The federal government recently stopped approving offshore wind projects in the ocean, but the Great Lakes may provide another option for producing clean energy in the region. Read the full story by The Conversation.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-greatlakes-wind
Michigan environmental officials found a toxic chemical coming from the Gelman Plume, a contaminated plume of groundwater underneath the Ann Arbor area, in six residential water wells in Scio Township during annual state testing. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-gelman-plume-chemical
The fourth annual Mackinac Bridge Swim began just after sunrise on Saturday, July 26. Over 250 swimmers participated in the 4.5-mile swim across the Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-mackinac-bridge-swim
Six swimming beaches at state parks in New York are closed, according to state officials. Four of the beaches are closed due to harmful algal blooms and two beaches tested high for E.coli, according to the latest water quality report. Read the full story by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-ny-beaches-closed
The SS Alpena, built 16 years before the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald and launched in 1942 under the name SS Leon Fraser, was built in Ecorse, Michigan, and has been hauling bulk cargo ever since. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-ss-alpena
A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection summer intern was at the docks of the Presque Isle Marina when he found a rare invertebrate, Craspedacusta sowerbyi, swimming through Marina Lake, part of Presque Isle Bay. Read the full story by WJW-TV – Cleveland, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-freshwater-jellyfish
Nearly 70 volunteers were out at Station Beach in Kincardine, Ontario, with buckets, sieves and trash pickers in hand, as part of a beach clean-up organized by the Lake Huron Coastal Centre. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-microplastics-clean-up
The Trans Superior Yacht Race, created in 1969, is one of three races that draw in members of the sailing community from near and far to test their mettle on the Great Lakes. Read the full story by The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-superior-race
In Ohio, work is nearing completion on the Upland Sims Park Extension Project, which would add 5.33 acres of serene natural greenspace to Euclid’s growing waterfront along Lake Erie. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250730-euclid-park
Environmental groups gathered over the weekend to mark the 15th anniversary of an oil spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Attendees warned that the 15-year-old oil spill foreshadows what could happen if an oil pipeline that runs through the Great Lakes is not shut down. Read the full story by Michigan Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-historic-oil-spill
In Ohio, Toledo’s newly expanded maritime museum includes a fully accessible historic pilothouse and an experience that humanizes the legacy of the inland seas. The 5,000 square foot space surprises, challenges, and reimagines maritime storytelling. Read the full story by the Toledo Blade.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-maritime-museum-expansion
A dashboard created by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy keeps track of which beaches contain unsafe bacteria levels for swimming. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-beach-closures
Ohio lawmakers are trying to reel in a catch by making walleye the official state fish with a bipartisan bill. If passed it would make Ohio the second Great Lakes state to give the species that title. Read the full story by the Ohio Capital Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-ohio-walleye
A professor of geology and team of researchers at Hope College are studying the source of high levels of nitrates in well water at Oval Beach along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. The research team has been working in the area for over a decade. Read the full story by the Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-michigan-dunes
A new documentary examines the impact of invasive mussels on the Great Lakes. The film is scheduled to be released in 2026 on PBS in the U.S. Read the full story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-great-lakes-documentary
At an event on Friday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell and Great Lakes advocates and researchers cautioned against funding cuts to a critical research institute, warning that the loss of staff and funding could have dire consequences for keeping the Great Lakes clean and healthy. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-funding-advocating
Michigan officials recently reported six new detections of a toxic chemical spread through Ann Arbor but have not yet concluded whether the detections mean the chemical plume is still moving. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-chemical-plume
Seiches can happen in any of the Great Lakes, but they’re much more dramatic in Lake Erie because of its unique shape and shallow depth. Read the full story by WTVG – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-erie-seiches
Total cargo shipped on the St. Lawrence Seaway is up 496,000 tonnes of goods in June mostly due to increases in the transportation of grain and dry bulk goods. Read the full story by The Sault Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250728-seaway-cargo
Michigan state officials on July 24 said an invasive crayfish species that has been found in several Michigan counties was discovered in a rearing pond at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-invasive-crayfish
A group of long-distance swimmers will begin a journey this weekend to complete the voyage the ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald started 50 years ago. They will swim more than 400 miles from where the ship sank in Lake Superior to Detroit, Michigan. Read the full story by MPR News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-swimming-journey
Port Huron officials requested $6.5 million from a Michigan House subcommittee to restore the city’s Black River Canal which has been closed since 2014. Officials argue reopening this vital waterway would help revive waterfront tourism and better protect boaters during emergency situations. Read the full story by the Port Huron Times Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-canal-repair
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy have investigated reports of high and discolored water on Lake Angeline, located south of Ishpeming in Marquette County. Read the full story by the Marquette Mining Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-discolored-water
A bill with bipartisan support instructing the U.S. Coast Guard to develop a plan for the design and building of a new Great Lakes icebreaker was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives this month. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-icebreaker-bill
The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s freshwater acidification monitoring project is working to improve understanding of freshwater acidification and its potential impact on Great Lakes food webs. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-lake-acidification
A new photography book, The Third Coast, was published earlier this month by a Michigan-born photographer and author. The book explores all five Great Lakes through a mix of landscapes and human-centered stories. Read the full story by WZMQ – Marquette, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-photo-book
The National Wildlife Federation wants the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to look at whether drilling a tunnel to house Enbridge’s Line 5 under the Straits of Mackinac could cause damage. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-line5-damage
Since 2012, a total of 34 grass carp have been captured in Canadian waters. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada crews are documenting the native ecosystem, as the entire Great Lakes watershed may be on the brink of irreversible change. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250725-invasive-carp
There has been evidence for a few years that PFAS levels in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River were higher than the national average, but not high enough to cause immediate alarm. But what is considered safe is evolving, as recommended drinking water limits have been lowered by Health Canada and research increasingly links PFAS to potential health risks. Read the full story by CBC News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-greatlakes-pfas
Climate change continues to have a profound impact on the Great Lakes region, bringing more extreme weather, declining fish populations, and subtle but profound economic transformation, according to a new report by the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Read the full story by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-climate-report
Wisconsin state regulators say the commercial harvest of lake whitefish in Lake Michigan has reached its lowest level since 1990, and some fisheries biologists fear the species might largely disappear in parts of the lake. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-lake-whitefish-decline
Waterways in Emmet and Charlevoix counties, Michigan, will undergo sea lamprey control measures in the next few weeks to help fight the destructive invasive species. Read the full story by the Petoskey News-Review.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-sealamprey-control
Cuts to a major water-quality program, H2Ohio, in Ohio’s biennial budget will likely weaken efforts to control the spread of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Erie. Read the full story by Michigan Advance.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-erie-algae-budgetcuts
The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa opened Frog Bay Tribal National Park — the first of its kind nationwide — in 2012. The Red Cliff Tribe’s move to create a tribal national park has inspired other tribes to follow suit. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-superior-tribal-nationalpark
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Great Lakes Mass Marking Program Act. The bill directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to coordinate with state and tribal agencies to implement a standardized fish tagging system across all hatcheries in the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by Thumbwind.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-fisheries-marking-bill
Three agencies in western New York are receiving grants for Great Lakes basin projects through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York Sea Grant. Read the full story by The Buffalo News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-wny-grants
The Great Lakes Aquarium is making history, as well as reflecting on it, by opening their time capsule from 25 years ago when the aquarium first opened in July 2000. Read the full story by KQDS-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-gl-aquarium
The new Lake Champlain Basin Marine Debris Coalition is made up of six organizations whose mission is to “enhance community awareness of and reduce the presence of marine debris in Lake Champlain, Lake George and their tributaries.” Read the full story by Burlington Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250723-champlain-debris-pollution
An updated report confirms climate change is affecting the Great Lakes region through warmer and wetter weather, greater fluctuation in lake levels and disappearing fish populations. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-report-climate-change-warmerweather-greatlakes
The Great Lakes have a rich history of ghost stories and maritime lore. Lake Superior’s “Shipwreck Coast” is known for numerous shipwrecks and ghost ship sightings. Read the full story by the Lansing State Journal.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-greatlakes-lore-ghoststories
The federal funding that pays for much of Great Lakes water, weather and ice cover monitoring is at risk in the Trump administration’s proposed NOAA budget for 2026, while the Senate has proposed keeping the funding largely in place. Meanwhile, people who work in data collection and commercial shipping grapple with the uncertainty and say sweeping budget and staffing cuts could inadvertently put ship captains and other boaters at risk. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-shipping-industry-greatlakes-programs-cuts
Invasive sea lamprey control in Michigan’s Grand River is getting a boost thanks to a $2.1 million federal grant awarded to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-grand-rapids-vampires-greatlakes-grant
On the third Sunday of July, the community in Superior, Wisconsin, shows its appreciation for the great lake with Lake Superior Day. Read the full story by WDIO-TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-lakesuperiorday-appreciation-education
The annual Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Island kicked off with strong winds this weekend, but winds turned so light that as of 9 p.m. Sunday, only two of the 285 entries had crossed the finish line. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-macrac-sailors
During the upcoming Mackinac Bridge Swim, a fundraiser for first responders, dedicated swimmers will traverse the 4.5 mile Straits of Mackinac. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-swimmers-straitsofmackinac
Harmful algal blooms have appeared in two locations in Lake Erie, including Sandusky Bay. Toxins have been detected in the Sandusky Bay bloom but no toxins have been reported yet in the western basin. Read the full story by the Sandusky Register.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-algalblooms-lakeerie-sanduskybay
Lake Michigan is the deadliest lake in America, statistics show. Yet, there are no lifeguards at 99% of the public beaches, all while coastal towns rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in beach parking fees, and the state of Michigan collects millions more in vehicle park permits and billions in tourism dollars. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-lakemichigan-deadliestlake
NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory has released information following last month’s “significant meteotsunami and seiche” on Lake Superior. The strong low pressure system moved across Lake Superior on the morning of June 21, which caused rapid and significant water level changes. Read the full story by WXYZ-TV – Detroit, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250721-meteotsunami-lakesuperior-waterlevels
Need a break from Michigan’s hot and hazy weather? All of the Great Lakes are seeing warmer temperatures this week, making the water warm enough to hop in this weekend. Read the full story by the Detroit Free Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-greatlakes-watertemp-warm
A summer intern for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS) says his favorite part of Alpena, Michigan, is how connected the people are to the Great Lakes. He has spent his summer interning at TBNMS, collecting samples for the sanctuary’s freshwater acidification monitoring project, deploying mooring buoys, learning about shipwrecks, and more. Read the full story by The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20250718-intern-greatlakes-alpena
