By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Magnolia Montgomery, age 12, peered into a rectangular enclosure covered with white mesh.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/raising-monarch-butterflies-in-interlochen/
“Nibi Chronicles,” a monthly Great Lakes Now feature, is written by Staci Lola Drouillard. A Grand Portage Ojibwe direct descendant, she lives in Grand Marais on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Her nonfiction books “Walking the Old Road: A People’s History of Chippewa City and the Grand Marais Anishinaabe” and “Seven Aunts” were published 2019 and 2022, and the children’s story “A Family Tree” in 2024.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/ojibwemodaa-lets-speak-ojibwe/
By Brian Allnutt, Planet Detroit
This article was republished with permission from Planet Detroit. Sign up for Planet Detroit’s weekly newsletter here.
After a relatively subdued spring and early summer, Canadian wildfires are once again spreading and burning millions of acres, forcing the evacuation of 9,000 residents in Labrador and Newfoundland and threatening operations in the oil-producing hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/canadian-wildfires-are-heating-up-bringing-smoke-to-michigan/
By Lester Graham, Michigan Public
Although temperatures vary day-to-day, this summer is shaping up to be a hot one in Michigan. Doctors are warning parents to learn how to protect their kids, and how to talk to them about climate change.
It used to be that parents had to talk to their kids about things like ‘stranger danger,’ or ‘don’t take candy from a stranger,’ and ‘be sure to put on sunscreen.’ With climate change, parents are finding they have a lot more to teach their children.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/heat-pollution-and-climate-change-anxiety-are-affecting-children/
For Detroit’s Sen. Stephanie Chang, the long and winding road to statewide drinking water affordability legislation continues with the finish line, hopefully, in sight.
Chang, a Democrat representing Michigan’s 3rd district, first focused on the affordability issue as a newly minted representative in 2015. At the time, she heard stories about the effects of water shutoffs and related health issues.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/detroit-legislator-takes-the-long-view-on-michigans-water-affordability-struggles/
By Daniel Wanschura, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Growing up in rural Brazil, Kiko Silvelet says bikes had a very specific purpose: transportation.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/points-north-pedaling-to-the-beat-of-his-own-drum/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Eric Freedman, Great Lakes Echo
A Detroit-built sailing ship that sank in Lake Michigan during an 1864 storm has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The three-masted Mojave, only 1 year old at the time, went down in heavy weather while northbound on the route from Chicago to Buffalo with a load of grain.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/ship-doomed-on-lake-michigan-now-moored-on-national-register-of-historic-places/
Waves of Change is an online interview series highlighting the diverse faces and perspectives shaping the environmental justice movement throughout the Great Lakes region.
This month, we spoke with Regina Strong, Environmental Justice Public Advocate at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).
For anyone in Michigan, there are two important timely things to note from the interview:
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/waves-of-change-meet-regina-strong/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
A project off the shore of Beaver Island could harness the power of Lake Michigan’s waves to generate renewable energy.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/07/beaver-island-takes-early-steps-to-test-wave-energy-in-its-waters/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit
Summer is here. Planet Detroit, in partnership with Great Lakes Now, hosted a compelling panel featuring experts from the National Weather Service, Eastside Community Network, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and the Dearborn Department of Health.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/surviving-a-metro-detroit-summer-in-the-climate-change-era/
By Daniel Wanschura, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Conservation warden Dave Zeug is on edge.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/points-north-to-catch-an-arsonist/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Laurie Stanek shovels hay in front of a group of young, black and white Holstein cows.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/none-of-us-saw-this-coming-michigan-confronts-bird-flu-in-cows/
By Anna Clark, photography by Sarahbeth Maney
This story was originally published by ProPublica.
ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
When Gretchen Whitmer campaigned for Michigan governor in 2018, she took aim at Michigan’s bottled water industry — and the state policy that gave it unfettered access to free water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/06/michigan-bottlers-still-get-free-water-despite-governors-tough-talk/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan and Lester Graham, Michigan Public
Bill Gurn isn’t sure how he got the mosquito bite that nearly killed him in the autumn of 2019.
He’s an avid fisherman. Maybe on the water? Or it could have happened while he was tinkering in his garage or yard.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/in-warming-great-lakes-region-water-heat-can-be-an-unhealthy-combination/
Hayward, Wisconsin got its first snow of the season on Halloween. But then Thanksgiving came, and Christmas, with no more white flakes. The new year started equally warm and snowless, and the organizers of the iconic American Birkebeiner ski race began to really worry. The February 24, 2024 race would be the 50th anniversary of the country’s most famous (and largest) cross-country ski event, and it would also be a World Cup competition, drawing top competitors from around the globe.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/disappointed-dogs-sad-skiers-frustrated-fishermen/
By Zach Lassen
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
This story is from Planet Detroit’s Neighborhood Reporting Lab, where community reporters write about health and climate issues in their neighborhood. Neighborhood Reporting Lab is supported by the Americana and Kresge Foundations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/meet-the-man-who-has-been-cleaning-the-rouge-river-for-35-years/
Jerry Dennis wasn’t seeking adventure when as a novice sailor he joined a veteran captain and crew to sail from Traverse City to the Atlantic Ocean. He was looking for a deeper understanding of the Great Lakes, but adventure found him.
Similarly, he wasn’t seeking notoriety when he wrote The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas, which was based on the sailing adventure.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/michigan-author-reflects-on-20th-anniversary-of-landmark-book-the-living-great-lakes/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Walking around Traverse City, it’s hard to miss the yard signs with a smiling cartoon bee proclaiming “No Mow May.”
The signs are part of a conservation initiative aimed at raising awareness of how lawn care can impact pollinators and plant life.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/no-mow-may-grows-in-traverse-city/
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.
Lake whitefish is an important commercial fishery in Lake Erie and is culturally and economically important to local First Nations.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/great-lakes-moment-detroit-rivers-important-role-in-lake-whitefish/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit PBS; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/new-study-great-lakes-beaches-are-littered-with-plastic-trash/
There are a lot of eyes on Michigan’s Palisades nuclear power plant as the public and private sectors try, together, to bring it back from the dead.
Plenty of nuclear reactors in the United States have successfully started back up after prolonged stretches of inactivity. The difference is that every other nuclear plant that restarted after an extended outage retained its operating license, meaning that it had to comply with strict federal maintenance standards, even at the times when it wasn’t sending electricity out onto the grid.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/05/the-murky-process-of-reopening-palisades-and-why-its-a-turning-point-for-nuclear/
By Daniel Wanschura, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Dave Naftzger found out about the 100% Fish Project entirely by accident.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/points-north-more-than-just-filet-of-fish/
By Tammy Webber, Associated Press
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Their childhood memories are still vivid: warnings against drinking or cooking with tap water, enduring long lines for cases of water, washing from buckets filled with heated, bottled water. And for some, stomach aches, skin rashes and hair loss.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/children-of-flint-water-crisis-make-change-as-young-environmental-and-health-activists/
In yet another shakeup in the Ohio energy bribery saga that first came to light in 2020, a former state utility regulator was found dead by suicide last week. Sam Randazzo, 74, a longtime lobbyist who was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to chair the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, had been charged with taking a $4.3 million bribe from FirstEnergy Corp.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/energy-news-roundup-key-figure-in-ohio-bribery-scandal-dead-by-suicide/
By Ellie Katz, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
We often think of the deep parts of the Great Lakes as cold, empty spaces.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/points-north-quest-for-kiyi/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
A grassy, mud-streaked ski hill.
Snowmobile trails where dirt and fall leaves were still visible.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/after-a-hot-winter-whitmer-asks-for-more-ways-to-get-aid-to-businesses/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/sault-tribe-challenges-michigan-fishing-deal-chides-preposterous-rules/
By Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/palisades-work-family-reunites-for-shot-at-reopening-a-michigan-nuclear-plant/
By Dustin Dwyer, Michigan Public
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/palisades-work-family-reunites-for-shot-at-reopening-a-michigan-nuclear-plant/
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.
Twenty-five years ago, several lower Detroit River islands and marshes were threatened by development.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/04/great-lakes-moment-saving-the-conservation-crescent/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/feds-award-1-5-billion-for-palisades-nuclear-plant-restart/
By Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/illinois-and-army-corps-at-an-impasse-over-building-barrier-to-prevent-invasive-carp/
This article was republished here with permission from Great Lakes Echo.
By Kayla Nelsen, Great Lakes Echo
A California woman on “The Daily Show” recently swapped her sandals for snowshoes after moving to Duluth to escape her state’s wildfires.
The Comedy Central show featured Duluth as a climate haven, an ideal place to live to avoid wildfires, droughts, hurricanes and extreme flooding.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/are-great-lakes-cities-ready-for-climate-migrants/
On April 8, a solar eclipse will march from Maine to Mexico, darkening the skies during midday. The moon’s shadow will black out the sun completely just south of Michigan, but folks in the southeast part of the state will be close to the action and also experience almost complete darkness.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/the-solar-eclipse-is-a-great-opportunity-for-students-and-citizen-scientists-alike/
This article was republished here with permission from Planet Detroit.
By Nina Ignaczak, Planet Detroit
Detroit’s urban agriculture movement traces back to Hazen Pingree’s 1890s potato patch plan,World War II victory gardens, and Mayor Coleman Young’s Farm-A-Lot program in the 1970s.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/detroits-urban-farming-evolution/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/road-salt-use-dips-37-in-michigan-warm-winter-saving-millions-easing-pollution/
Is investing a combined $1.8 billion in federal and state funds to restart the aged Palisades nuclear power plant on the Lake Michigan shore necessary to meet Michigan’s climate goals?
That’s what’s in the works, with the Department of Energy leading with a $1.5 billion dollar loan guarantee and Michigan budgeting $300 million to support the restart.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/international-nuclear-energy-expert-questions-michigans-palisades-restart/
By Jena Brooker, BridgeDetroit
BridgeDetroit reporter Jena Brooker collaborated with One Detroit (Detroit Public TV) on this segment on concrete crushing in a Detroit neighborhood. Read more of her coverage and subscribe to her newsletter.
One Detroit’s senior producer Bill Kubota teamed up with filmmaker and One Detroit contributor Nicole Macdonald to talk with residents about their concerns over heavy industry operating in city neighborhoods.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/video-its-detroiters-vs-dust-in-west-side-neighborhood/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
As national parks around the country try to raise awareness about climate change, those around Lake Superior are taking steps to cut their emissions.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/lake-superior-is-warming-fast-its-national-parks-are-starting-work-to-cut-fossil-fuels/
Imagine if the world’s longest trail (located in Canada) connected people even further, into another country, via Michigan’s longest trail. That happened last month when the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority announced that the Gordie Howe International Bridge would become part of a binational trail system.
When the initial discussions for a potential new bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit started about a decade ago, residents of Windsor and Detroit, and a coalition of organizations, came together to envision cross-border linkages.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/great-lakes-moment-gordie-howe-international-bridge-becomes-part-of-binational-trail-system/
By Michael Livingston, Interlochen Public Radio
Points North is a biweekly podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes.
This episode was shared here with permission from Interlochen Public Radio.
Sometime in the mid-1900s, Henry J.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/03/points-north-the-legend-of-heikes-tombs/
The long, fast, toothy muskellunge (also known as muskie or musky) is nicknamed the “Fish of 10,000 Casts” due to its notoriously elusive nature. It is the apex predator in all waters where it’s found, known to hide in underwater cover, aggressively ambushing prey. They eat fish almost exclusively, though they have been known to consume just about anything they can swallow including birds, small mammals, and their own kind.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/wisconsins-state-fish-tops-the-food-chain/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
The Michigan Public Service Commission is gathering public input on a controversial new law, Public Act 233, which gives it final authority in approving large renewable energy projects.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/as-some-push-for-repeal-state-seeks-input-on-renewable-energy-siting-law/
I Speak for the Fish is a monthly column written by Great Lakes Now Contributor Kathy Johnson, coming out the third Monday of each month. Publishing the author’s views and assertions does not represent endorsement by Great Lakes Now or Detroit Public Television.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/i-speak-for-the-fish-bringing-muskie-to-the-masses/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/warm-winters-are-a-wet-blanket-for-small-ski-slopes-in-northern-michigan/
By Izzy Ross, Interlochen Public Radio
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with IPR and Grist, a nonprofit independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
• Michigan’s largest commercial food waste digester is shutting down after a permit dispute with the state.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/what-a-permitting-debacle-in-fremont-could-mean-for-biodigesters-across-michigan/
In order to do meaningful things at scale, everyone has to be at the table. This is what Curt Wolf, Managing Director of the University of Michigan’s Urban Collaboratory, said about the Michigan Center for Freshwater Innovation in an interview with Great Lakes Now. Last month, he explained the benefits of pulling together stakeholders, the Great Lakes Water Authority, and major universities like the University of Michigan, Wayne State, and Michigan State to all work alongside each other to collaborate on grand challenges, like catastrophic flooding in the region.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/the-future-of-water-management-with-curt-wolf/
WHITEFISH POINT, Mich. (AP) — Shipwreck hunters have discovered a merchant ship that sank in Lake Superior in 1940, taking its captain with it, during a storm off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain announced Monday the discovery of the 244-foot (74-meter) bulk carrier Arlington in about 650 feet (200 meters) of water some 35 miles (60 kilometers) north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/ap-wreck-of-ship-sank-in-1940-found-in-lake-superior/
By Kelly House, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/as-michigan-winters-vanish-researchers-study-snow-for-clues-about-whats-next/
By Janelle D. James, Bridge Michigan
The Great Lakes News Collaborative includes Bridge Michigan; Circle of Blue; Great Lakes Now at Detroit Public Television; Michigan Public, Michigan’s NPR News Leader; and The Narwhal who work together to bring audiences news and information about the impact of climate change, pollution, and aging infrastructure on the Great Lakes and drinking water.
Great Lakes Now
https://www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/02/reimagined-st-ignace-memorial-to-be-a-showcase-of-native-american-history/
