Bill Michl
Making Superior Lions Run
Bill Michl is running around Lake Superior during summer 2017 to raise money and awareness for Lions Clubs International Foundation.
Circling the Lake – on foot
Bill Michl, a Lions Club member from Fort Frances, Ontario, decided to raise money this summer for the Lions Clubs International Foundation, which since 1968 has worked “to improve lives around the world.”
He really wanted to make a splash with his project, and so he turned to that enormous body of water in his back yard. All summer long and into the fall, he’ll be running around Lake Superior.
Starting in Thunder Bay on July 8, Bill is now about a week into the 1,300-mile run, logging 15 miles a day. He’s posting updates and photos on Facebook as he moves clockwise around the Lake. Sept. 28 is his targeted completion date.
After a week of running, he hasn’t lost his wry sense of humor. A few days ago he wrote, “Today on my run I passed a sign that said Sault Ste. Marie 576 kms... almost there.”
If you’re circling the Lake this summer, keep an eye out for him!
Teenager rescued in Grand Marais harbor
A Minnesota teen was paddling alongside friends in an open-cockpit, so-called “toy kayak” when the group got a little rowdy and the kayak flipped, says local Marco Good, who made the rescue in a rowboat. The boy was unable to get back into his kayak or into the rowboat – and he wasn’t wearing a wetsuit in the 40-degree water. Fortunately, Marco towed the boy to shore before hypothermia set in. He shared the story of the rescue with WTIP Radio.
Marco’s words of advice for paddlers: Always wear a life jacket – it’s probably what saved the boy’s life, Marco says – and “save your goofing around for the inland lakes.”
+ For more: What you need to know about kayaking on Lake Superior.
Celebrate the Big Lake
It’s Lake Superior Day/s weekend! This annual celebration of the Big Lake starts today in some communities, leading up to the official Lake Superior Day on Sunday. Here’s a look at the events around the Lake. In Duluth today and Saturday, meet Lake Superior Magazine’s own Konnie LeMay and a variety of other Lake experts outside the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center.
World’s largest rubber duck visits Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario: Sixty-one feet tall, it’s in town through Saturday for Rotaryfest. Here’s a photo from the Sault Star.
For the weather nerds: Check out the ripple-like “undular bores” that appeared in the sky over Lake Superior, via Minnesota Public Radio.
After the flood: The Duluth News Tribune’s Lisa Kaczke has an update on the northern Wisconsin communities still rebuilding after last summer’s flooding.
Bike sharing in Superior? “The city of Superior could begin implementing a bike-share program in the city as soon as next spring, according to Superior Mayor Jim Paine,” reports Felicity Bosk for Wisconsin Public Radio.
Fewer peregrine falcon nests in Thunder Bay this year: A wildlife biologist told the CBC that the severe ice storm in late April is probably to blame for the dip. He doesn’t anticipate any long-term harm to a population that has been stable.
Ontonagon shipping dealt a blow: The Michigan city had hoped to bring commercial shipping back to its harbor, but a newly formed sandbar has blocked ships from reaching the dock. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the harbor last fall and won’t dredge it again this year, reports Vanessa Dietz for the Mining Gazette.
Rainy days? Don’t despair. We get some wonderful waterfall viewing out of it, as Minnesota photographer Paul Sundberg shows.