New Owners, Same Mission: Lake Superior Magazine has been purchased by a longtime regional publisher based in Duluth. Ron Brochu and Beth Bily (top photos), owners of BusinessNorth and Scenic Range News Forum, purchased the magazine, its associated books and merchandising operations. They will keep the magazine’s staff and continue with the magazine’s stated mission “to be the eyes, ears and voice of Lake Superior and its peoples, revealing the mystique of the lake through quality writing, graphics and photography.” Cindy and Paul Hayden, who have owned the magazine since 1984, will retire after a few months of helping with the transition. Cindy called the sale to Ron and Beth “the perfect fit” for which she and Paul had been looking. “Beth and Ron share our passion, and we’re excited to leave this business in their experienced hands.” The purchase, which was finalized Aug. 31, was announced this week in a press release. The owners, old and new, will appear on Almanac North at 8 p.m. tonight on WDSE-WRPT (PBS 8 & 31).
Up, But Down: Lake Superior begins September 6 inches above its long-term average, but 4 inches below this same time last year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Lake also rose about twice its average for August, going up 0.8 inches instead of its average rise of 0.4 inches for the month. “The above-average levels coupled with strong winds and waves continue to result in shoreline erosion and coastal damages across the upper Great Lakes system,” according to the Corps’ report. “Additional shoreline erosion and coastal damages may occur this summer and fall should active weather continue.” The prediction is for continued above average water levels in the Great Lakes this fall.
A Tragedy on the Lake: Autopsy reports released this week and reported by the Associated Press on TwinCities.com indicate that hypothermia and possible drowning caused the deaths of 39-year-old Eric Fryman and his three children, Jansen, 3, Anna, 5, and Kyra, 9, who fell into Lake Superior on Aug. 30 when their 13.5-foot kayak capsized near Michigan Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. All were wearing life jackets. The children’s mother and Eric’s wife, Cari Mews-Fryman, was also in the kayak and survived, rescued after about six or seven hours in the water on the U.S. Geological Survey’s research vessel, the Kiyi, based in Ashland, according to reports by the U.S. Coast Guard. Petty Officer Brian McCrum, a representative for the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District, says that the water temperature on the evening of the accident was around 50° F. The family had started out from Madeline Island to paddle 4 miles to Michigan Island when weather conditions altered and became rougher. Cari was found after her sister discovered text messages of “911” and “Michigan Island” from her, according to Tom Olsen of the Duluth News Tribune. PO Brian McCrum encourages people who paddle, sail or operate powerboats on Lake Superior to carry an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) or similar device that can help with immediate location in an emergency. On Lake Superior, Brian noted, cell service is not always available, making cellphones a less reliable call for help. A radio with Channel 16 frequency for marine vessels is also recommended. A call about the emergency went out on that channel, which is how the Kiyi came to find Cari. Several agencies, including local rescue services, the U.S. Coast Guard Bayfield-based rescue boat and U.P.-based helicopter joined the search.
On the Move: The fall migration has begun, according to the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory in Duluth. On Wednesday this week, Hawk Ridge noted plenty of passerines (like this chestnut-sided warbler) as well as raptors dotting the skies above. “As predicted,” it was noted on the Hawk Ridge Facebook page, “with northerly winds the birds had a free ride south this Wednesday. The morning was filled with passerines (3,342) zipping by, and most were warblers. 14 species were confirmed and some new species added to the season count for this fall, including LINCOLN’S SPARROW and the first DARK-EYED JUNCO. By the afternoon the passerines made way for the introduction of hawks. Interestingly, there were 12 BALD EAGLES over the platform when we started counting at 06:20!! Nevertheless, the bulk came in the shape of another 97 BALD EAGLE, 15 OSPREY, 30 AMERICAN KESTREL, 191 SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and 197 BROAD-WINGED HAWK. 63 species of birds were documented today with a grand total of 5,434 bird.” Also noted was that August 2017 netted 167 bald eagles and this year’s tally was more than 600. For those so inclined, you can follow the Hawk Ridge count with live updates and Hawk Weekend Festival will be Sept. 21-23.
Two other major flyways by the Lake also see the start of migrations. In Ontario, the Thunder Cape Bird Observatory, at the southern tip of the Sibley Peninsula near Thunder Bay, conducts a daily count of migratory birds during the fall migration, Aug. 1 to the end of October. On Facebook, it noted a surprise sighting and capture of a Sora, a freshwater marsh bird that migrates from the far northern portions of Canada to wintering grounds in the southern United States, Mexico and farther south. In Michigan’s U.P., the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory at Whitefish Point, also on a peninsula that draws a concentration of migratory birds, conducts its fall waterbird count from Aug. 15 to Nov. 15. (Its spring and fall counts record loons, grebes, ducks, geese, shorebirds and other waterbirds.)
By Air and By Sea: Those who love birds and maritime history will get a double dose of interesting with the story by Sparky Stensaas that appeared in an issue of Lake Superior Magazine. “Perk’s Floating Forest” tells of Sparky’s journey to uncover information about Captain J.P. “Perk” Perkins (seen here holding two broad-winged hawks that visited his freighter). The good captain and avid birder created mini forests on the decks of the freighters he piloted from the 1930s through the 1970s to encourage stopovers by migrating birds. While many felt birds' flights over the Great Lakes were by accident, with the feathered travelers intending to fly around rather than over the water, Capt. Perk’s observations and log records identified 17 migration corridors over four of the five Great Lakes (he never sailed Lake Ontario).
High Flying: The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, airport has been hitting some record numbers this year, according to an airport press release published in SooToday. The airport accommodated 20,914 passengers in August, a 4.28 percent increase over the same month last year and a new monthly record, breaking the old record of 20,667 set in October 2017. The latest figures also set a new 12-month record with 216,754 passengers going through the airport since August 2018. The old 12-month record of 216,172 was reached in June 2018. The Sault airport is served by Air Canada Express, Bearskin Airlines, and Porter Airlines, and, seasonally, by Sunwing Airlines, which will have flights to and from the Sault starting Dec. 21, 2018, to April 19, 2019.
Hauling Economic Boost: The Port of Duluth-Superior generated $1.4 billion in economic activity and supported 7,881 jobs last year, according to information released today by the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. The numbers come from a localized report, gleaned in part form a larger study done by Martin Associates for the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. Deb DeLuca, newly appointed executive director for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, says the economic impact is not surprising. “The Port of Duluth-Superior anchors the westernmost point of this entire 2,340-mile System – a binational waterway that connects the heartland of North America to the global marketplace. As the largest tonnage port on the Great Lakes, we have long known the key role this port plays in the economic vitality of the entire region. Not only does this study validate that message, it also provides relevant data to share with policymakers, investors, business leaders and residents alike, illustrating how indispensable our working waterfront is to job growth and economic sustainability in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.” In Superior, Jason Serck, the city’s economic development, planning and port director, says, “The value of the Port of Duluth-Superior cannot be overstated. We do the heavy lifting here in the Twin Ports in terms of tonnage. When you look at the number of jobs in this area related to maritime commerce, it is clear that the working waterfront drives the economies of this entire region.”
Stephanie Fortino / Mackinac Island Town Crier
Island Dwellers: The second gathering of the Great Lakes Islands Alliance will travel to Lake Superior this month. The alliance, just formed last year, is a network of island community members from across the international Great Lakes region who share the experience of living in geographically isolated and culturally unique places. “Our mission is to encourage relationship building, foster information exchange and leverage resources to address challenges and opportunities unique to island life,” according to Marina Lachecki, an alliance representative on Madeline Island, where the group will meet Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Last year, the alliance met on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan and posed for a group photo.
One of Our Own: Travis Novitsky, the new manager of the Grand Portage State Park and a first-class photographer who frequently contributes to our magazine, got some Twin Cities coverage in August. Tim McNiff in his “McNiff’s Riffs” on Kare 11 talked about how blown away when he saw Travis’ photography on a recent North Shore visit. “I was just really just star struck.” Tim asked Travis if his Native heritage (Travis is a member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) influenced his stunning nature photography. “As Native Americans,” Travis told Tim, “we have a really strong sense of place because of the long Native American history of people being forced to move out of the places where they lived and forced to live on reservations. So, while it was a bad thing originally, now it’s like, ‘Hey, this is ours’, and we hang on to that. We’re tied to it, we’re connected to it in a way that most people can’t understand. So, wherever I go I feel a connection to the place, I feel a sense of ease which transcends into good photography because I connect to it right away, where others it may take a long time, if they ever do, because they may appreciate it, but they might not ever connect to it.” Two of Travis' long-time photographic projects have been sites important for Ojibwe people, the renowned Spirit Little Cedar or Witch Tree and the Susie Islands; the Grand Portage Band regained control over all the islands recently. Travis made history for us this year when two of his photos earned our cover shot, back-to-back – the first time one photographer has done that in our 40-year history.
Photo & graphic credits: BusinessNorth/Lake Superior Magazine; Paul L. Hayden; Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory; Sparky Stensaas Collection; Sault Ste. Marie Airport; Terry White; Stephanie Fortino / Mackinac Island Town Crier; Travis Novitsky.
Around the Circle This Week editor: Konnie LeMay