Minnesota is giving its water quality standards a fresh look. With public input in their hands, officials are under pressure to add language about nitrate levels, a move some said is long overdue. Read the full story by Public News Service.  

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-minnesota-nitratestandards

Hannah Reynolds

Winter surfing in Sheboygan, Michigan, sometimes called the Malibu of the Midwest, is unique in that it’s not as particular about which way the wind blows. The Great Lakes surf season peaks in fall and winter when the wind creates some of the biggest waves of the year. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-wintersurfers-embrace-cold

Hannah Reynolds

The Port Authority recently began requesting proposals from entrepreneurs/individuals interested in both operating the bayfront landmark and bringing new business/activity — such as a retail shop or a restaurant — to the iconic waterfront landmark and its surrounding area. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-bicentennialtower-erie-portauthority

Hannah Reynolds

A recent study has found dozens of previously unknown “forever chemicals” in the fish, mussels and waters of Lake Huron, revealing more contamination than previously realized. Now researchers are scrambling to understand the health and environmental effects of these chemicals. Read the full story by Capital News Service.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-researchers-chemicals-pfas-greatlakes-fish

Hannah Reynolds

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said it stocked the state with more than 46 million fish in Ohio’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. That’s 6 million more than what was stocked in 2023. Read the full story by Spectrum News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-ohio-restockedwaterways-fish-2024

Hannah Reynolds

The Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie are a critical piece to the ever-important Great Lakes shipping industry. Each year, from late March through mid-January of the next year, hundreds of ships go through Lakes Superior and Huron, up and the St. Mary’s River transporting tens of millions of tons of cargo. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI. 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-ships-soolocks-2024

Hannah Reynolds

In December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced the first construction contract had been awarded for the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River near Joliet, Illinois. The work includes installing underwater defenses to keep invasive carp from getting into the Great Lakes. However, the first phase of the project has now been postponed due to the “anticipated lack of federal funding” under the Trump administration. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250212-funding-uncertainty-greatlakes-invasivecarp-trump

Hannah Reynolds

Canada and the U.S. are being asked by the science advisory board for the International Joint Commission to designate microplastics as a chemical of mutual concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-us-canada-greatlakes-microplasticpollution-takeaction

Hannah Reynolds

An increasing goose population within cities and suburban areas is raising concerns about the effects of their poop entering waterways. Goose poop contains high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which in large quantities cause eutrophication, or the growth of algal blooms in water bodies. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-moregoosepoop-moreproblems

Hannah Reynolds

The city of Rochester Hills, Michigan, was awarded $300,000 in funding for habitat restoration. The funds will allow the city to use herbicide, mechanical removal, and prescribed fire methods to reduce invasives in the natural areas in Rochester Hills and the Clinton River watershed. Read the full story by C&G Newspapers.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-rochesterhills-fight-invasive-species

Hannah Reynolds

The owners of a shuttered nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Michigan are still banking on its historic reopening later this year, despite the confusion of President Donald Trump’s mixed messages on nuclear power. Read the full story by Planet Detroit. 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-palisades-nuclear-plant

Hannah Reynolds

The Minnesota Court of Appeals handed environmental groups a win in their continuing legal fight against the expansion of a massive pond for mining waste three miles from Lake Superior. Their ruling says the DNR was too quick to reject a comprehensive study of the basin, which holds more than 40 years’ worth of mine waste near Silver Bay. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune. 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250205-dnr-massive-pool-mine-waste

Hannah Reynolds

Ottawa Sands County Park, located in Spring Lake, Michigan, was transformed from a former sand mining site to a vibrant ecological and recreational hub has been recognized for its design by state park officials. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-ottawacountypark-transformation-miningsite

Hannah Reynolds

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources worked this fall to stock hundreds of thousands of fish in waters across the state — fish that will provide anglers with more opportunities in seasons to come.  Read the full story by The Daily News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-dnr-restocked-michiganwaters

Hannah Reynolds

After a few mild winters that left the Great Lakes with a lack of ice cover, anglers are rejoicing about the colder temperatures and thicker ice this winter. As of Friday, Lake St. Clair was 100% covered by ice. Read the full story by The Detroit News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-anglers-ice-longerseason

Hannah Reynolds

During the winter months, the water levels drop in the Great Lakes as part of an annual cycle, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They predict water levels will continue to drop until around April. All the Great Lakes this winter are below 2023-2024 levels. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-waterlevels-january

Hannah Reynolds

The Manitoulin, a 663-foot Canadian vessel with 17 people on board, got stuck in the ice on Lake Erie on Wednesday after it dropped off a load of wheat in Buffalo, New York, and was heading back to Canada. Read the full story by The Associated Press.  

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-freighter-lakeerie-freed

Hannah Reynolds

Chicago’s warmest February on record, in 2024, brought an unsettling first: a full month without snow in a city known for epic winter storms. While a milder winter may seem like a relief, the implications go deeper, signaling the urgency to prepare for more erratic weather, especially along our Great Lakes shores. Read the full story by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-coastal-communities

Hannah Reynolds

A business competition to tackle environmental and infrastructure issues in the Great Lakes kicks off on Monday. Water quality, microplastics, PFAS and marine infrastructure are among the things people could grapple with in this year’s Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-problems-solutions-bluetech

Hannah Reynolds

A new documentary film that tells the underwater impact of quagga mussels in the Great Lakes debuts this Thursday in Wisconsin and will be streamed online..  “All Too Clear” is a 90-minute production that uses underwater drones to explore the re-engineering of the ecosystem in the Great Lakes by the tiny invasive mussels. Read the full story by the Door County Daily News.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250127-greatlakes-underwater-documentary-doorcounty

Hannah Reynolds

The Great Lakes region is an ideal place to see gulls, especially during the winter months when rare gulls pass through. While they may not be a marvel to most birders, they stand out for their unique ability to adapt to their environment in the face of climate change. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-greatlakes-gulls

Hannah Reynolds

A film set to debut in Cleveland might be the first of its kind to provide a hyperlocal focus on the unseen impacts of the plastic materials that are floating around our the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Cleveland Scene.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-ripplesofplastic-lakeerie-plasticpollution

Hannah Reynolds

Local surfer and Greenhouse Surfboards founder Ken Cole took his passion for surfing beyond getting out on the water. He’s created the world’s first leaf-based surfboard to encompass what he believes is the art, soul and sustainable future of surfing. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-milwaukee-surfer-ecoboard

Hannah Reynolds

Trump recently referenced a “large faucet” in British Columbia, Canada that could be turned on to bring water to California, without providing supporting information or a mention of how Canada might see the venture. Canadians are taking Trump’s desire for Canada’s water seriously. Read the full story by Michigan Public. 

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250117-trump-waterstatement-canadians

Hannah Reynolds

A new study is contributing to the ever-evolving understanding of what occurs in the Great Lakes during the winter months, and how the lakes affect winter weather in the region.  Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakes-winter-season-shrinking

Hannah Reynolds

Sea lamprey abundance exceeded targets in 2024 in all Great Lakes due to treatment restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, numbers of the parasitic fish are expected to decline. Read the full story by USA Today.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-vampires-greatlakes

Hannah Reynolds

A recent Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan report documents substantial progress in creating The Great Lakes Way — an interconnected set of greenways and water trails stretching from Port Huron, Michigan, on southern Lake Huron, to Toledo, Ohio, on western Lake Erie. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250106-greatlakesmoment

Hannah Reynolds

Snowy owls are arriving in the Great Lakes region earlier than usual this winter, marking what experts describe as an “early-season push.” This contrasts with a much slower migration in 2023. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-greatlakes-early-season-push-snowyowls

Hannah Reynolds

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission said non-native predatory sea lamprey populations spiked due to reduced control during the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission said numbers rose when field crews were constrained in their ability to conduct sea lamprey control in 2020 and 2021. Read the full story by WWTV – Cadillac, MI.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-invasivesealamprey-population-spike

Hannah Reynolds

MillerKnoll, a West Michigan office furniture manufacturer, has committed to eliminating PFAS from most of its products by next year. The company said all North American products will be free of any added per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances beginning in May 2025. Efforts to reduce or eliminate PFAS in manufacturing could play a huge role in limiting further pollution of our lakes. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-millerknoll-pfas-eliminate-north-america

Hannah Reynolds

In the early hours on Friday, Dec. 13, the Michigan Senate passed five bills that would, together, overhaul Michigan’s environmental remediation program to prioritize physical removal over allowing pollution to remain in the ground but limiting human contact. Read the full story by MLive.

Original Article

Great Lakes Commission

Great Lakes Commission

https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20241218-michigan-sentate-cleanup-efforts

Hannah Reynolds