Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly approved a polarizing and sweeping mining bill Thursday and sent the measure to Gov. Scott Walker for his signature, completing a long push to help a Florida-based company open a giant iron mine near the shores of Lake Superior over environmentalists’ objections.
But the legal wrangling over the mine is expected to continue, potentially for years.
Turning the Page
Last summer’s flooding in the Twin Ports damaged thousands of books at the University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Jim Dan Hill Library. Wisconsin Public Radio reports on the library’s efforts to replace the lost books.
Round and Round
The Duluth News Tribune reports on the latest development in the Lake Superior mystery barrel saga. Last year the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa recovered 25 barrels from the Lake, most of which were filled with cluster bomb detonators.
Because there are no federal Department of Transportation approved facilities to receive explosives on the Great Lakes, and because they couldn’t get a waiver, Red Cliff and EMR staff took the detonators out of the old, rusting barrels, placed them in new containers and threw them back in Lake Superior off shore from Duluth. They hope to get federal waivers to recover and bring the containers to shore in Duluth this spring or summer.
+ Ice breaking has begun on the St. Marys River ahead of the shipping season, scheduled to begin later this month, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
+ Neil Moran for Upper Peninsula’s Second Wave: “From mining to Main Street: Calumet’s revitalization.”
+ Zoya DeNure: From model to musher.
+ Lake Superior ice cover is down 76 percent since the 1970s. The implications, reports the Lansing State Journal, are far-reaching.
+ A new easement will preserve access to “to nearly 11,000 acres of forest in Lake County in northeastern Minnesota,” reports WDIO.
+ On the third day of searching, the medallion was found this week during the 39th annual WITC Medallion Hunt.
Upcoming Events
Starting Friday, March 8: The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, starting in Duluth at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Preceded by events on Friday and Saturday.
Saturday, March 9: Cook County History and Storytelling event in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Saturday, March 9: Agawa Canyon Snow Train in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.