More than 4,000 cruise ship passengers visited Duluth, Minnesota in 2023 resulting in a $600,000 economic impact for the city. Read the full story by the Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-duluth-cruises
Feral goldfish have been invading much of North America, including the Great Lakes, for decades and recently their numbers seem to be rising rapidly. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-feral-goldfish
To bolster disappearing groundwater reserves, water will flow from Chicago to Joliet, Illinois via a 31-mile pipeline built to connect Lake Michigan to the city. Joliet is leading the way for proactive approaches toward water sustainability and finding a solution for the future of water sourcing. Read the full story by the Chicago Reader.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-joliet-water
The littoral combat ship USS Marinette LCS 25, built in Marinette, Wisconsin, and commissioned in Menominee, Michigan, traversed 15 locks, four Great Lakes and more than 1,400 nautical miles to reach the Atlantic Ocean and then continued its journey to its home port of Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, Florida. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-uss-marinette
The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald not only inspired an iconic ballad from Canadian crooner Gordon Lightfoot, it also led to the advancement of Great Lakes weather monitoring and forecasting that has helped ships navigate storms ever since. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-storm-navigation
A charter captain faces prison and a fine when he is sentenced early next year for violating a Coast Guard order to stop commercial operation of his unlicensed boat on Lake St. Clair. Read the full story by the Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-unlicensed-vessel
Two of the biggest fishing derbies in the United States are being contested now on Lake Erie. The Walleye Fall Brawl and the Fall Walleye Slam attract contestants from more than 20 states and the winner of each derby will take home more than $100 thousand in cash, boats, and other prizes. Read the full story by WFXR-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-fishing-derbies
An outbreak of COVID-19 aboard a Canadian warship has forced the Royal Canadian Navy to cancel the remainder of a tour of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Read the full story by the National Post.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-warship-tour
The National Park Service is excavating a popular beach at Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this fall to remove sand and rocks deposited there by annual river dredging, which formerly helped boaters access Lake Michigan. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-sleepingbear-beach
November is Historic Bridge Awareness Month and while Michigan is a state defined, in part, by a most iconic bridge—the Mighty Mac—there are many other less mighty but still remarkable bridges to be found across state. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231127-michigan-bridges
There are a multitude of threats to water resources throughout the Great Lakes basin, which underscores the burden that falls on Indigenous Nations to protect their treaty rights even though they may not have the staffing, time, or money to do so. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-treaty-rights
Seven years after the Chicago City Council first approved plans for a marina next to Navy Pier, the long-stalled project appears ready to set sail. Read the full story by WGN-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-navypier-marina
Anglers will be allowed to keep fewer steelhead trout in a handful of Michigan rivers after state regulators tightened regulations over fears of population declines. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-steelhead-limits
In Toledo, Ohio, the National Museum of the Great Lakes announced an upcoming expansion as well as a change in leadership during their annual State of the Museum update. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-museum-expansion
The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is expanding tourism along the Lake Superior shoreline near Bayfield, Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-redcliff-tourism
More than 210 years after the Battle of Lake Erie, a replica of the U.S. Brig Niagara still sails the Great Lakes, giving visitors a chance to learn the very old art of square-rig sailing, as well as a chance to engage with a key part of U.S. naval history. Read the full story by the Butler Eagle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-brig-niagara
The Oneida Nation reservation, located within the lower Fox River watershed which drains into Green Bay, Wisconsin, has successfully limited phosphorus in creeks for two consecutive years, with recent evidence of reproducing brook trout for the first time in decades. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-indigenous-agriculture
One of the most common and repeated claims was that the Detroit River was once so polluted that it lit on fire. But did that happen? Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-detroitriver-fire
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy recently unveiled a half-mile expansion to Detroit’s Riverwalk that allows visitors to walk or bike 3.5 miles along the river, without interruption, from the Joe Louis Arena to the Belle Isle Bridge. Read the full story by WDET – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-detroit-riverwalk
A Libertyville, Illinois, high school science teacher, known for incorporating real-world applications in her AP Environmental Science class, attended a weeklong workshop aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency research vessel Lake Guardian on Lake Ontario. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231115-environmental-teacher
A large-scale effort is underway to connect water quality sensors on buoys and other equipment across Lake Erie using low-power radio signal networked from buoy to buoy rather than relying on inconsistent cellular signal. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-smart-lake-erie
The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers recently called for 250 million more trees to be planted around the Great Lakes region by 2033. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-tree-planting
Illinois and Chicago leaders announced the dispersal of $336 million to Chicago to aid efforts in removing lead service lines across the city. There are about 9 million lead service lines nationally, of which 400,000 are in Chicago. Read the full story by WGN-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-chicago-water
House Bill 5108, introduced in October, would overhaul Michigan’s outdated commercial fishing statute to add popular game fish such as walleye, lake trout and yellow perch to the state’s Great Lakes commercial fishing allowance. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-michigan-fishing
There’s a growing effort to reintroduce wild rice to the state of Michigan after years of damage caused by logging, development, and wildlife wiped out the plant in some parts of the state.
Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-michigan-manoomin
According to a new study, 71% of water samples drawn from 450 private wells across Wisconsin in 2022 were contaminated with PFAS chemicals. About 96% of the contaminated samples contained PFAS levels below limits that the EPA is considering adopting. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1 – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-wisconsin-pfas
A crumbling railroad grade abandoned nearly a century ago has been removed in a project aimed at protecting fish spawning habitat in Nebagamon Creek near Douglas, Wisconsin. The project rebuilt and naturalized 500 feet of Nebagamon Creek, the largest tributary to the Brule River, which is among the best spawning rivers for Lake Superior trout and salmon. Read the story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-brule-river
According to new research, Ohio birds flying over Lake Erie like to use islands to guide them on their route. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-lake-erie-birds
Now that Waukesha, Wisconsin, has fully transitioned to Lake Michigan as its water source, some local businesses are starting to see the benefits, including an aquarium shop that relies on large quantities of water. The business’ reverse osmosis filter should function longer with less hard water in the system. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1 – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-waukesha-business
Video footage shows frolicking river otters on the Milwaukee Riverwalk, which extends more than three miles along both sides of the Milwaukee River in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WITI-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231106-milwaukee-otters
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-milwaukee-restoration
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-huronton-shipwreck
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-water-affordability
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-bird-collisions
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-stamp-pipeline
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-michigan-harbors
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-waukesha-water
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-shipwreck-novel
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231013-record-salmon
A study by the University of Minnesota and Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa found that 117 chemicals from DEET bug spray, antidepressants, hormones, antifungals, antihistamines, antibiotics, and heart medications are found in fish and water in lakes across Northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by the Duluth News Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-minnesota-fish-chemicals
Based on 2023 trawl surveys of state waters it conducts annually, the Ohio Division of Wildlife is rating this year’s walleye hatch as exceptional. That marks the fifth time in nine years dating back to 2015 that the walleye hatch has earned the division’s highest ranking. Read the full story by The Columbus Dispatch.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ohio-walleye-hatch
In a September 6 survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detected no evidence of invasive silver carp eDNA in the St. Joseph River near Berrien Springs, Michigan, after routine testing this summer turned up a single, positive sample. Read the full story by WXMI-TV – Grand Rapids, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-carp-edna-update
Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, is regarded among scientists to be one of the most ecologically pristine and biologically diverse spots in the Great Lakes region. Locals and scientists from Central Michigan University work to protect its unique habitats. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-beaver-island
The Lake Ontario – St. Lawrence River Plan 2014 determines how much water should be released from Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River by the Moses-Saunders Power Dam in Massena, New York. In September, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board deviated from Plan 2014 to provide higher and more predictable water levels on Lake St. Lawrence and the upper St. Lawrence River but in October has gone back to following Plan 2014 directives as Lake Ontario levels continue their seasonal decrease. Read the full story by the Niagara Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-ontario-water-levels
The Lake Express car ferry, designed to bypass Chicago area traffic, connects Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon, Michigan. In its 20th season, the high-speed catamaran is expected to have a banner year, experiencing increased traveler volumes in spring and summer even prior to the closure of the S.S. Badger car ferry in August. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-lake-express
The Platte River State Fish Hatchery in Benzie County, Michigan has stocked over 2 million salmon weighing over 79 tons this season. Coho salmon egg take will occur at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery around the third week of October and last for several weeks. Read the full story by WPBN/WGTU-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-fish-hatchery
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources plans to stock adult Arctic grayling in select Upper Peninsula, Michigan lakes this fall as part of an effort to reintroduce the once iconic fish. The Arctic grayling was abundant in northern Michigan until the 1930s when intense logging wiped out its shaded spawning habitat. Read the full story by Michigan Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-arctic-grayling
October 1 marks the 135th anniversary of a tragedy in the waters of Lake Huron off the shore of the thumb of Michigan that resulted in the loss of five crew members of the barge St. Clair who died despite the heroic efforts of the U.S. Life-Saving Service Station in Harbor Beach, Michigan. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-st-clair-barge
The boundaries for two mosquito species, the yellow fever mosquito and the Asian tiger mosquito, are moving northward into the Great Lakes Basin, bringing with them the ability to transmit diseases of public importance including Zika, dengue, and yellow fever, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by The Daily Telegram.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20231002-invasive-mosquitoes
Illinois has ended the statewide testing of fish from Illinois lakes and rivers for organochlorine pesticides such as DDT. State officials say the levels of the pesticides found through testing have diminished to near zero over the past 50 years, allowing the state to discontinue testing for those chemicals. Read the full story by The Telegraph.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20230920-illinois-fish-testing
