Superior Aggregates Corp. received $1 million from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund to revive commercial shipping at Michipicoten Harbour near Wawa, Ontario, which has not been used by vessels since the late 1990s. Read the full story by SNnewswatch.com.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261007-harbor-revival
Local officials in Oswego, Illinois, are considering longer-term interim financing for the village’s Lake Michigan water connection as approval of a federal WIFIA loan continues to take longer than expected and interest rates rise. Read the full story by WSPY – Plano, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261007-water-connection-financing
The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven, Michigan, has received the Michigan Historical Society’s Exhibit or Program of the Year Award for its exhibit, “Working the Water: Commercial Fishing on Lake Michigan.” It’s a statewide honor recognizing excellence in the interpretation and presentation of Michigan history. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261007-museum-award
A two-year restoration effort is getting underway at Shorewood Nature Preserve in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where volunteers and community groups are working to protect native habitat, improve public access and preserve a piece of Lake Michigan shoreline. Read the full story by WTMJ-TV – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261007-shoreline-restoration
Tribal leaders, economic development professionals, finance executives and development partners will gather this week in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, for the fifth annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit, focused on how tribal priorities become financed, constructed and operating projects. Read the full story by Tribal Business News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-tribal-summit
The U.S. Senate this week passed legislation that would reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, sending the measure to the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed a different version of the bill in March. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-glri-funding
Great Lakes ports are seeing declines in iron ore and steel shipments that are tied in part to the ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-shipping-tarrifs
The recently formed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council will host a meeting in Wayne County, New York, this week, and the public is invited to attend. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-sanctuary-advisory
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District will begin dredging Toledo Harbor –the largest annual dredging operation on the Great Lakes this week. Read the full story by Dredge Wire.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-dredging-impact
This fall, the Wisconsin Water Library and the Wisconsin Historical Society are teaming up to launch an online book club focused on Great Lakes shipwrecks and maritime history. The book club will feature books from regional authors as well as presentations from maritime archaeologists who document the wrecks and reconstruct their histories. Read the full story by The Gazette.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-book-club
Shipments of iron ore from U.S. ports on the Great Lakes decreased 1.2 percent from last year to 4.6 million tons in September. Read the full story by Marine Link.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-iron-ore
Ohio Gov. DeWine visited Toledo to highlight H2Ohio’s work to create and restore wetlands to improve Ohio’s water quality over the long term. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-dewine-toledo
Lake Superior has many shipwrecks, and sometimes when conditions are right, you can see them. That’s what’s happening right now on Wisconin’s South Shore of Lake Superior near the Amnicon River. Read the full story by KKCB – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-water-levels
Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve held its annual fall beach cleanup on Wisconsin Point in Superior, Wisconsin, to remove trash along the Lake Superior beaches and ensure visitors can access the park trash-free. Organizers said they have removed upwards of 873 pounds of trash from the area since 2024. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Duluth. MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261005-clean-up
The Great Lakes Restoration Act, passed this week in the U.S. Senate, will reauthorize funding for habitat restoration, toxic sediment/ pollution cleanup and invasive species management to protect and maintain the region. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-great-lakes-restoration
U.S. Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05) joined lawmakers from Michigan and Ohio to introduce the bipartisan Regional Great Lakes Partnership Act to enhance federal conservation and research support by officially designating the Great Lakes Commission as a formal Regional Great Lakes Partnership. Read the full story by WTVB – Coldwater, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-great-lakes-partnership
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved removing the “Beach Closings” impairment from the Maumee Area of Concern, signaling a large step for improving water quality in the Lake Erie tributary. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-impairment-remediation
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recognized Treaty Day on Wednesday, in part by releasing nearly 700 sturgeon fingerlings into the upper St. Louis River. Treaty Day marks the 1854 treaty signing between the United States and the Anishinaabe people. Read the full story by KBJR-TV – Superior, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-treaty-day
Construction has started on a pumping and storage station that will deliver Lake Michigan drinking water to Romeoville, Illinois. The site will have two storage tanks that each hold 1.6 million gallons of water. Read the full story by The Times Weekly.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-water-pumping
The Rain Catchers Collective, a coalition of the organizations stewarding southeast Michigan’s four major watersheds— the Clinton, Detroit, Huron, and Rouge rivers—is seeking $12.5 million in state funding to expand its residential program, develop a network of native plant suppliers, and train a workforce to install and maintain green stormwater infrastructure projects. Read the full story by Planet Detroit.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-green-infrastructure
Michigan is putting $89 million toward cleaning up the Detroit and Kalamazoo Rivers and related waterways. Federal, state, and local officials met in Detroit Thursday afternoon to announce the Reclaim the Rivers initiative. Read the full story by WEMU – Ypsilanti, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-waterway-cleanup
A new 66-foot research vessel designed to improve the safety and efficiency of Lake Michigan fisheries research is now in service after being commissioned Wednesday in Charlevoix, Michigan. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-research-vessel
Nearly 100 young lake sturgeon were released into the Tittabawassee River Saturday, in efforts to restore the species’ population. Three similar releases were held later in the day on the Shiawassee, Flint and Cass rivers; all four rivers connect with the Saginaw River, which then flows into Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay. Read the full story by Spectrum News 1.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-sturgeon-release
The City of Evanston, Illinois, recently installed new educational signs along bike paths and at local dog parks along Lake Michigan. The signs are designed to raise awareness about protecting Evanston’s drinking water and keeping local waterways clean. Read the full story by the Evanston RoundTable.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20261002-community-education
Ontario is investing $1 million to help Superior Aggregates repair and modernize Michipicoten Harbour near Wawa, Lake Superior, which has been inactive since the late 1990s. The upgrades are intended to restore commercial shipping, connect northern Ontario businesses to Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway markets, and support forestry, mining and other regional industries. Read the full story by Ontario Construction News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-ontario-michipicten-habour
State and local agencies are continuing to monitor and clean up contamination from the 2025 East Jordan Plastics fire in South Haven, Michigan, focusing on plastic debris and potential pollutants that spread into nearby waterways and wetlands. Cleanup efforts have made progress, but officials say long-term monitoring will be needed to assess environmental impacts and ensure affected areas are restored. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-water-quality-monitoring-plastics-factory
Wisconsin held its first-ever PFAS Awareness Week Sept. 21–25 to educate residents about the risks posed by “forever chemicals” and efforts to reduce contamination. The state is preparing to distribute PFAS Trust Fund grants for testing and treatment, including sampling private wells, schools, childcare facilities and biosolids. Read the full story by The Advance-Titan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-wisconsin-first-pfas-awareness-week
Great Lakes lawmakers argue that recent construction pauses are especially concerning after hundreds of juvenile silver carp were found just 80 miles from Lake Michigan, warning that an invasion could damage native fisheries, ecosystems, and billions of dollars in fishing and boating-related economic activity. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-great-lakes-lawmakers-invasive-carp
The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum in Evanston, Illinois will reopen October 1, after renovations, with two major exhibitions and a free public celebration planned for Indigenous Peoples’ Day later that month. The reopening will introduce “The Gifts of Our World,” a permanent hands-on exhibition for children ages 3 to 10, and “Indigenous Chicago,” an exhibition tracing more than 500 years of Native history in the region that will remain on view for three years. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-gichigamiin-museum-evanston-native-greatlakes-region
The Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum in Evanston, Illinois will reopen October 1, after renovations, with two major exhibitions and a free public celebration planned for Indigenous Peoples’ Day later that month. The reopening will introduce “The Gifts of Our World,” a permanent hands-on exhibition for children ages 3 to 10, and “Indigenous Chicago,” an exhibition tracing more than 500 years of Native history in the region that will remain on view for three years. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-gichigamiin-museum-evanston-native-greatlakes-region
Michigan researchers have refined genetic testing that can more reliably determine the sex of lake sturgeon, particularly in young fish and outside the spawning season. The breakthrough could aid conservation and fisheries management by reducing handling time and allowing researchers to analyze archived samples. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-michigan-researchers-lake-sturgeon-conservation-efforts
The Soo Locks expansion has reached the halfway point of its third and final construction phase, marking a major milestone in the $3.2 billion project to build a second Poe-sized lock in Sault Ste. Marie. The new lock is expected to improve the reliability of Great Lakes shipping and is on track for completion in 2030. Read the full story by WJRT-TV – Flint, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-soo-locks-halway-point-construction-phase
Suburban water agencies in northeastern Illinois are continuing to advance a proposed $6 billion regional water system that would reduce their dependence on Chicago’s Lake Michigan water supply, even as they remain in discussions with the city. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-suburban-water-agencies-chicago
Pennsylvania lawmakers advanced bills that would require game wardens to obtain a warrant or meet a recognized exception before entering private property and would establish penalties for illegally snagging or foul-hooking fish. The measures aim to clarify enforcement authority and strengthen rules against unsporting fishing practices. Read the full story by Erie Times-News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260930-senate-advances-bill-pa
Tribal leaders in the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and others living in Bayfield County, Wisconsin, question a federal bill to redesignate the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore as a national park. Read the full story by PBS Wisconsin.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-apostle-islands
More than 40 million people in the United States and Canada depend on the Great Lakes for drinking water. Treated lake water is laden with microplastics, which are toxic chemicals linked to cancer and other diseases. Also contaminated are fish, an important part of regional diets. Read the full story by the Chicago Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-plastic-pollution
Researchers at Michigan State University are exploring insects as an unexpected new tool that could reshape how scientists detect so-called forever chemicals in lakes, rivers and wetlands across the Great Lakes. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-insects-pfas
As invasive carp threaten to move closer to the Great Lakes, experts are raising concerns about what could happen if they reach Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-carp
The Ontario government is investing up to $1.8 million in community-led projects to make Great Lakes cleaner and healthier, through the fourth round of the Great Lakes Local Action Fund. Read the full story by Today’s Northumberland.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-ontario-funding
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources utilizes three facilities to collect salmon and trout eggs and keep the Lake Michigan fishery going strong. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-fishery-eggs
According to a recent study, Michigan’s water systems face up to $85 billion in water infrastructure needs over the next two decades for more than 1,300 water systems. Read the full story by Crain’s Detroit Business.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-water-infrastructure
For the Clinton River Watershed Council, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding is more than a grant program. Across the watershed in southeast Michigan, GLRI support helps restore habitat, improve water quality, reduce flooding impacts and build stronger, more resilient communities. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260928-glri-crwc
Folklore says there’s an entire town buried beneath the sand dunes of Saugatuck, dubbed “Michigan’s Pompeii,” that was left behind in 1875. A unique cruise will sail along the Kalamazoo River out to Lake Michigan to explore the area. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-pfas-awareness-week
Folklore says there’s an entire town buried beneath the sand dunes of Saugatuck, dubbed “Michigan’s Pompeii,” that was left behind in 1875. A unique cruise will sail along the Kalamazoo River out to Lake Michigan to explore the area. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-lake-michigan-buried-city
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources can now set special bag and size limits for fishing in lakes where walleye populations are struggling. Under the rule, the DNR could more quickly apply limits on lakes where surveys have detected fewer than 15 juvenile fish per mile. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-special-bag-limit-struggling-walleye-populations-wisconsin
A decades-old, contaminated groundwater plume from industrial chemicals in Antrim County, Michigan, is still expanding. The plume is one of the largest trichloroethylene groundwater contaminations in the country. Read the full story by Interlochen Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-state-officials-chemical-plume-antrim-county
Lawmakers are advancing a sweeping rewrite of Michigan’s old dam safety law, six years after a catastrophic failure exposed weaknesses in how aging dams are regulated. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-michigan-safety-overhaul-failed-attempts
Wisconsin tribal and environmental leaders are urging Gov. Tony Evers to declare a disaster and take stronger action against Enbridge following the August Line 5 spill, which released about 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids near the Bad River Reservation. Read the full story by WXPR – Rhinelander, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-wisconsin-leaders-resolute-state-action-line5
A major cleanup project will remove accumulated muck and sediment along portions of Michigan’s Lake St. Clair shoreline, helping restore affected areas and improve water quality and habitat. The work is part of broader efforts to address decades of sediment buildup and environmental degradation along the lake. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-lake-stclair-muck-removal-michigan-permit
Two Ojibwe tribes say a proposed Minnesota permit giving U.S. Steel’s Minntac mine up to 45 years to meet sulfate pollution limits is far too long, citing the loss of wild rice and impacts on treaty-protected waters. The tribes are calling for faster cleanup and a broader environmental review of mining’s cumulative effects across northeastern Minnesota. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260925-ojiibwe-tribe-minntac-pollution
