Ice breaking has started at the Soo Locks and in the Twin Ports. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder went to work in the Duluth-Superior harbor this week, Northland’s NewsCenter reports, one of 20 ventures planned. In Sault Ste. Marie, the Mackinaw cleared ice in the locks and St. Marys River.
The Soo Locks re-open on March 25, marking the official start of the shipping season – and that spring is just around the corner.
+ The Lake Carriers’ Association, reports the Medill News Service, says the Soo Locks “used to closed in December but now close in early January because warmer weather keeps the passage open longer.” According to a new study, climate change could even open a shipping route through the North Pole.
Schroeder Wins the Beargrease
Nathan Schroeder won the 2013 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, the 375-mile race on Minnesota’s North Shore, finishing on Wednesday morning ahead of runner-up Keith Aili. In the mid-distance race, 17-year-old Jenny Greger took home the title.
+ Images from the starting line, just north of Duluth, on Sunday afternoon.
The Good with the Bad
Detours on Minnesota’s Highway 61 and Scenic 61 are coming in April, when the city of Duluth begins construction on an extension of the Lakewalk trail system. The work should be done by June 19, reports the Duluth News Tribune.
+ Grand Marais photographer (and Lake Superior Magazine contributor) Bryan Hansel chatted with Minnesota Public Radio’s Michael Olson about his work, his love of winter and his favorite images.
+ Tickets to Tall Ships Duluth go on sale on April 1, Visit Duluth announced.
+ The first Fat Bike Birkie races, held last weekend, drew 300 cyclists to the Birkie trails in Cable, Wisconsin. Find results, photos and video at the Birkie website.
+ Michigan Tech professor Tess Ahlborn was named Woman of the Year “by the Michigan chapter of WTS, an international organization dedicated to the professional advancement of women in transportation.” She accepted the award during a ceremony on Thursday.
+ St. Luke’s was recognized by the American Psychological Association as “one of nine 2013 Best Practice Honorees” for its Safe Patient Handling Initiative. Representatives from the Duluth hospital received the award last weekend in Washington, D.C.
+ A new essay contest in the Keweenaw will offer area high school students the chance to be “Pampered for Prom.” Entries are due by April 1.
+ The 30th annual Pigs-N-Heat event in Marquette, pitting local police and firefighters against each other in a non-contact hockey game, raised $17,000 for the Fire Relief Fund, reports the Mining Journal.
Upcoming Events
Saturday, March 16 – Sunday, March 17: Kattajjak: Nunavik-style Throat-Singers, at Sivertson Studio and Gallery in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Thursday, March 21: “Building This Year’s Wish List,” a Garden Talks presentation by Jim Fahrenholz at Fairlawn Mansion, in Superior, Wisconsin.