widespread public opposition. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-data-center-pollution
Environmental groups warn that the PERMIT Act – passed on Dec. 10 in the U.S. House – could significantly alter how the Clean Water Act is implemented. Among the proposed amendments: narrowing which waterways are protected by the Clean Water Act. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-permit-reform
Officials with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said its 2025 walleye trawl survey data found 128 walleye per hectare in Lake Erie’s western basin. This ranks as the sixth largest hatch of 38 years of surveys and is well above the average of 57 fish per hectare. Read the full story by the Star Beacon.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-fish-hatch-data-2
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and a Great Lakes freighter recently teamed up for an impressive training day on Lake Michigan. The crew of M/V James R. Barker, a 1,004-foot cargo-hauling freighter, welcomed a helicopter from USCG Air Station Traverse City to execute a precision maneuver to land a rescue swimmer on the ship’s aft cabin. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-freighter-maneuver
The Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota, is laying plans to work as a partner in an effort to restore lake sturgeon to the St. Louis River, a waterway that once teemed with the bony behemoths. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20251219-aquarium-sturgeon-restoration
