The 2014 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon has been canceled. WDIO’s Maarja Anderson:
Board president and race coordinator Pat Olson tells Eyewitness News they plan to use 2014 as a "regroup" year. 2014 would have been the 30th running of the Beargrease.
Unpredictable weather in recent years and a lack of funding forced what Olson calls a “heartbreaking” decision.
Bicycle Friendly
Duluth received a Bronze award this week from the League of American Cyclists for being a bicycle-friendly city. In Grand Marais, Minnesota, Superior North Outdoor Center got a Silver award from the group as a bicycle-friendly business. Minnesota is ranked fourth-best among U.S. states.
Wisconsin is ranked eighth in the U.S., and Michigan takes the 12th spot. In the U.P., Houghton has a Silver and Marquette a Bronze. Michigan Tech University in Houghton has also won a Bronze.
Paddling to Winter
On Saturday, frequent LSM contributor Julie Buckles will be at The Bookstore at Fitger’s in Duluth, signing copies of her book “Paddling to Winter,” the story of her honeymoon canoe trip to the Artic Circle. 12-2 p.m., with a reading at 1 p.m. Julie posted an excerpt this week.
+ According to a new study, Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, has an annual economic impact of $113 million, reports Soo Evening News. (We wrote about higher education's impact on the Lake region earlier this year.)
+ PRI: “Lake Superior is warming faster than any of the other Great Lakes. In fact, it’s warming faster than any lake on the planet.”
+ The Superior, Wisconsin, city council has decided to remove all of its ash trees following the discovery of emerald ash borer beetles in the city this year, reports WDIO.
+ At the DeVos Art Museum in Marquette, the Rabbit Island exhibit is now open. The exhibition, which runs until Nov. 17, showcases projects created by artists-in-residence on the 91-acre Lake Superior island.
+ The abandoned Telemark Lodge in Cable, Wisconsin, has been purchased by a Colorado company, reports Northland’s NewsCenter. Business North says that it could reopen in time for January’s American Birkebeiner race, which starts at the lodge.