For more than a century, Lake Superior water has been piped into the town of Superior, Wisconsin by a private, for-profit company, but Superior Mayor Jim Payne would like to change that. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-superior-water-supply
In Michigan Public’s new podcast Beyond the Shore, host Rebecca Williams uncovers the shipwrecks, remarkable wildlife and hidden ecosystems beneath America’s Great Lakes. Read the full story by NPR.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-great-lakes-podcast
The William A. Irvin museum ship in Duluth will debut a new exhibit exploring the stories of vessels lost on the Great Lakes, and highlighting the human drama behind each sinking and how these events shaped modern maritime safety and industry practices. Read the full story by WDIO – TV – Duluth, MN.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-shipwreck-exhibit
The Great Lakes are the defining force behind Michigan’s history, economy, and identity, shaping everything from where people settled to how the state is viewed today, according to Dave Dempsey, author and senior policy advisor at For Love of Water (FLOW). Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-great-lakes-influence
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 The Alpena News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-ship-architect-book
A person looking to buy or rent a boat in Illinois doesn’t need a license nor do they need to complete safety training; This contributes to boating crashes on Lake Michigan. Read the full story by the Chicago Sun Times.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260629-boating-rules
Water quality scientists predict Lake Erie’s harmful algal bloom will be moderate this summer, comparable to bloom levels seen in 2022 and 2024. Federal, Michigan, and Ohio university researchers presented the forecast Thursday at The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab in Put-In-Bay, Ohio. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-erie-bloom
Water quality scientists predict Lake Erie’s harmful algal bloom will be moderate this summer, comparable to bloom levels seen in 2022 and 2024. Federal, Michigan, and Ohio university researchers presented the forecast Thursday at The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab in Put-In-Bay, Ohio. Read the full story by The Detroit News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-erie-bloom
A new 2026 report from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency shows more than 2,000 lakes, rivers, streams, and ditches fail to meet water quality standards in Minnesota. About 6,518 impairments were found across 2,250 Minnesota waterways. Read the full story Northern News Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-mn-water
Researchers are testing whether Lake Michigan’s waves could someday help generate electricity for Beaver Island, offering a potential new source of power for the island community. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-beaver-island-waves
Some of the busiest ports in the U.S. are around the Great Lakes, and last weekend, a group of people who understand just how important Great Lakes shipping is gathered to pray for calm seas and safe voyages. Read the full story by Marketplace.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-cargo-ships
Since a toxic algal bloom left hundreds of thousands of Toledo-area residents without safe drinking water in 2014, scientists have been working to curb the yearly threat. And now, researchers have developed another tool to prevent the blooms: a system of algae-busting buoys. Read the full story by The Ohio Newsroom.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-bloom-buoys
A group of Ashland residents held a protest Wednesday against the use of municipal water for constructing the controversial reroute of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline across northern Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-line-5
A group of Ashland residents held a protest Wednesday against the use of municipal water for constructing the controversial reroute of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline across northern Wisconsin. Read the full story by the Wisconsin Examiner.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-line-5
Today’s sea lamprey control program relies primarily on lampricides and barriers that block adults from reaching spawning habitat. Researchers are now exploring a new approach focused on something far less visible: the chemical signals lamprey use to find each other. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-sea-lamprey
For more than a decade, conservation groups have fought to protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from proposed copper-nickel mining projects. Now, following actions by the Trump administration to remove federal protections from the area, advocates’ fight for the region has entered a new phase. Read the full story by Great Lakes Now.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-boundary-waters
“Beyond Our Senses” is a new nature documentary that gives audiences a bird’s-eye view of the world of Bank swallows as they migrate from South America to Lake Michigan’s bluffs in the spring. Read the full story by WUWM – Milwaukee, WI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-swallow-doc
A boat builder from Algonac, Michigan, helped transform boating from a novelty into a national pastime — and his legacy still shapes life on Lake St. Clair today. Read the full story by Scripps News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260626-rec-boating
The mayflies are back along Lake Erie. The annual spectacle may look unsettling, but mayflies are harmless and their arrival is generally considered welcome news because their presence is a strong indicator of good water quality. Read the full story by The Plain Dealer.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-erie-mayflies
The Ontario government is delivering on its plan to protect Ontario communities by investing $3.1 million in Ducks Unlimited Canada to support 15 projects that will restore and enhance 136 acres of wetlands across the Lake Ontario watershed. Read the full story by Today’s Northumberland.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-wetland-restoration
The Great Lakes District will deploy autonomous drones to support Coast Guard missions on the Great Lakes from May to October 2026. The drones are wind- and solar-powered vessels the Coast Guard will use to monitor the Great Lakes, gather critical weather data for emergency response planning, track illicit activity and keep maritime borders safe. Read the full story by Homeland Security Today.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-coast-guard-drones
Self-sustaining populations of invasive bloody red shrimp were found in Lake Superior’s Duluth-Superior Harbor. Scientists don’t know what impact, if any, the shrimp will have on native species. Read the full story by The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-bloody-red-shrimp-invasion
The FishPass project along the Boardman-Ottaway River near downtown Traverse City, Michigan is now entering its final phase of public features construction including building pedestrian pathways, an outdoor pavilion, and a research and education building. Read the full story by Spectrum News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-fishpass-update
Illinois’ Yorkville City Council recently voted to increase water rates by about $10 starting this July to help fund the city’s transition to Lake Michigan water. Read the full story by WSPY-Yorkville, IL.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-water-rate-change
Lake County, Ohio, will once again highlight its lakeshore with the return of the Lake Erie Sand Sculpture Tour next month. The second annual tour will feature two artists creating five sculptures across five local lakefront parks. Read the full story by The News-Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-erie-sand-sculptures
A decades-long Ohio tradition continued as anglers took to Lake Erie for the 46th annual Governor’s Fish Ohio Day. About 20 boats launched off the coast, giving anglers the chance to experience one of Ohio’s most popular outdoor activities while highlighting the importance of the state’s fish population. Read the full story by WTOL-TV – Toledo, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-fish-ohio-day
In 2025, Michigan Department of Natural Resources fisheries management units completed more than 350 fisheries surveys across the state. These surveys help track inland fisheries populations, evaluate stocking efforts, increase fishing opportunities and address public concerns, all of which are critical to effectively managing the state’s diverse fisheries. Read the full story by the Huron Daily Tribune.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260624-fisheries-surveys
The Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring Program at Central Michigan University is beginning its fourth basinwide monitoring round this year under a new six-year, $12 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-wetland-monitoring
Residents of Midland County, Michigan, who were affected by the disastrous Edenville flood of May 19, 2020 are still feeling the effects six years later. Read the full story by Great Lakes Echo.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-edenville-flood
U.S. Senator Jon Husted met with conservation leaders at Maumee Bay State Park in Ohio for a Great Lakes conservation roundtable. They discussed how to protect Lake Erie and build on a fisheries research law that Husted helped pass. Read the full story by WTVG-TV – Oregon, OH.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-husted-roundtable
On the Au Sable River in Michigan, uncertainty about the fate of its six dams has reignited an age-old debate about what a river should be, and who gets to decide. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-au-sable-dams
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh has partnered with the Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup and Meijer to help clean up debris and litter in and around the Great Lakes using new technology, its Bebot and Pixie Drones. Read the full story by Seehafer News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-lakeshore-litter-robots
A major change is coming to conservation management in southwestern Ontario as four local conservation authorities prepare to merge into a single regional organization. Read the full story by CHCD – Simcoe, ON.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-conservation-authorities
Across Michigan, thousands were left without financial protection after record April rains fell on top of record March snowfall. Worse, many had no idea they were at risk despite years of increasingly heavy precipitation. Read the full story by The Associated Press.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-mi-flooding-insurance
Running from June 19 through September 7, the S.S. Badger will offer additional night crossings to give passengers a unique travel experience and greater flexibility. Read the full story by MLive.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-ssbadger-night-trips
A mysterious floating convenience store appeared on Lake Ontario this week. The makers of the art installation “Global Convenience” say the symbol of a local corner store is meant for something more: bringing Toronto together during the World Cup. Read the full story by the Toronto Star.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-toronto-art
A new study from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recommends the state take action to contain the underground PFAS contamination plume and keep it from spreading to new areas. Read the full story by Minnesota Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260622-twincities-pfas
Officials have counted 90 nesting pairs of endangered Great Lakes piping plovers so far this summer. That’s a record high after the endangered species’ 1990 low point of only 12 nesting pairs counted in Michigan. Read the full story by Michigan Public.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-plover-record
A proposed Trump administration budget could significantly reduce federal science funding and threaten critical tools used by communities to track Great Lakes water quality, protect public health, and support local economies. Read the full story by The Cool Down.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-budget-cuts
A group of University of Michigan researchers will test devices that convert wave energy into electricity off the shores of Beaver Island in Charlevoix, Michigan, this week, as part of an ongoing effort to improve power reliability for residents. Read the full story by Bridge Michigan.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-wave-energy-power
Scientists and filmmakers used a robot to venture into the deepest part of Lake Superior called Superior Maximus where no light can penetrate and only a handful of species can survive. Read the full story by Wisconsin Public Radio.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-superior-maximus
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has selected the State University of New York at Buffalo to serve as the new host of the Great Lakes Research Consortium, backed by a $5 million state grant aimed at strengthening research, education, and environmental management across the Great Lakes region. Read the full story by the Finger Lakes Daily News.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-reserach-consortium-location
Wildfire risk is high in the upper Great Lakes, and research shows that large, scorching wildfires spell trouble causing erosion and more runoff into lakes. Read the full story by Circle of Blue.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-wildfire-risks
Michigan environmental regulators held what could be the final public hearing on the proposed Line 5 tunnel project. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is re-considering a request from operator Enbridge to discharge 5 million gallons of water per day into Lake Michigan. Read the full story by WWTV-TV – Cadillac, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-line5-final-hearing
A lakeshore flood warning is in effect in Jefferson County, New York, through Friday night along Lake Ontario. The National Weather Service says it’s because of the combination of high-water levels and significant wave action. Read the full story by WWNY-TV – Watertown, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-ontario-flooding
A new 66-foot-long research vessel built to support fish and wildlife studies on the Great Lakes is entering its final phase of testing before delivery to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Read the full story by WPBN-TV – Traverse City, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-new-vessel
After years of worsening erosion, the last remnant of a century-old building at Beechwood State Park in Sodus, New York, has fallen into Lake Ontario. Read the full story by WHEC-TV-Rochester, NY.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260619-ontario-erosion
Ontario is investing more than $2.8 million to expand and modernize port facilities on Lake Superior, including the Port of Thunder Bay and the Peninsula Harbour Port in Marathon, to strengthen domestic supply chains and boost east-west trade across Canada. Read the full story by Wire Service Canada.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260617-ontario-lake-superior-port-infrastructure-domestic-trade
Four eggs from a federally endangered Great Lakes piping plover nest in Waukegan, Illinois, were washed away during a severe Lake Michigan storm but were recovered after more than 12 hours exposed to the elements. The eggs were stabilized by wildlife experts, transferred to the Detroit Zoo, successfully hatched, and the chicks are now being raised through a conservation program at the University of Michigan Biological Station—an encouraging milestone for the species’ ongoing recovery. Read the full story by the Daily Herald.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260617-defying-elements-odds-piping-plovers-chicks
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is urging beachgoers to pay attention to two key safety systems at state parks: buoyed swimming areas and the Great Lakes flag warning system. Read the full story by WSJM – Benton Harbor, MI.
Great Lakes Commission
https://www.glc.org/dailynews/20260617-beach-safety-state-parks
