Due to climate change, the Great Lakes are heating up faster than others globally. Of all the lakes in the world, Lake Superior was identified as one of the fastest warming in 2021, and its neighbors aren’t far behind. Read the full story by Pelham Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-warming-regions-ontario-climate-data
Below Cleveland, Ohio, in a subterranean world many surface dwellers don’t know exists, miners extract a crucial winter mineral — salt. The Whiskey Island salt mine, owned by food giant Cargill, helps supply road salt across the Northeast and Great Lakes, where a colder, snowier-than-usual winter has driven demand. Many municipalities exhausted supplies that typically last through spring. Read the full story by the Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-lake-erie-salt-mine-winter-roads
According to a recent poll, 55% of Chicago residents say the Lake Michigan shorefront is Chicago’s most distinguishing feature. Lake Michigan is considered important by 94% of adults in the city and suburban Cook County, Illinois, with 59% saying it’s very or extremely important. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-lake-michigan-chicago-defining-assest
The Great Lakes shipping season begins when the Soo Locks, which connect Lake Superior with the lower Great Lakes, open for ship traffic just after midnight on Wednesday. But vessels begin to stir several days before the locks open and the first ship of the season left Duluth on Monday. This new season starts with cautious optimism from port officials, who hope for a rebound following a challenging previous year. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-greatlakes-shipping-season-duluth
Lake Huron’s water levels are expected to fall about 11–12 inches below the long-term average and several inches below last year, reflecting a broader trend of declining levels across the Lake Michigan–Huron system. The drop is noticeable along shorelines and could affect navigation and coastal conditions, though it is part of normal variability influenced by weather and climate patterns. Read the full story by the Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-lake-huron-dropping
As the St. Lawrence Seaway began its 68th navigational season this week, questions remain about what its operating season should be. The previous season ended in January, the latest closing date in history, as ice slowed down the waterway. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-st-lawrence-seaway-shipping-season
The Great Lakes region is wasting large amounts of usable “waste heat” from sources like power plants, data centers, and sewage systems, which could instead be captured to provide clean, low-cost energy for heating and cooling. While the technology exists, progress is slow due to financial, political, and organizational barriers rather than technical limitations. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-greatlakes-wasting-massive-source-clean-energy
A new initiative promising the full use of each fish cleaned in the Great Lakes region has come to Lake Erie, and Walnut Creek has the first station in the region to take the pledge. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260325-lakeerie-fish-waste-recycling
On Great Lakes Day, the Great Lakes Commission convened in Washington, D.C., to discuss future policies impacting the lakes with leaders and lawmakers. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is working against invasive species and threats to the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-egle-greatlakes-partners-stronger-freshwater-protections
A coalition representing more than 400 mayors and cities across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region met with members of congress and senators to share top priorities, including the impact proposed port fees would have on Great Lakes shipping and regional economies in the U.S. and Canada. Read the full story by The St. Catharines Standard.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-strong-future-together-great-lakes-mayors
For decades, a key provision of the Clean Water Act has allowed states to weigh in on, and sometimes derail, federal water permits. Now the Trump administration is poised to roll back that power. Opponents of the move, including Minnesota, say it could imperil their ability to protect clean water. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-epa-curb-state-input-water-permits
The proposed Great Lakes Way trail system in southeast Michigan still lacks a permanent organization to coordinate and steward the project, raising concerns about long-term management and promotion. Supporters say establishing a dedicated lead group is essential to maintain the trail network and fully realize its tourism and economic benefits. Read the full story by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-greatlakes-way-threatens-regional-tourism
A shipwreck hunter discovered the wreck of the Lac La Belle, a luxury steamer that sank in 1872 in Lake Michigan, about 20 miles off the Wisconsin coast, after searching for nearly 60 years. The well-preserved wreck, first located in 2022 and recently documented with dives and 3D imaging, offers historians a rare underwater “time capsule” from the era of Great Lakes passenger steamships. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-shipwreck-hunter-luxury-ship-found
An agreement approved by some Wisconsin counties would allow the oil company Enbridge to reimburse local law enforcement for equipment, training, and policing costs related to potential protests during construction of a rerouted section of the Line 5 pipeline. Critics argue the arrangement could bias police toward the company and increase tensions with Indigenous groups and environmental activists opposing the project. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-enbridge-pipeline-wisconsin
U.S. Coast Guard ice-breaking operations on the Great Lakes have been reduced after two cutters experienced mechanical failures, limiting the fleet’s ability to keep shipping routes open during heavy winter ice. The breakdowns occurred in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, forcing the Coast Guard to operate with fewer vessels while crews work to repair the equipment and maintain key navigation channels. Read the full story by WBKB-TV – Alpena, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-coast-guard-ice-breaking-equipment-failures-great-lakes
In New York, a dedicated group of local conservationists is making positive waves in Dunkirk Harbor on Lake Erie, all with the goal of bringing more steelhead back to local waters for years to come. Read the full story by the Dunkirk Observer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-floating-fish-pen-steelhead
The Nature Conservancy in Ohio will host two open houses to share updates and answer community members’ questions about coastal wetland developments and plans in Sandusky Bay. The projects are part of the Sandusky Bay Initiative, an effort to improve the health of the Lake Erie watershed. Read the full story by the Fremont News-Messenger.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-conservancy-group-sandusky-bay-updates
The Great Lakes Children’s Museum in Traverse City, Michigan, has opened a new exhibit that allows children to explore maritime history through hands-on investigation of a Great Lakes shipwreck. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260306-traversecity-shipwreck-exhibit-museum
The combined ice coverage total for all of the Great Lakes peaked at 58 percent on February 9. The current ice coverage on all of the lakes combined is 33 percent. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-greatlakes-ice-reached-peak
As goes Iron Range iron ore pellet production, so goes the iron ore docks in Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. Iron ore tonnage shipped from the Port of Duluth-Superior fell 14.9 percent in 2025 compared to 2024. Read the full story by the Mesabi Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-iron-ore-shipments-pellet-production-decline
Local groups in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are promoting National Invasive Species Awareness Week by educating the public and organizing efforts to protect ecosystems, such as cleaning boats to prevent the spread of invasive species and planning spring removal and native planting activities. Read the full story by WLUC-TV – Negaunee, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-upperpeninsula-supports-national-invasive-species-awareness-week
A coalition of Wisconsin environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Monday challenging an administrative law judge’s decision to uphold the Department of Natural Resource’s permit approval to reroute the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline across northern Wisconsin. A similar lawsuit has also been filed by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The tribe for years has fought against the pipeline, which currently runs across its land. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-environmental-groups-challenge-dnr-line5-decision
An unusually snowy 2025–2026 season has helped draw tourists to northern Wisconsin’s outdoor winter attractions like the Apostle Islands ice caves, but many locals and industry groups say that reliably snowy winters are becoming less common and more unpredictable. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-snowy-season-wisconsin-boost-tourism
The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a long-running dispute over the fate of an oil and gas pipeline in the Great Lakes. Michigan state officials had sued a Canadian company that operates a section of the pipeline, known as Line 5, which snakes under the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan’s Lower and Upper Peninsulas. Read the full story by The New York Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-supreme-court-fate-greatlakes-pipeline
If you go ice fishing around Door County and have a shanty out on the bay of Green Bay or Lake Michigan, you’ve got a little more than two weeks left to get the shanty off the ice. Read the full story by Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-ice-fishing-door-county-dnr-reminders-ice-shanties
With frequent sub-freezing temperatures in Michigan this winter, it has been a great year for ice fishing. Stable ice conditions have allowed anglers the opportunity to get out on the ice and participate in a northern winter tradition. Read the full story by the Lasco Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260225-gennessee-county-fishing-opportunities
Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the Michigan Maritime Strategy, a 10-year plan with the goal to boost the state’s maritime industry, create jobs, and protect the Great Lakes. Read the full story by WBUP-TV – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-gov-whitmer-ten-year-maritime-strategy-michigan
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are seeking public comments on a proposed seasonal sea lamprey barrier on the Sucker River in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The barrier is designed to block the invasive lamprey’s spread and make control efforts more effective. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-public-feedback-sea-lamprey-barrier-upper-peninsula
The international ice bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada is officially open. When the conditions are right, an approximately 12-mile stretch of Lake Huron creates a frozen path between Drummond Island, Michigan and St. Joseph Island, Ontario. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-frozen-lake-huron-international-ice-bridge
A multimillion-dollar project will begin later this year to restore the shoreline, bluffs and ravines at the Jean and John Greene Nature Preserve in Lake Forest, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-window-past-preservationist-restore-lake-michigan
Ontario’s government has decided to transfer about 60 % of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park to the Town of Wasaga Beach to support local tourism and economic development, even though roughly 98% of public comments opposed the change due to concerns it could endanger sensitive piping plover habitat and reduce public protections for the shoreline. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-ontario-wasaga-beach
Lake Erie is now nearly completely frozen over with rapidly growing ice cover due to persistent Arctic cold, making it the most ice-covered of the Great Lakes this winter. Officials warn despite a Great Lake being fully frozen, shifting ice can be unstable and hazardous. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-lake-erie-frozen-over-safety
The Lake Huron Coastal Centre’s Coast Watchers community science program is celebrating 20 years of shoreline monitoring, with volunteer citizen scientists collecting long-term data on coastal conditions, wildlife, pollution and storm impacts that help track environmental trends and support conservation and resiliency efforts along the Lake Huron coast. Read the full story by Kincardine News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-lakehuron-coastline-monitoring-program
A prolonged cold spell is rapidly increasing ice coverage on Lake Superior — with ice cover jumping from about 6% to around 31% in recent weeks — as persistent sub-zero temperatures continue across the region. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-cold-persists-lakesuperior-icecover
The U.S. Coast Guard is asking those using the ice on the bays of Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay for fishing and recreation to be especially aware as the service’s ice breaking operations continue in the waters around Door County, Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-coast-guard-advises-icebreaking-greenbay
Lake Zurich, Illinois, officials last week authorized revenue bond issues of $52 million to secure low-interest loans from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency as part of the village’s transition to Lake Michigan water. The target date for the transition is 2028. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260128-lake-zurich-lake-michigan-water
Michigan’s latest State of the Great Lakes report highlights significant progress in cleanup and conservation, stressing the importance of treating groundwater as part of the lakes’ ecosystem while supporting the region’s “blue economy.” Read the full story by The Sun Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-michigan-latest-report-health-greatlakes
A new study shows that PFAS levels in Great Lakes fish such as lake trout and walleye have significantly declined since peaking in the late 2000s, likely because manufacturers phased out some harmful compounds. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-pfas-levels-declining-greatlakes-fish
Two British TikTokers are captivating their two million followers with videos from Michigan’s Great Lakes winter, expressing awe at huge lake swells, brutal cold, giant potholes and quirky local experiences while exploring beach towns and regional culture. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-british-tiktokers-greatlakes-swells
A multi-year report on data centers in the Great Lakes region outlines the economic and energy impacts of data centers, which support purposes such as cloud-based computing and artificial intelligence. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-report-data-centers-greatlakes
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will host its free fishing this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, allowing anglers to fish without needing a license. Read the full story by WSAW-TV – Wausau, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-wisconsin-dnr-winter-fishing
In Minnesota, Duluth’s Twin Ports are facing economic challenges after a tough shipping season marked by sharply lower iron ore shipments and the announced closures of major grain and coal terminals, putting pressure on the region’s trade-dependent economy. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-tough-shipping-season-duluth-twin-ports
The Donny S tugboat has been stuck floating in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, for nearly five years. Local residents are now pushing for a study to see if it’s contaminating the water while officials debate next steps and jurisdiction. Read the full story by WGBA-TV – Green Bay, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-neighbors-renew-efforts-tugboat-contaminated-water
The American Spirit, a 1,004-foot ship that has been a Great Lakes workhorse for nearly a half a century, was the last freighter to make it through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, before the huge system closed Thursday night for its annual winter maintenance. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-thousand-foot-freighter-soo-locks
American Cruise Lines announced a nine-day Great Lakes and Thousand Islands cruise starting at $8,675 per person, traveling from Syracuse to Buffalo, New York. Read the full story by WRGZ-TV – Buffalo, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260116-greatlakes-cruise
Findings from a long-running project have already shown high levels of PFAS in nestling bald eagles across Wisconsin. Now researchers have found a decline in antibody levels among eaglets with high PFAS levels. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-high-pfas-wisconsin-eaglets
New research and state analysis are reframing Michigan’s groundwater as one interconnected system, large enough to rival a Great Lake. Read the full story by The Sun Times News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-michigan-scientists-sixth-great-lake
The Ohio EPA is considering a new statewide permit that would let data centers discharge certain wastewater into Ohio waterways. The new permit would create a one-stop statewide approval process for data centers that discharge wastewater. Read the full story by WFMJ-TV – Youngstown, Ohio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-advocates-voice-concerns-wastewater-plans-datacenters
A new documentary highlights collaborative efforts to restore lake sturgeon in the Saginaw Bay watershed, where the species has been reduced to less than 1 % of its historic numbers. Read the full story by Midland Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-sturgeon-comeback-saginawbay
A 22-foot vessel built in Manitowaning, Ontario, has been utilizing cutting-edge civilian underwater drones to discover secrets hidden in the depths of the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Manitoulin Expositor.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250107-manitoulin-built-vessel-explores-great-lakes-depths
