Around the Circle This Week: June 2, 2022

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Water Overloads: Residents along County Road 136 in International Falls, Minn., were asked to voluntarily evacuate by 5 p.m. today because of rising water levels. The road will be closed after that time. About 24 homes were affected, according to the Koochiching County Emergency Operations Center. A Temporary Evacuation Check-in Point (TECP) has been established at the Backus Community Center in town and evacuating residents were asked to check in there. The county also provided an evacuation checklist for homeowners with information about what to take along and suggestions for moving furniture to higher levels in homes if possible, unplugging electrical appliance, etc. Flooding is an issue throughout the Rainy River basin and has caused closures within Voyageurs National Park as well.

Meanwhile, flooding in Northwestern Ontario has prompted evacuations of residents in remote communities, including 100 vulnerable residents from Grassy Narrows First Nation last week, reports CBC News. Thunder Bay has had its own flooding issues along the Kaministiquia River in mid-May, which had caused temporary closure of the Fort William Historical Park. The park intends to reopen Friday (June 3) for events, living history guided tours and campground use.

Meeting Demand: Last Friday (May 27), the Duluth Seaway Port Authority announced the first shipment of maritime containers loaded on the Nunalik, a general cargo ship that is hauling 200 20-foot containers of bagged kidney beans to Europe. Moving the cargo through the Great Lakes will relieve worldwide stress on the supply chain and hasten product delivery, food and shipping executives said at a morning news conference, reports Ron Brochu for BusinessNorth. “This has given us more control over our product,” said Cindy Brown, president of Chippewa Valley Bean in Menomonie, Wis., who traditionally has shipped beans grown regionally by rail from Minneapolis to Montreal, then by vessel across the Atlantic Ocean. "The port of Duluth-Superior can be a relief valve of sorts for the American supply chain," said Jayson Hron, Duluth Seaway Port Authority director of communication and marketing (and pictured here). Coordinating the system required multiple players, said Jonathan Lamb, president of Duluth Cargo Connect, a partnership between the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Lake Superior Warehousing. Those involved with the shipment include Chippewa Valley Bean, Jeff Foster Trucking, Nexyst 360 (which assembles sustainable supply chain solutions), and Spliethoff Group in Cleveland, which owns the 452-foot Nunalik and provided it through a charter agreement.  

No Longer Loosey Goosey: Wildwoods wildlife rehab center in Duluth posted a video of a gosling's reunion with its family. Here's the post: "The first thing we try to do at Wildwoods is reunite orphans with their families. This is not always possible - sometimes the parents are deceased, and sometimes they are long gone and we don't know what has happened to them. This gosling, however, was in luck! Not only was its family still alive, but it was found and cared for by two people who had its best interests at heart. The couple called us after this gosling was found at one of their worksites. They were aware of a family of geese that lived near the worksite, and were surprised by this little guy running through the site alone one day. They scooped him up, brought him home for the night, and called Wildwoods the next morning. Valerie, our Nursery Manager, asked them to take the gosling and to go and look for its family. If they could not find its family, the next best thing to do would be to look for a family with goslings of the same size. This is what we do for all orphaned goslings - we are able to successfully adopt them into other families as long as the goslings are all the same size. After driving around for a bit, they found his family not far from where the little guy had been running alone."

The Last Straw: McDonald's Canada is transitioning from plastic to paper straws and to showcase that work, the company

has commissioned 14 Canadian and Indigenous artists to create original art on a McDonald’s tray made from upcycled plastic straws for its The Last Straw project. Thunder Bay Anishinaabe artist Ryan Poorman is among those artists and this image graces a tray created from straws by The Rogerie, a company that specializes in making everyday products from post-consumer plastics. Ryan’s original art will be donated to a local Ronald McDonald House Charities. “This piece is to inspire people to change their ways, based on the Sleeping Giant landscape, as well as the representation of our earth through Turtle Island," Ryan says.

Catch You Next Time: The cruise ship Viking Octantis had to sail by its scheduled Apostle Islands and Houghton, Mich., stops this week because of high winds. The 665-foot ship carrying about 400 passengers was expected to anchor Wednesday in Dollar Bay at Portage Lake but decided to forgo that stop with organizers citing safety concerns, reports MLive. It also passed an earlier schedule stop off Bayfield, the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce reported. The chamber also posted this image, taken by , of the ship passing by the town. The Viking cruise line's next journey across Lake Superior will be June 9 with a final tour launching July 7.

Help Wanted: A number of requests for volunteers have come across our emails recently. We thought we'd share a few of these community opportunities:

• The Greater Downtown Council in Duluth needs helpers to plant flowers for the downtown waterfront district on June 7 & 8 (Tuesday & Wednesday) to fill 60+ streetscape planters. Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Fifth Avenue West and Superior Street near the Ordean Plaza on Tuesday for the Superior Street area or in the Northwest Iron Parking Lot at the corner of Buchanan Street and Lake Avenue for the Canal Park area.

• North House Folk School in Grand Marais needs a vast crew of volunteers during its Wooden Boat Show, June 16-18 to help set up, tear down and work booths during various activities. Sign up for specific tasks online.

• Peter White Public Library in Marquette is doing a community survey during the month of June to aid future planning for the library.

• The Superior Hiking Trail Association (in photo) in Minnesota seeks trail workers with a special invite for the upcoming Bean and Bear Reroute Volunteer Project on June 15-26 near Silver Bay. Volunteers can sign up online for various projects throughout the summer.

• Musky Fest (June 24-26) in Hayward, Wis., needs volunteers throughout the weekend. Sign up online to help with set ups and the info booth, among other tasks.  

Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:

Michigan

First Thursdays, Thru Oct.: Explore local art in Marquette with the First Thursdays art tours today through Oct. 6. Local artists open their shops and studios to welcome the public from 4-8 p.m. the first Thursday of every month. Download the tour map and view the artists featured online.

Saturday, June 4: The Copper Range Historical Museum in South Range holds its annual open house on Saturday and will showcase two books by local author Gordon J. Mattila about memories of growing up in Toivola and Misery Bay. Refreshments will be available. No charge for this event or museum entry.

Minnesota

June: Live music has returned to Bluefin Grille in Tofte and the June schedule is posted online. On Friday, Jim McGowan will bring his mix of folk, rock, Irish, roots and blues tunes.

Saturday, June 4: The debut performance of Lyric Opera of the North’s new professional ensemble, LOON COR will be 7 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Duluth. Led by Dr. Michael Fuchs, this concert is a celebration of singing and features pieces by Ukrainian composer Dmitry Bortniansky and Minnesotan composer Dominick Argento, plus a sneak peek from Hansel & Gretel, the troupe's upcoming play that opens June 10.

Wisconsin

Friday-Sundays, June 3-12: Bayfield in Bloom kicks off at 10 a.m. Friday with its traditional live WPR broadcast of Larry Meiller's "Garden Talk" from the Bayfield Lakeside Pavillion. A reception follows from 1-3 p.m. at the Bayfield Inn. Besides the placement of 50,000 blooming daffodils during the annual welcoming of summer, Bayfield in Bloom highlights include garden tours and the Blessing of the Fleet from Memorial Park at 1 p.m. this Sunday (June 5). Commercial fishing boats, tugs, powerboats, sailboats, excursion crafts, kayaks, and rowboats all will parade through Bayfield’s City Harbor for the service and then the blessing at the city dock.

Wednesday-Friday, June 8-11: The inaugural Plein Art of Washburn Festival welcomes aspiring artists, practicing artists and guests for this free four-day event. It will feature outdoor demonstrations and painting sessions with plenty of time to learn and mingle.

Ontario

Saturdays: Sault Ste. Marie joined with the international Parkrun community with free fun runs at 9 a.m. on Saturdays in Bellevue Park. Runners are encouraged to register to track their times and volunteers are welcome.

Thru June 5: Sault Ste. Marie hosts several events this weekend, including Baawaating Pride 2022 (June 1-5) with a full schedule of activities, the Lilac and Lavender high teas at the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site (June 3-5) and the 17th Gathering at the Rapids pow wow at Algoma University (June 4-5).

Saturday, June 4: EcoSuperior and Community Spokes launch their 2022 beginning bike mechanic workshop series at 10 a.m., covering topics such as replacing your tire/tube, cleaning your chain, adjusting seat height and angle, dealing with squeaky brakes and changing your pedals. The series is free; register online.  

Photo & graphic credits: Koochiching County Sheriff; Ron Brochu/BusinessNorth; Wildwoods; McDonald's Canada; Apostle Rentals; mqtcompass/Jim McGowen/Bayfield in Bloom/Parkrun

Around the Circle This Week editor: Konnie LeMay