Rescuing the Rescuers: Many people and organizations are coming together to help the La Pointe Fire Department and ambulance service after it burned to the ground earlier this week on Madeline Island. The services were back in operation by Thursday evening, a little more than a day after an explosion and fire destroyed the fire hall, along with vehicles and equipment. The La Pointe Police Department said on Facebook that they “returned to full service” at 6 p.m. Thursday. “This was not possible without the generous help of neighboring departments.” According to Michelle Jensen’s story in the Ashland Daily Press, the Wisconsin DNR delivered two 19,000-pound trucks over the ice road between Bayfield and Madeline Island on frozen Lake Superior. Lisa Potswald, La Pointe town administrator, told Michelle that Pomasl Fire Equipment of Antigo, Wisconsin, is renting an ambulance to the town, and the fire department is taking back use of a pumper it sold recently. It's also getting 10 sets of fire-resistant suits and air equipment for firefighters. The early Wednesday morning fire remains under investigation. A state fire marshal and insurance investigators were at the site Friday. The building contained seven fire vehicles and two ambulances, including a new ambulance received in November, according to a story by Adelie Bergstrom in the Duluth News Tribune. No one was injured in the blast and fire, although a town police officer had left the building less than two hours before it was reported.
Local photographer and island resident Hannah Stonehouse Hudson started a GoFundMe campaign for expenses not covered by insurance, and as a thank you to the Madeline Island emergency services workers who helped recover her husband, a guide who died when he plunged through the ice into the Lake on his snowmobile in 2003. As of Friday afternoon, $5,132 has been raised, but the hope is to raise the equal of an anonymous $100,000 matching grant made in memory of Barb Rogers, a fundraiser for many causes and people on Madeline Island. Other donations include an ambulance and two pumpers from the Fire Department in Tomahawk and a training trailer, air packs and cascade system from WITC-Superior. Several residents have offered space in their homes for the police officers, who do not live on the island but stay overnight. The town also may rent a home until the fire hall is rebuilt.
Holding Steady: The recent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report on Great Lakes water levels shows that Lake Superior’s water levels remained stable in February, which usually is a month when the water levels go down by about 2 inches. At the beginning of March, the Corps reports, Lake Superior is 13 inches above its long-term (1918-2017) average and equals the level at this time last year. Lake Superior is expected to remain relatively stable or decline slightly during the coming month.
Island-to-Island Transfer: Two wolves from Michipicoten Island in Ontario and two from the mainland near Wawa were recently captured and released onto Isle Royale National Park in hopes of repopulating the apex predator there. A narrow break in winter storms allowed for the operation, which required capturing and releasing the wolves within four days, according to the National Park Services release. “Two mainland wolves, one female and one male from the same pack and both with a black coat color variation, were captured on crown land near Wawa, Ontario, and transferred to Isle Royale. Weather cleared long enough on Thursday to provide an opportunity to access Michipicoten Island Provincial Park, where two males were captured,” the release noted. Staff from both the NPS and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, along with the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, collaborated on the project. Veterinarians checked the wolves both at the capture sites and the release sites. Since fall, eight wolves have been transplanted to the island, four from the Minnesota mainland on the Grand Portage Ojibwe reservation and four from Ontario. One of the Minnesota wolves recently crossed back to the mainland on an ice bridge and another wolf died. As far as is known, the last two wolves born on Isle Royale also remain. The wolf relocation project is slated to continue for three years. “To see these wolves disappear into the forests of Isle Royale and to have an opportunity to start a new generation of wolves on the island fulfilled a major objective in the first year of reestablishing the population,” Isle Royale Superintendent Phyllis Green is quoted in the release. “The success reflected six months of planning and represented a major accomplishment by the agencies involved.”
A Windshield Good for Bugs?: Usually in winter, Midwestern domesticated bees just can’t catch a break. To stay warm in the hive, bees beat their wings to keep it about 88° F, the temperature needed to survive. However, the heat and water vapor created thus by the bees causes condensation to form on the top of the hive in cold temperatures, which drips down on the bees and kills them. For a beekeeper, the losses can be significant, according to the University of Wisconsin-Superior. On average, most U.S. beekeepers lose about 30 percent of their hives during winter, but in the Upper Midwest they lose as much as 50 percent. After all of the hives in the UWS bee apiary died off in the winter of 2016, UWS biology professor, Edward “Doc Bee” Burkett paired up with his friend Kenn Raihala, a UWS retired mechanical engineer, to create the Beehive Wind Shield. The shield allows the hive to be ventilated to reduce condensation, but at the same time reduces the wind velocity entering hives by 93 percent. Initial small scale tests with the shield indicate a loss of only 25 percent, or about half what can be expect from this area. With the shield looking promising, it has become the first technology from UWS for which WiSys has pursued patent protection. It’s also one of an original list of five technologies being assessed by a student team for business plan development. “I’ve learned to never ignore the obvious,” said Burkett. “This was such a simple idea that was right in front of us, but apparently no one had done it before. This could be a solution to a centuries-old problem for beekeepers.” We already have an idea of what might make a good logo for the product – the UWS mascot, a Yellowjacket hornet.
Northern Brass: Cook County, Minnesota, Sheriff Pat Eliasen is one talented fella – a 24-year law enforcement veteran with a master’s degree in criminal justice leadership from Concordia University, a bachelor’s degree in Education from Bemidji State University and a licensed K-12 teacher of English and music – and he will turn his talents to helping an officer in need this weekend when he and four other acting or retired sheriffs perform in Breckenridge as the MN Brassholes – Rockin’ Sheriffs Band. The fundraising performance is for Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Darlene Reddy, who is battling breast cancer. Pat plays lead guitar and vocals, while the Brassholes are Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose on bass; retired Goodhue County Sheriff Scott McNurlin on drums and vocals; Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn, percussion and vocals; and Wilkin County Sheriff Rick Fiedler, rhythm guitar and vocals The performance begins at 9 p.m., but the fundraising event, organized by Rothsay Town & Country and the Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office, kicks off at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Old Rothsay School. There will be a bean bag tournament, food, prizes, an auction and a special “Shaving the Sheriff” initiative featuring Sheriff Rick who has been growing out his hair to be able to shave it off in a show of support for his deputy. In case you're wondering if our local sheriff has talent, he has played and sung with his performing band MYsterious WAYs since 1991 and has recorded two albums with band Oversize Load. Here's a video sample of MYsterious WAYs performing at the Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais.
Photo & graphic credits: Hanna Stonehouse Hudson; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; University of Wisconsin-Superior; MN Brassholes