A Lot of Water: Despite dropping an inch in February, Lake Superior maintained at high water levels heading into March, recording 13 inches above its long-term average for this time of year, reports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Lake’s monthly mean level in February was 602.3 feet, the second highest since records started in 1918 and just 2 inches below the record-high set in February 1986. The Corps predicts, though, that the Lake will hover near its current level for the rest of the month. It is 5 inches higher than this time last year. In consideration of the continuing high water levels in the upper Great Lakes, the International Lake Superior Board of Control will maximize outflows through the St. Marys River dams, releasing up to 88,640 cubic feet per second through the winter months, about 3,530 cfs more than the normal winter maximum, the Corps reports. Concerns continue over erosion problems connected to the high water levels. The high levels also were cited as contributing to the massive waves that swept away two people from Presque Isle in Marquette last year. Just this week, Lake Superior kicked up some waves along Minnesota’s North Shore, as captured by photographer Kirk Schleife.
Postcard from South China Sea: The U.S. Navy sent a picture to us this week of Duluth’s Addie Schaefer, now an aviation structural mechanic 2nd class assigned to the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22. Here she’s performing routine maintenance on an MH-60S Sea Hawk in the hangar bay of the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Bonhomme Richard is operating in the Indo-Pacific region as part of a regularly scheduled patrol and provides a rapid-response capability in the event of a regional contingency or natural disaster. Nice to hear (or see) from our local folk serving overseas. The ship is named for the French translation of “Poor Richard,” as in Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac."
Good Pods: Two local podcasts have come onto our radar recently. WTIP, a Grand Marais, Minnesota, radio station, launched WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast in February with hosts Joe Friedrichs, WTIP news director, and Matthew Baxley, a station volunteer. The monthly podcast, focuses on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and individual encounters with the outdoors there. There are also gear reviews and announcements. For the second podcast, the two hosts recorded from their winter camp in January (that’s Matthew in the photos). Subscribe through the radio station, ITunes or SoundCloud or other podcast distributors. Episodes can be downloaded and enjoyed even in remote locations without cellphone or internet access (you know, like in the BWCAW).
Bayfield County Wild is a monthly podcast started last August that features news from “the wild side of the dairy state” (which is to say, Bayfield County, Wisconsin). The hosts, Nancy Christopher and Mary Motiff, director of Bayfield County Tourism, talk with local entrepreneurs, tribal members and others about attractions, events and opportunities for visitors and locals within the county. The most recent episode includes a chat about the Frog Bay Tribal National Park with Chad Abel, natural resources administrator with the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Besides listening directly on the Bayfield County Tourism website, you can subscribe to the free podcast on at ITunes, PlayerFM or other podcast distributors.
Or Go with Your Gut: Speaking of audio broadcasts, WPR aired two hours of “Gut Instinct,” a "writer’s read" program initiated by Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin. Some of the writers reading are familiar to Lake Superior Magazine readers – Molly Hoeg, Felicia Schnedierhan and Marie Zhuikov have all had stories in the magazine. Organizer Julie Buckles and one of the judges, Claire Duquette, also write for us. You can listen or download both hours: Hour 1 and Hour 2.
Links of Steel: With our “local” people spanning both sides of the border, our take on news events may take broader consideration than most. Such was the case when we read recent reporting on the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, City Council by David Helwig of SooToday. He reported earlier this week that Algoma, the steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is expected to emerge soon from creditor protection … just as the 25% U.S. tariffs on foreign steel were being announced. The Algoma steel mill, in the Sault since 1901, employs about 2,700 people and manufactures hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and plate products. Its annual shipments total about 2 million tons of materials used in construction (including infrastructure), defense, transportation (including rail, shipbuilding and automotive), energy and manufacturing. The company, one of the two largest steel manufacturers in Canada along with ArcelorMittal in Québec, lists 31 U.S. states – including Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin – among its customer shipments, according to the Canadian government. The company also purchases taconite pellets from Minnesota’s Iron Range, shipped via Canadian lakers from ports in Minnesota to the Sault. David quoted Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland about the then-proposed U.S. tariffs: “This would be exceedingly bad news for Sault Ste. Marie, Hamilton, Regina and a couple of mills in Montreal. I gather the president will be saying something about this, this week, maybe. Hopefully he will change his mind as he often does.” In fact, President Trump did exempt Canada and Mexico when he signed a proclamation of the tariffs Thursday, according to The Guardian, an exemption that will last during renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to visit the Sault on Tuesday in support of the steel industry, according to the Sault Star.
Fund Me a River: The Sweetwater Alliance and Blue Forest Films have launched a GoFundMe site to create a video about the ecological evolution of the St. Louis River from polluted Area of Concern to its mostly restored state today. The video is intended to highlight the progression of the river’s return to health and the partnerships it took to accomplish that, making it an educational tool for other areas to accomplish the same. Distribution of the video would be through area schools, PBS and potentially local venues like the Zeitgeist or NorShor theaters. The project is being spearheaded by Jill Jacoby, founder of the Sweetwater Alliance, and David Cowardin, a video producer for the University of Minnesota Duluth. The river and its cleanup have been the subject of two Lake Superior Magazine stories, including a history and cultural tour called “One River, Two Islands” by Molly Hoeg and “The St. Louis River Revival” by Konnie LeMay about the rehabilitation of the river.
Hear that Train A Comin’?: The proposed Northern Lights Express (the NLX) railway between the Twin Ports and Minneapolis has been cleared to seek final design and construction funding after passing its environmental assessment, reports the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “The next steps for the NLX project include assembling funds for construction, completing final design work, completing negotiations with BNSF and other property owners and acquiring right-of-way for stations.” Current plans have the train stopping at the historic Depot in downtown Duluth and at a newly constructed terminal in Superior. Service could potentially start as early as 2020. There was rail service between Duluth and the Twin Cities until 1985, when a 10-year run of an AMTRAK service was discontinued. “The total cost to establish reliable, daily, high-speed inter-city passenger rail service on this route, including infrastructure improvements and train equipment, is estimated between $500 million and $600 million,” according to MN DOT, which also estimated future fares at $30 one-way to $50 round trip.
Spring Ahead: Lake Superior crosses two time zones and both are leaping ahead into Sunday. Remember to set those clocks forward when you go to bed Saturday night (or just before you hit the hay in the wee hours of Sunday morning – and does your mom know you were up that late?). This leaping whitetail deer image was done by pioneering photographer and Upper Peninsula local George Shiras III, whose nighttime flash photography work gained notoriety in 1906 when his photos were published in National Geographic. His collection is maintained by Jack Deo of Superior Views in Marquette. He was part of our story “Oh, Deer: The Buck-Naked Truth about Our Local Cervids.”
Photo & graphic credits: Kirk Schleife; William Sykes / U.S. Navy; Joe Friedrichs/WTIP; Courtesy Jill Jacoby; MN DOT; Jack Deo / Superior View.