Gold Medal Guys & Gals?: The Big Lake neighborhood has some talent to watch at the Olympics this year. The Duluth Curling Club posted a photo of these dudes and an invitation to visit the Gold Medal Lounge at the curling center in Duluth's DECC to see them compete in curling. From left are John Landsteiner of Duluth; Chris Plys of Duluth; John Shuster (down low) of Superior, Wis.; Colin Hufman of Fairbanks, Aka.; and Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wis. John was part of the Team USA in the opening ceremonies. On the USA women's curling team also is alternative Aileen Geving of Duluth. Here are a few with Big Lake ties. A player on the USA women's hockey team, Maddie Rooney, attended the University of Minnesota Duluth as did the men's team's Noah Cates. Those with Upper Peninsula ties include Jake Brown on the men's biathalon team was on the Northern Michigan University ski team in Marquette and another NMU alum, snowboarder Nick Baumgarnter of Iron River, Mich. Hockey player Abby Roque is from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. (and the Sault Area Chamber asks residents to "Roque the Sault" with signs of support emailed to Roque.The.Soo@gmail.com). Meanwhile players Ryan Sproul and John Vanbiesbrouck competed with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Speaking of hockey, Team Canada's player Eric Staal is from Thunder Bay. Lots of cheering options during the games.
Downward Trend: January was cold, but not all that wet and with weather and water supplies to Lake Superior much drier than average during the month, the Big Lake's water levels remain below their seasonal long-term average. The International Lake Superior Board of Control released its lake level summary of last month on Thursday. Based on preliminary estimates, water supplies to the Lake Superior basin set a new record low in January, the board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports. As a result, Lake Superior declined 4.7 inches during the month, while on average it declines only 2.8 inches during that time. At the beginning of February, Lake Superior is 4.7 inches below its long-term average water level for this time and 11.8 inches below the level of a year ago. The Lake's water levels typically continue to decline in February. Depending on the weather and water supply conditions during the next month, Lake Superior may decline by as much as 3.9 inches.
Dam Good: Voyageurs Wolf Project posted a grand video this week showing the variety of critters that visit a northwoods beaver dam. The project studies wolves and their prey in the greater Voyageurs National Park eco-system in northern Minnesota. "We have said it before and will say it again: beaver dams are nice natural bridges that wildlife like to use to cross wetlands, swamps, and bogs," the project folk write. "Some of the footage from this camera – like the lynx and the bear pulling apart some of the dam – were real treats. Luckily, we also captured some footage of wolf pups, which was the main goal when putting the camera here. Admittedly, not as much wolf footage as we had hoped for, but this was the first time we put a camera on this dam so it was an experiment to see if it was used a lot." The video packs a lot of wildlife punch in less than two minutes. There's even a beaver!
The Season for Stories: Winter is the right time for stories, and the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) will host Michael Migizi Sullivan and his 14-year-old son Preston Manidood Sullivan to tell some traditional Anishinaabe tales. Aadizookaan: Anishinaabe Winter Legends is a free virtual program and starts at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday (Feb. 9). Michael and Preston will share traditional stories about Wenabozho, a historical and spiritual icon of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabeg. Both will share a story in Ojibwemowin and it will be translated into English. The Sullivans come from the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation in northern Wisconsin. No recording will be allowed. The program is sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Human Services Behavioral Health Division via our Waaseyaa Healing Grant and the McKnight Foundation. Register in advance.
Just Plow Through: With deep winter upon us, it's probably not surprising that our departments of transportation are spreading the word about the snowplows in some creative ways. In Michigan, Talking Michigan Transportation focused this week on how the MDOT prepares for big snowfalls. Mark Geib, a 31-year MDOT veteran, explains the evolution of road maintenance work and innovations, including ways to protect the environment while make roads safe. In Minnesota, the emphasis this week was on plow names. MnDOT announced eight winners in the Name the Snowplow contest. No More Mr. Ice Guy will be stationed in our northeastern Minnesota district, but you can also enjoy the thought of seeing these plows clearing the roadways: Betty Whiteout – District 8 (SW Minnesota) and the big winner with more than 40,000 votes; Ctrl Salt Delete – District 7 (SW Minnesota); The Big Leplowski – District 4 (West-Central Minnesota); Plowasaurus Rex – Metro District; Scoop Dogg – District 3 (Central Minnesota); Blizzard of Oz – District 2 (NW Minnesota) and Edward Blizzardhands – District 6 (SE Minnesota).
Spar Us the Details: It came to our attention that the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Facebook page once dedicated to the Alder changed in January to become the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar page. This is in anticipation of the newly assigned cutter that should arrive by March. Among the latest posts on the page was a bit of history about the Spar boat name: "USCGC SPAR (WLB-206) is actually the second ship to bear the name SPAR. The first was USCGC SPAR (WLB-403) a 180 foot buoy tender that was built here in Duluth! She was launched on November 2, 1943 , and then commissioned on June 12, 1944. Within two months the next ship in her class, USCGC SUNDEW (WLB-404), would also be commissioned. In addition to her primary duty of maintaining aids to navigation, SPAR’s missions included assisting in anti-submarine warfare along the coast of Brazil, a transit through the Northwest Passage, and completing an oceanographic charting expedition in the Northern Atlantic. She had four different homeports throughout her service: Boston, Massachusetts; Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts; Bristol, Rhode Island; and South Portland, Maine. After serving the Coast Guard for 53 years, SPAR was decommissioned on February 28, 1997. After being sold at auction and scrapped for parts, SPAR was scuttled and turned into an artificial reef off the coast of Morehead City, North Carolina, in June 2004." There's also a good summary of the "SPAR" service when women were first invited to join during World War II and adopted the group name from the USCG motto "Semper Paratus, Always Ready." Members of the crew based in Duluth that formerly served on Alder already traveled to the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore to load items and perform maintenance on the Spar before heading to Lake Superior. We're looking forward to a big welcome to the Big Lake.
Photo & graphic credits: Duluth Curling Club; Sault Ste. Marie Area Chamber of Commerce; International Lake Superior Board of Control; Voyageurs Wolf Project; AICHO; Minnesota Department of Transportation; U.S. Coast Guard