The Great Lakes cruising season is well underway with five ships already sailing up and down the freshwater coastlines, and Pearl Mist is returning to the Great Lakes for the twelfth year in a row. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260522-pearl-mist
There’s a new catch-and-release state record for lake trout in Minnesota, a 44-inch lake trout from Lake Superior in April, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Division. Read the full story by Bring Me the News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260522-record-trout
The Michigan Commission of Agriculture and Rural Development voted to approve six additional listings to the state invasive plant list following public input and what the state says was a “rigorous” scientific review process. Read the full story by WLNS-TV – Lansing, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260522-mi-invasive-plants
U.S.-flag shipping on the Great Lakes lost a total of 82 ship days, or about a third of the season, due to inadequate icebreaking. At one point 19 vessels were stopped for multiple days in the ice, waiting for icebreakers to clear the way. Read the full story by WDIV-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-ice-breaking
Michigan environmental regulators on Tuesday announced they are seeking input on a request to reissue one of the permits needed to move forward with construction on the controversial Line 5 tunnel project. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-line5-input
Rising utility bills and increased noise aren’t the only concerns surrounding data centers. They’re also making headlines over fears they could contribute to lower water levels in Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WFLD-TV – Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-data-centers
Michigan will receive a $108 million settlement from Monsanto Co. to address longstanding environmental contamination from PCBs across the state. The money will be used to reduce contamination risks, improve water quality, and restore damaged natural resources. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-pcb-settlement
The Port of Green Bay, Wisconsin, closed for several weeks due to swift waters from inland flooding. The port reopened to traffic Thursday. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-green-bay
Lake Ontario water levels recently rose above key thresholds, putting shoreline communities at risk of flooding. Read the full story by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-ontario-levels
Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania, typically gets state and federal money to add sand to its beaches. This summer’s work will start in July with only state funds. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-erie-sand
A coalition of Ontario conservation authorities wants to know what you value about the Lake Ontario shoreline, and they’re travelling the 100-kilometre stretch between Niagara-on-the-Lake and Oakville, Ontario, to find out. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-ontario-waterfront
A new book, “The Great Lakes Ships of Frank E. Kirby,” explores the life of a prolific Midwestern naval architect whose vessels once carried passengers who are still alive today. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-ship-architect
Michilimackinac State Park, just below the Mackinac Bridge on the southern shore of Lake Huron, in Mackinaw City, Michigan, is slated for a full revamp. The proposed project includes a pavilion, accessible picnic areas and a pergola for weddings, interpretive signage, refreshed landscaping and irrigation. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260520-park-revamp
A judge in Bayfield County, Wisconsin halted work in four locations in the state where Enbridge needs more permits to install structures. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-line5-halt
Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert has been elected to the board of directors for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, a binational coalition of more than 450 municipalities working to advance economic growth and environmental stewardship across the region. Read the full story by WDIO – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-duluth-mayor
A replica of the historic USS Niagara is back in the water after undergoing nearly $7 million in restorations. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-ship-restoration
Over the weekend, piping plover eggs were laid at Montrose Beach and the Waukegan shorelines in Illinois. Chicago’s original plover pair have switched mates this year, which is reportedly not uncommon according to the Lake County Audubon Society. Read the full story by WTTW- Chicago, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-piping-plover-breeding
The historic Lake Michigan auto and passenger ferry SS Badger, the last coal-fired steamship operating on the Great Lakes, opened its season Friday, May 15, headed for Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-ss-badger
Model legislation developed at UW-Milwaukee provides an opportunity to forge a more sustainable future amidst the Great Lakes’ AI-data center boom Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-data-center-boom
A quarter century after scientists and tribal biologists began raising and releasing lake sturgeon into Michigan rivers, researchers are now documenting the first clear signs the restoration strategy is working. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-lake-sturgeon-restoration
Illinois officials are wary of moving the Brandon Road project to the Detroit area, threatening to add to the numerous lawsuits that have been filed against the Trump administration. The project is in Illinois and deserves to be managed from there, not Michigan. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260518-brandon-road
According to the International Joint Commission, Lake Ontario could reach a flood-prone stage by next Friday, leaving local lakeshore communities concerned. Read the full story by WHEC-TV – Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-flood-outlook
For some grape growers along Lake Erie, disaster struck in March when global beverage company, Refresco, told them they would be terminating their contracts immediately, leaving them with a surplus of grapes, and no one willing to buy them. Draft legislation in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would allow Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Business Development Center to deploy short-term disaster funding at the state level. Read the full story by WHTM-TV – Harrisburg, PA.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-grape-disaster-funding
The Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers held its annual Blessing of the Port ceremony this evening at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center in Duluth, Minnesota. The event marked the beginning of the busy Great Lakes shipping season, bringing together community members, maritime officials, and shipping representatives. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-shipping-season
A new report released by several Michigan state agencies says monitoring, farm conservation programs and wastewater upgrades are helping reduce phosphorus flowing into western Lake Erie, but it stops short of declaring a meaningful turning point in the fight against harmful algal blooms. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-habs-report
Water levels on lakes Michigan and Huron had their largest surge for the month of April since record-keeping began in 1918; the quick rise was driven by snowmelt and heavy rains. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-lake-rise
According to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) official, the pattern of declining yellow perch survival rates in Saginaw Bay appears to be continuing its downward trend. Read the full story by the Oscoda Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-perch-survival
On March 30, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency resumed dredging more than 100,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with coal tar and petroleum products from a 0.75-mile stretch of the Lower Rouge River Old Channel around Zug Island in River Rouge, Michigan. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-dredging-cleanup
The Brule State Fish Hatchery in northern Wisconsin must remain open after the Wisconsin state legislature’s finance committee unanimously approved $4 million in additional spending authority for the state’s fish and wildlife account Tuesday. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-fish-hatchery-funding
As political and business leaders push for more cargo movement across the Great Lakes, one expert says shifting freight from highways to waterways could ease truck congestion and lower emissions, but only if governments and industry make major investments first. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-shipping-benefits
Walleye season is in full swing across metro Detroit, with anglers taking to the waters along eastern Michigan to fish. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has limits for all four bodies of water in the metro Detroit area for walleye sport fishing: Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River, the Detroit River and Lake Erie. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-walleye-rules
The Great Lakes are home to thousands of islands, some that even include lakes with islands of their own, but 10 locations stand out for their sheer size. The largest island on the Great Lakes, Manitoulin Island, stands at 1,068 square miles and lays within Canadian waters. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260515-largest-islands
In Michigan, a long-planned ecological restoration project will reconnect Buckhorn Creek to the Muskegon River, reopening miles of trout spawning habitat and improving aquatic biodiversity. Read the full story by Big Rapids Pioneer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-buckhorn-dam-removal-michigan
A network of scientific buoys is being deployed across Lake Erie for the summer season to provide real-time data on wave conditions, water temperature, wind, and water quality for boaters, anglers, researchers, and weather forecasters. Officials say the buoy system improves safety and helps scientists monitor issues like harmful algal blooms and changing lake conditions throughout the region. Read the full story by Erie News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-buoy-network-lake-erie-summer
A group of anglers were caught with more than double their collective limit of walleye from the Detroit River on Friday, May 8. Michigan Department of Natural Resources says conservation officers seized 34 walleye from a group of five. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-detroit-river-walleye-anglers-double-limit
Ontario’s new Water and Wastewater Public Corporations Act could open the door to the “financialization” of public water systems by shifting control from municipalities to arm’s-length corporations that may prioritize investor returns over public accountability and affordability. Read the full story by The Conversation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-new-ontario-water-sanitation-law
A large snapping turtle was rescued after being stranded and injured in rough Lake Michigan surf near Grand Haven, Michigan. After recovering, he was successfully released back into his native habitat, highlighting the challenges turtles can face along the Great Lakes shoreline. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-doug-the-tank-rescued
An ongoing legal challenge over public access to Lake Michigan shorelines is now moving through Milwaukee County Circuit Court and potentially toward the Wisconsin Supreme Court. It could ultimately determine whether the public has the right to walk along Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline below the ordinary high-water mark, similar to rulings already made in Michigan and Indiana. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-lake-michigan-shoreline-courtcase
Behind the scenes of rising water levels, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supplements the capabilities of local and state governments with specialized engineering expertise, historical data and critical flood-fighting supplies when the situation demands it. Read the full story by Niagara Frontier Publications.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-support-the-shores-us-army-corps-engineers
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-park-service-burns-sleepingbeardunes
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-manitowoc-ss-badger
A ship that’s been part of Superior’s history since 1896 is celebrating a birthday and welcoming everyone aboard — though it isn’t sailing anywhere. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260513-ss-meteor
Consumers Energy is seeking approval to drill two deep injection wells at a coal plant next to Lake Michigan in Ottawa County, Michigan, to dispose of coal ash wastewater and other liquids generated during site cleanup. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-injection-wells
Pink salmon were accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes in the 1950s and have since spread to all five lakes. Researchers are studying their adaptability to predict how they might impact Arctic and North Atlantic ecosystems. Read the full story by People.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-pink-salmon
Water levels on lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior and St. Clair are forecast to remain above last year’s levels through the boating season after a spring marked by heavy snowmelt and unusually wet conditions. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-water-levels
As spring rain and snowmelt continue to raise water levels across the Great Lakes region, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it is prepared to support communities along Lake Ontario facing potential flooding concerns. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-flood-risks
After it is deployed later this month, a new weather buoy in Lake Erie off the shore of Buffalo, New York, will measure wind speed, air temperature, wave height, water temperature and lots of other data. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-new-buoy
The Soo Locks are a system of parallel locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, that allow ships to travel between lakes Superior and Huron by bypassing the fast-moving rapids of the Saint Marys River. Here’s the best time for visiting and viewing the locks in action. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-soo-locks
The life cycle of the mayfly is so vital to the aquatic ecosystem — especially in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan — that it is one of the main indicators of freshwater health. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-erie-mayflies
A setback occurred during the attempted removal of the G Tug Hawaii sunk in Lake Erie. Spectators and crews watched the boat detach from the 272-foot crane, bounce off the wall of the dock, and resubmerge into the lake. Read the full story by the Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260511-tugboat-fell
