Invasive Potato, Non-native Potato?: Using Lake Superior smelt as an example, Maggie Koerth Baker takes an intriguing look for FiveThirtyEight at “invasive species” vs. “non-native species” and how, although neither are natural to certain ecosystems, some are welcomed – such as smelt and salmon – and some are hated – such as lamprey. Smelt, an Atlantic Ocean fish stocked in the St. Marys River in the early 1900s, challenged the food web slot of the native herring for decades and thrived as sea lamprey reduced native fish populations. But smelt numbers have been seriously declining since the late 1970s. The small silver fish once brought a massive number of smelters in spring to catch the spawning fish by the bucketsful. While ecologically the shaking out of a non-native species is a good sign, both recreational and some commercial fisherfolk lament the decline, Maggie notes. “All of this produces a rat’s nest of competing interests and emotions. The people who I met fishing on the Lester River want smelt to stick around so they can share a tradition (and a meal) with their children and grandchildren. Steve Dahl, an independent commercial fisherman I interviewed, wanted the smelt gone because they interfered with his herring business.” Minnesota Sea Grant did a story on the mystery of missing smelt, and the Wisconsin DNR lists Lake Superior-caught smelt as safe for unlimited consumption (not that you have to test your limits).
Not Yet Pot: The official start to Canada's legal use of recreational marijuana on Wednesday made a lot of national news, but don't drive to the Ontario shore of Lake Superior expecting a tourist toke just yet. For now, the only legal place to buy recreational cannabis in the province is through the Ontario Cannabis Store, the government-run online store that ships orders using Canada Post (and not to the United States). And that will be the case until at least April 2019, when it’s expected that private businesses will be allowed to sell pot. The new law does mean that in Ontario, if you are 19 or older, you can buy, consume and grow marijuana. Edibles remain illegal for another year, even though you can make food and drinks with pot at home, CBC News reports. The Associated Press reports that at least 111 pot shops were expected to open across Canada this week, but not in Ontario, the country’s most populous province. U.S. border authorities, meanwhile, have issued reminders that travelers could face arrest if caught trying to bring pot across the border.
New Address, Same Service: The Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau has moved into a temporary visitor center on the corner of Manypenny Avenue and First Street not far from its 42 S. Broad St. location. The staff will remain in the temporary offices while its Broad Street building is torn down and replaced. The hopes are that the construction will be done in time to open for the 2019 summer travel season. But meanwhile, you can get the same friendly, helpful service that earned the staff a Best of the Lake Visitor Info Center award from Lake Superior Magazine readers. Meanwhile the Chamber and Visitor Bureau website remains the same, as does its Facebook page, where you can find fun stuff like these dancing apple cores at this year's Bayfield Apple Festival parade.
Hometown Store Still at Home: The Sears Hometown Store in the Copper Country Mall in Houghton, Michigan, will not be affected by the Sears Holding bankruptcy, store co-owner Gina LaBeske told the Keweenaw Report. “We’ve owned this Sears Hometown for the last two years. Since we’ve owned it, we’ve been a top performing store. We always finish in the top ten for the year. We are consistently the premier store of our Sears Hometowns. There’s a total of 760 stores in the nation.” Gina owns the store with Dan LaBeske, who says their store is a separate company from Sears Holding, although it does sell Sears appliances and goods, as well as those of other companies like Whirlpool, Maytag and KitchenAid.
Voting Gets Their Vote: Swim Creative, a branding and advertising firm in Duluth, has chosen to get out the vote as its social cause of choice. In a press release announcing its Raise Your Vote! campaign, the company notes that Minnesota led the nation in percentage of voter participation in 2016 and that, with a bit of work, Duluth could become the "voting-est place in the voting-est state." Patrice Bradley, Swim's founder, CEO and creative director, says, "We live and work in this city. Like many of our fellow Duluthians, we volunteer for the causes and organizations close to our heart, and we are avid voters. We also know that, in the 2018 midterm elections, what our city needs most is for everyone to be heard and to vote." The website answers a number of questions on where to vote, how to vote early and about voter registration on the day of voting by showing proof of residence.
Tat-tletale: We don't usually post people's new tattoos, but couldn't help noting Paul Pepe's new tat. Paul, director of tourism for Thunder Bay, also was one of the founding promoters of Ride Lake Superior, a great resource for motorcyclists, and now he carries proof of his commitment to the cycling Circle Tour. Nice work, tattoo artist Remy Chunick.
In the Pink: Brice Shirbach did Duluth right when he came in for Pink Bike to do a story about how a surge of interest in mountain biking has contributed to the city's makeover mode. "People in Duluth are incredibly generous with both their time and their energy, and they're very excited whenever they have the opportunity to share their little slice of heaven with the rest of the world," Brice says in his video, adding that Duluth "offers up this really cool combination of these industrial aesthetics, coastal living vibes and a really truly honest-to-goodness love for the outdoors." Brice talks about the trails, of course, but also the culinary and cultural opportunities.
Pressing On: Interlake Steamship Company posted an impressive image of the 806-foot Hon. James L. Oberstar powering through 8- to 12-foot waves on Lake Superior during a stiff wind on Oct. 12. The image was done via a drone camera operated by Paul LaMarre, who was on the boat at the time. The winds were 15 to 20 mph with snow showers off and on, the post noted.
Photo & graphic credits: Wisconsin DNR; Bayfield Chamber and Visitor Bureau; Swim Creative; Paul Pepe; Brice Shirbach/Pink Bike; Paul LaMarre.