Around the Circle This Week: April 2, 2021

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Good Points: The Crisp Point Lighthouse Historical Society recently announced it was one of three Michigan lights to receive the maximum $60,000 grant from the State Historic Preservation Office. "CPLHS would like to give a special thanks to our grant manager, Heather Johnson, for all of her hard work with the application process. This is the second (and largest) grant that Heather has helped us get!" the society posted. "The grant will help pay for another exterior restoration of the lighthouse that will start in 2022. In the meantime, we will be working on improving our new ventilation system that was installed last year. We will be adding a fourth fan and additional solar panels so that the system continues to operate during cloudy weather." Read more about the society and opportunities to be volunteer keepers online. The beautiful, remote location is seen here in a photo by Scott and Vicki White.

New Month Water Check: The International Lake Superior Board of Control this week announced updates on the lake levels from March. Last month, Lake Superior declined 0.8 inches when on average it declines 0.4 inches in March. This time of year is considered the seasonal low-point for the Lake. At the beginning of April, the Lake remained 7.1 inches above its long-term average and 7.1 inches below its level of a year ago. It is 7.9 inches below its 1986 record-high level for this time of year.

A No-Can Do-over: In a press conference Thursday organized by the city of Duluth, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Col. Scott Katalenich, commander of the Detroit District, outlined plans to clean up the shredded cans on Park Point that inadvertently were within dredge materials placed on the beach in fall to help fortify it against erosion. The dredged material came from the harbor, but turned out to contain high amounts of aluminum cans and can fragments, which started turning up on the beach. In January when some of the problem was noted mainly from the Aerial Lift Bridge to 13th Street South, the Corps speculated that "the debris likely resulted from dredge equipment encountering an area containing trash discarded in the harbor in the 1970s based on aluminum can vintage." On Thursday, Scott said that the Corps was establishing a contract to search and clean the area, but first has to determine "where and how many of these cans might be within the 50,000 cubic yards of material that we used to nourish the beach this past year."  He described the amount of dredge material used as being enough to fill a football field, including the end zones, to a height of 23 feet high of materials. The clean up with be above and below the waterline. The Corps put the dredge materials there at the request of the city and residents because so much of the sandy shore has eroded from high lake levels. "These cans should never have been put into the harbor in the first place," Scott acknowledges. The additional debris is a fluke from the usual dredge material used, according to the Corps' January release. "Partnering with local, state, and federal agencies, USACE has placed 1.1 million cubic yards of beneficial use dredge material in Duluth-Superior Harbor since 2013. The material is used for habitat restoration and remediation projects – additional benefits from USACE’s federally-mandated requirement to maintain navigation in the harbor."

A Life Well-Painted: At the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, a longtime friend and contributor to Lake Superior Magazine, artist Carl Gawboy, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, is being featured. The retrospective of his work, which opened in October, will continue through May 16. WDSE/WRPT, the Duluth public television channel, did a short piece on the exhibit for its "The Slice" segment. Sadly, the museum continues to be open only to University of Minnesota Duluth students and faculty – so we hope the retrospective can remain up beyond the scheduled date, will open to the public soon or will be brought back. Meanwhile, Carl's work can be seen elsewhere in the region. He did the mural for the Superior Public Library and his work is at the Bois Forte Heritage Center near Tower, Minn. His research into Anishinaabe interpretation of constellations was part of a story in Lake Superior Magazine in 2014.

Still On Track: CN announced this week it has reached an agreement to sell its Algoma Central line, including the Agawa Canyon Tour train out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Watco, a transportation company based in Kansas, will buy the Soo subdivision of the railway. According to the release, the two companies "have reached an agreement for the sale of non-core lines and assets on the Soo subdivision (approximately 250 miles of track) that runs from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to Oba, Ontario, and approximately 650 miles of branch lines of Wisconsin Central Ltd. in Wisconsin and Michigan. This marks the successful conclusion of the sale process that CN announced and launched in July of 2020. In Ontario, Watco will continue freight operations as well as the Agawa Canyon Train Tour. Watco has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Missanabie Cree First Nation regarding partnership opportunities for the Algoma Central Railway (ACR)." The fate of the popular Agawa Canyon Tour out of the Sault has been in question as CN sought to sell the subdivision, but it continues to promote ticket sales for this fall with tours from Sept. 18-Oct. 12.

Pre-Commissioned: This spring was supposed to bring the celebration and official commissioning of the Navy's USS Minneapolis-St. Paul in Duluth. The vessel is a Freedom-class littoral combat ship built by Lockheed Martin Corp. The ship was christened by Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy Jodi Greene, a native of Northfield, Minn., on June 15, 2019. The Navy continues to be committed, we are told, to doing the ceremony here in Duluth, but no future date has been set. We trust the Navy commanders are following the ship's own motto, “aut viam inveniam aut faciam,” the translation of which you'll find below. In the interim, the Minnesota Navy League continues to raise money and awareness for the special future event. The group also has posted images and videos online. Eventually, the Minneapolis St. Paul will be homeported in Florida. To keep up the awareness, the league this week released an interview with the ship's

captain, Cmdr. Alfonza White. We thought we'd share it here:

What are your thoughts on being the commanding officer of a ship named for the Twin Cities?

Cmdr. White: “Honestly, I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed. It’s an honor to serve as the commanding officer of any U.S. Navy warship, but I couldn’t ask for a finer ship than the future USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Much like the Twin Cities, LCS ships are manned by two crews. We’ve made it our mantra that both crews will train together, grow together and support each other in every regard to ensure we ultimately achieve operational success. Twin Cities, twin crews.”

What is your background?

Cmdr. White: “I was born and spent most of my youth in Milwaukee before moving to a small-town east of Jackson called Morton, Miss. I enlisted in the Navy in 1995 out of Mississippi and entered the nuclear field program. I was a submariner for approximately seven and a half years until I was commissioned as an officer in 2004. I have mostly deployed to the Western Pacific, and this is my first East Coast tour.”

What is the significance behind the ship’s motto, “aut viam inveniam aut faciam?”

Cmdr. White: “Our motto translates to ‘I will either find a way or make one.’ I didn’t have a hand in selecting the motto, but I thought it was a perfect representation of how we’re looking to solve any challenges we may encounter.”

How are you and the crew preparing for the eventual commissioning of the ship? What sort of training does an LCS crew do when not aboard the ship? When will the crew join the ship?

Cmdr. White: We frequently utilize the Littoral Combat Ship Training Facility, an invaluable tool used to train crew members on how the ship handles and maneuvers. Crew members also train and are certified in certain warfare areas such as firefighting, damage control and operating the ship’s weapons. The crew has to be proficient in all these things before taking the ship.

Can you educate a person with no Navy background on what kind of capability this ship will provide the Navy? Why is this important in today's environment?

Cmdr. White: The Freedom-variant LCS provides fast, agile and lethal capabilities in the near-shore environment and ships like Minneapolis-Saint Paul enable the Navy to meet the threats and challenges of an increasingly complex security environment. The modular LCS design allows the ships to carry different mission packages to win against coastal threats such as mines and small craft when and where they are needed.”

Any closing words for the people of Minnesota?

Cmdr. White: We are inspired by the years and years of greatness for which the Twin Cities are renowned, and the sailors aboard Minneapolis-Saint Paul are preparing for whatever will be asked of them. I’m very fortunate to be the CO of these many strong men and women who have dedicated themselves to a greater cause. As I said before, ‘We will either find a way or make one.’ We will overcome any challenges that may come our way, and in doing so, hope to make our namesake proud of us.”

Breaking (& Sidebusting) News: We end the week with a few of our favorite regional April Fools postings from Thursday. We start with a little posting by Marquette Today playing off of the recent multi-day blockage of the Suez Canal by a container ship. In this "breaking news" story, Marquette Today reports a freighter filled with condo supplies became stuck. "A ship arriving from Duluth, MN last night became lodged squarely between the Lower Harbor Ore Dock and the Lower Harbor Park, according to local authorities in a statement released this morning," it reports. Then quoting a bystander: ""It was like watching my mother try to parallel park her Suburban on Third Street, only it went on for hours," said a bystander who witnessed the incident." And finally, it concluded with "Marquette Mayor Sue S. Canale is expected to hold a press conference at 3:00 p.m. at the new Dunkin' Donuts with an update on the situation." You can read the full coverage, of course, on Marquette Today's Facebook page. With 1,600 likes and more than 341 comments, we know it struck several funny bones.

Or Maybe Just Cast From Deck: The folks running the Superior Public Museum's decided to drum up a little business for its museum ship, the SS Meteor whaleback. "Our staff has been working diligently to plan new experiences for our visitors. We are thrilled to announce some unique activities on the SS Meteor starting in May!" The museum team also decided to offer dinner cruises if fishing isn't your thing. The fact that the Meteor currently is "landlocked" appeared to be no problem for the enthusiastic supporters of these cruises. While you won't be able to book a cruise on the Meteor, its season does start in May for tours. (You can read about the Meteor and other museum ships around the Big Lake in our current April/May issue!). And a reminder … you can book some bunny time for Saturday with the Easter Bunny at Fairlawn Mansion. It's a private 15 minute session per family. See online for any remaining times.

Meanwhile, At Mackinac Island: Jason St. Onge, posting on the Mackinac Island News & Views, offered this shocking news: STATE PARK TO BEGIN TEMPORARY RELOCATION OF ARCH ROCK. Never fear, Jason added, the famed arch has been moved about before. "The first move was in 1863 due to concerns of damage from the Civil War. It was moved again in 1901 due to high waters, and of course again in 1933 due to the Great Depression." We'll hear more on this, no doubt, as work progresses. Our advice: Don't be fooled, but do be amused.

Photo & graphic credits: Scott & Vicki White/Crisp Point Lighthouse Historical Society; International Lake Superior Board of Control; Lake Superior Magazine; Tweed Museum of Art; Agawa Canyon Tour Train; Minnesota Navy League; Marquette Today; Superior Public Museums; Jason St. Onge/Mackinac Island News & Views

Around the Circle This Week editor: Konnie LeMay