Baby, It's (Getting) Cold Outside: The U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District covering the Great Lakes sent out a press release this week "reminding mariners and outdoors enthusiasts of the dangers presented by cold weather as temperatures drop in the Great Lakes region. Cold air and freezing water temperatures significantly decrease survival time for persons immersed in the water or exposed to the elements." The release also included this advice before heading out on the water:
1. Take precautions, not chances. The risk of death from accidental immersion during cold weather seasons is higher than in warm seasons. The water is colder and survival time is greatly diminished.
2. Dress for the water temperatures. Cold water lowers body heat dramatically faster than cold air. Even if you are not planning on entering the water, the possibility of that happening is very real. An unexpected fall overboard is one of the leading factors in boating deaths.
3. Never leave without a VHF-FM radio or personal locator beacon and always be sure to tell someone where you are going, when you expect to return and advise them of any changes in the plan. Every minute counts in a cold-water environment, and preparation may mean the difference between life and death. Freezing temperatures drain battery life in electronic devices quickly. “Functional electronic distress signals, cell phones with fully charged batteries, and auditory distress signals should be on your person every time you go out,” said Petty Officer Second Class Adrian Ledesma, instructor at the National Ice Rescue School. “It is such a time critical mission, when dealing with distress in icy water.” The Coast Guard has a Cold Water Boot Camp USA video with more information. Meanwhile, last week the crew of the USCG cutter Alder, based in Duluth, visited Isle Royale to collect buoys and posted this video.
There's a Good Idea … and There's Another One!: Sault Ste. Marie area businesses battled it out touting their good ideas for recognition and prizes in a Bridges to Better Business Pitch Competition. The ultimate winner was BookBuds, based in Elliot Lake, which is a peer-to-peer guided reading service hosted through Zoom for children from kindergarten to sixth grade. Under the program, Emlyn Goulding shares her passion for books and love of reading with younger children. Company owner Bill Goulding took home the contest’s grand prize, valued at $17,000. Runner up Tony Cavaliere of Kapptive Studios, a software company with an office in Sault Ste. Marie, received the second place prize valued at $7,000. The final two did a "pitch off" at the Millworks, Centre for Entrepreneurship in the Sault, scored by audience voting and an expert panel of judges. Seen after the event here are, from left, Bill and Emlyn Goulding from BookBuds and city of Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Officer Jessica Maione.
A BIG Big Lake Backer: We recently learned with sadness about the passing on Oct. 20 of former Viking star linebacker Matt Blair. The 70-year-old was, reported the Associated Press, "one of the great linebackers in Minnesota Vikings history and a six-time Pro Bowler who played in two Super Bowls." We met Matt in 2011, long after his retirement, when we featured a story on his passion for photography. Matt became especially familiar with the Lake Superior region when he agreed to be in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon to support Special Olympics, one of many causes he helped. He also bicycled from the Twin Cities to Duluth to raise money for causes he supported and he captained a celebrity team for an across-the-border charity tug-of-war at Rainy River in International Falls, Minn. Matt returned many times to the Big Lake to use his photographic skills, such as in this photo "Sunstar Lake" taken near Two Harbors. He authored numerous books, including Each Day Is a Gift, which summed up his philosophy of life. On his visit to our office, he posed with Editor Konnie LeMay (who is making rabbit ears behind him in this photo, but her arm was just not high enough to reach above the 6-foot-5-inch gentle giant). When we asked about his football career, Matt admitted, "What I liked best was to tackle people." After retirement, what Matt seemed to like best was tackling the challenge of helping others … and picturing the beauty around him wherever he landed.
Ode to the Hillside: This 2017 music video, "Oh the Hillside" by Ingeborg von Agassiz, and the Homegrown Music Festival resurfaced among our contacts this week. The song, done with the Festival and PerfectDuluthDay, speaks lyrically of Duluth's Central Hillside in winter and includes a little tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement: "In the winter roads are slicker; You slide down and you can’t stop." The Duluth-based musician/visual artist created her moniker combining Ingeborg (her grandmom's name) with Agassiz (the ancient glacial lake before Lake Superior) connecting it with the German "von" or "of," so she becomes Ingeborg of Agassiz. You can check out her work and other songs online. We love the way this song ends, too: "Oh, the hillside is a sweet ride; Overlooking that old lake; Stop along Skyline Parkway; How many pictures can you take?"
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: It took less than an hour after the call for help went out for aid to materialize when the food distribution program at Niiwin Indigenous Food Market in Duluth was faced with a dilemma Thursday morning. "Problem of the morning!!!" Michelle LeBeau, executive director of AICHO posted on Facebook along with a photo of a loaded semi outside the former Fourth Street Market building where the Niiwin program resides. "Met with the delivery driver to unload 500 boxes of milk and produce for our food distribution program - what we didn’t know is that we would need a forklift and pallet jack!!!! Which we do not have. Any ideas???" Ideas aplenty came in for forklift rentals and other options, but just as quickly came word that nearby Essentia Health offered to help with a forklift, a pallet jack and a few good men to join the AICHO volunteers. Michelle explained to us that the large gift of food came from the USDA "Farm to Family program. The organizers offered to deliver 500 boxes to AICHO, but it was a surprise when Michelle got the call early in the morning about the semi-truck driver parked outside the Niiwin building. It was half a truckload of meat, milk, produce and other food goods on big, imposing pallets. The trucks usually deliver to fully equipped warehouses, so the driver was inquiring about unloading and the Niiwin team was pondering its options. That's when the flurry of posts started. In the end, there was too much good food for Niiwin's storage ability, so another set of posts offered food for those in need. "We've been distributing all day," Michelle said, "about 1,000 boxes of food in a few hours." That was nearly 16,000 pounds of food. There are still boxes available, Michelle notes, with "fresh fruit, veggies, can goods, dried goods, meat, berries, masks, hand sanitizers … pretty comprehensive." Those with ongoing food needs should contact AICHO at either 218-343-5672 or foodaccess@aicho.org to get on a distribution list. Niiwin Indigenous Foods Market is part of the interconnected programs run through AICHO – the American Indian Community Housing Organization. One of the fun series run via the food market is AICHO'S Distance Learning Support Program, which has been doing a weekly "try something new challenge" for local children. This week the kids tried radish and collard micro greens grown in their classroom, purple carrots from their garden plus fresh mango and dried pineapple. On Nov. 19, AICHO hosts Chef Brian Yazzie, a food justice activist from Arizona and the Navajo Nation, for a virtual demo and seasonal recipe – heirloom squash, chaga soup with maple-sumac glazed duck breast and walnuts.
Mad for a Mansion: For Episode 7 in his Lake Superior Circle Tour series, Torontoan Andy Kaknevicius says he fell in love with Glensheen on his visit through Duluth … so much so that he wanted to dedicate one video to it and he praised the management team. "Initially, Glensheen was not intended to be part of the series but more of a personal interest to pay a visit. Things changed quickly when I arrived," says Andy. "There was a sign that read 'photography was encouraged,' but I was politely told there was no video allowed while inside the mansion. As soon as I was invited in, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Glensheen and felt the urge that this visit has to be shared on the Lake Superior Tour. I immediately took it as a production challenge. I had 90 minutes on the schedule to tour the mansion and the grounds; I followed the rules to the letter, which resulted in Episode 7."
Drive-by Hauntings: Among the many haunted opportunities this weekend will be a heritage haunting in Hancock, Mich. The Michigan Tech's "Tech Theatre Company" is teaming up with the Quincy Mine for a spooktacular Haunted Mine Drive-thru the mine ruins from 7-10 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. "We’ve got a multi-layered project in the works," posted the organizers, "with built and lit scenic elements out in the mine ruins, and original scary podcast/stories produced by the Tech Theatre Company! The sounds will play on a long loop broadcast over a low-power FM transmitter. As people drive the ruins along the path marked out, they can tune their radios to the 'Haunted Mine Drive-Thru' Halloween broadcast." Sounds like a lot of haunting for a $10/per vehicle donation. Halloween safely out there!
Photo & graphic credits: USCG cutter Alder; City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; Matt Blair; Michelle LeBeau/AICHO; Andy Kaknevicius; Michigan Tech