Around the Circle This Week: April 12, 2019

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Stormy Weather: Winds and snow pummeled northeastern Minnesota Thursday into this morning with Hill City, about 85 miles west/northwest of Duluth, winning the regional snowfall total at 10 inches as of 9 a.m. Duluth got about 5 inches as of mid-morning and much of Wisconsin’s south shore earned 2 to 3 inches of snow, while Grand Marais and Hovland came just under Hill City with 9.8 inches and 9.1 inches respectively. The wind was the real star of this storm, though. On the Blatnik Bridge between Duluth and Superior, a wind speed of 72 mph was recorded, the highest wind speed noted locally, according to the National Weather Service's latest "Public Statements." Duluth logged 60 mph with high winds, contributing to closure of the city’s Brighton Beach and warnings about Canal Park. High water on Harbor Drive rerouted drop-off traffic to the Luke Combs concert at the DECC. Our co-publisher, Ron Brochu, took camera in hand to focus on the waves kicking up near the Lakewalk, seen in this Canal Park video (and make sure to keep the sound on). Around the region, the winds ranged from the high 50s to high 30s mph along the Minnesota and Wisconsin shores to a low of 30 mph recorded in Hill City (which is maybe why those snows could accumulate).

High winds on Lake Superior looked to affect marine traffic when by late afternoon most commercial vessels appeared to have hunkered into leeward locations, as seen here on yesterday’s AIS - Automatic Identification System - map on Boatnerd.com’s vessel passage page. (For those who don't already know, Boatnerd.com, as its name implies, is one of the best websites for Great Lakes boat lovers and watchers.) Lake conditions caused the Madeline Island Ferry Line to cancel what it calls its 6 a.m. "ghost boat" to the island and 7 a.m. ferry to the bay this morning, but service resumed by 7:30 a.m. A 3 p.m. trip to the island and a 3:30 p.m. trip from there was added to its service today.

In addition to the waves yesterday, a seiche raised the water level yesterday, captured in a Duluth Ship Canal video by Paul Scinocca showing the water near the top of the piers and lots of pancake ice. The winds in anticipation of the actual storm also put on a great show, giving us our favorite shot of the whole weather event – the great wave photo seen here and captured by photographer Jan Swart. Cool little side note: Before the storm was even over, someone bought a blanket using that photo from Jan’s fineartamerica site, proving that even an agitated Lake Superior is beautiful.

Over in the U.P.: In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, schools in the Marquette area were closed today because of hazardous road conditions from a combination of ice and snow, according to Mining Journal reporter Christie Bleck. Schools had been dismissed early on Thursday. The National Weather Service there recorded 5.4 inches of snow Thursday in Negaunee Township. Since July 1, according to Christie’s story, the Marquette area has received 220.2 inches of snow, compared with the average of 195 inches for that period. Early this morning, the National Weather Service in Marquette forecast areas of fog and freezing drizzle would continue to affect areas of western and central Upper Michigan through the morning and worsen in spots. It advises allowing extra travel time and driving at speeds appropriate for conditions.

Superior Sailing: Sail Superior.com owner/operator Greg Heroux (seen here on the Frodo) has netted $456,000 from the province to purchase a catamaran (perhaps a 50-footer) to add to his tour business in Thunder Bay, Northern Ontario Business reports this week. "The owner of Sail Superior.com, a harbour-based tour operator, was among a handful of tourism operators and projects in Thunder Bay and the northwest to reel in more than $1 million in provincial funding for new startups, business expansions, or enhancements to the overall visitor experience," NOB notes. Ontario's minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines made the announcement of the grants in Thunder Bay last week. The catamaran would be added to Greg's stable of the 38-foot sailboat Journeyer dedicated to harbour tours, the 40-foot sailboat Frodo adventure overnight sails, and the 500HP Zodiac Hurricane for fast ferrying to nearby destinations. According to a press release by the ministry, other approved tourism funding includes:

• $200,000 for North West Helicopters Inc. in Thunder Bay to establish an aerial tour and charter operation for visitors to the area;

• $140,045 for the Town of Marathon to make waterfront upgrades, including the construction of three new docks and park improvements;

• $114,126 for Seek Adventure & Tours Inc. to establish a business that provides walking tours in the Thunder Bay area;

• $101,379 for the Coalition for Waverley Park in Thunder Bay to build a multi-use stage for outdoor events in the entertainment district; and

• $25,200 for the Township of Red Rock to study the feasibility of creating a new recreational vehicle camping park on the lakefront.

Good News from the Soo: The barber of Queen Street who lost his business to a blaze in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is back in business, reports James Hopkin of SooToday. Ezio Metallo had cut hair at his downtown location for 15 years, but his new shop is on Great Northern Road inside the Northgate Plaza. A GoFundMe campaign raised $16,000 to help Ezio, whose business was one of two hair operations destroyed in the January blaze.

Packed for Forbes: Duluth Pack's CEO and owner, Tom Sega, was featured recently in two stories by Jim Vinoski of Forbes magazine, featuring Tom's two "made in America" businesses – Duluth Pack in Duluth (of course) and Spring Creek Manufacturing in Iron Mountain, Minnesota. "Tom Sega is a longtime salesman and big believer in American manufacturing. He’s put his money where his mouth is not just once, but twice, in bringing struggling U.S. manufacturers back from the brink," Jim writes in the introduction to each story. For 12 years, Tom has owned Duluth Pack, which has roots to a pack design patented in 1882 by French-Canadian immigrant Camille Poirer created in his Duluth shoe shop. In 2017, Tom bought Spring Creek Manufacturing, the company started in 1985 by Ted Newberg that specializes in outdoor equipment and accessories from truck racks to saws to kayak gear. If you want a chance to see products from both local manufacturing companies – and get a good Hoops Brewing beer to boot – check out the May 9 "Beer & Gear" event at Duluth Pack.

In an Instant: Thanks to our newest employee, Rebekah Rush, our Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube sites are back in action. Bekah, as you can call her, owned and operated Wonderfully Made, a small gift shop specializing in local artisan merchandise. Besides being our social media maven, she'll be a big help in our gift shop here especially during this challenging summer of construction right outside our door. Among the new Pinterest posts, you'll find this witty addition to our #LooksLiketheBigLake gallery from Minnesota photographer Christian Dalbec, who sent this photo who sent this photo of his stand-up paddleboard with the note: "Took a rest from my paddle on Lake Superior then noticed the ice I set the SUP on looked just like Lake Superior!"

Free Cake!: If you're looking for a sweet interlude this Sunday, may we suggest heading to Coco Artisan Bakery & Good Eats in Washburn, Wisconsin, where free birthday cake will be served to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Or you might want to pick up some of these other treats shown here. Coco serves breakfast and lunch, too. Denise in Baxter, Minnesota, also will be celebrating thanks to the bakery this week. She left her wallet there, but the bakery folk asked for help to find her. Thanks to a bit of Facebooking, Coco had this follow-up post: "THANKS EVERYONE! SHE GOT HER WALLET BACK!!!!"

Photo & graphic credits: Jan Swart; Boatnerd.com; National Weather Service-Marquette; SailSuperior.com; Duluth Pack; Christian Dalbec; Coco