Black Warrior Marine/Towboat U.S.
Awash in a Storm: An unexpectedly virulent storm blasted some of the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin on Sunday, washing seven boats ashore and stranding several people. The aftermath kept local rescuers busy, reports KBJR6. Black Warrior Marine / Towboat U.S., which recovered five boats, was working on the last one today (Sept. 8). "We had one boat that was on the rocks bad. It’s in pieces now, so we’re bringing it back," says Captain Tucker Culberson. On the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore’s Facebook page, meanwhile, Park Ranger Lance Twombly was quoted as saying, “to have these many vessels for one storm is kind of rare. The lake is the boss, is what we say, so it kind of determines where that vessel is going to go.”
Michael Dewitt, president of NetworkIT Inc. in Ashland and a photographer whose images have appeared in Lake Superior Magazine, found out first hand how much the Lake is the boss. He described his harrowing experience out in that storm on his Facebook page and allowed us to post it on our website. (His boat is seen below on a quieter evening.)
In responding to Michael’s post, Bob Mackreth, former historian for the lakeshore, wrote: "Thank you for writing all this down, Mike. Among other things, it will be invaluable not only to fellow boaters, but also to historians in years to come. As I mentioned in our previous conversation, I think a good case can be made that the events of this weekend will long be remembered as one of the Apostle Islands’ worst nights, comparable to the fabled shipwrecks we’ve all read about."
Michael DeWitt
Med School in Duluth gets largest ever donation: A gift of $10 million from a donor who just learned of his Native American roots will be used to establish a Native American Center of Excellence at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth campus, the Duluth News Tribune reports. The money will also support the Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team focused on vascular dementia in tribal communities and based at UMD. (Vascular dementia is caused by blocked blood flow to the brain and is considered the second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's Disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.) The UMD campus has one of the highest ratios of Native faculty in any medical school with six of 130 faculty.
Miisaniinawind
A new moon to enjoy: The latest issue of Miisaniinawind, or "This is Who We Are," the weekly e-publication of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, announced the Waatebagaa-giizis, the western Ojibwe name for September. Some weather experts, meanwhile, predict that this month indeed will see leaves changing earlier than usual. Managing Editor Bob Berg has 7 Great Fall Drives for you to try. Or find our fall color update links for each state and the province.
Treasures for sale: Peter White Public Library in Marquette is cleaning out its closets and having its first treasure sale in nearly 20 years. It’s similar to a rummage sale, with items ranging from $20 to free, WLUC-TV 6 reports. The sale has many older and antique items, as well as some paintings. It runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today (Friday, Sept. 8) and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday upstairs in the library. “We’ve had a lot of artwork donated to us over the years. Some we've added to our circulating collections. Some hang here in the library. Some just weren't appropriate for either use. So we do have some artwork for sale,” the library’s Development Director Heather Steltenpohl says. There’s also a silent auction at the library that runs through until Sept. 29. The auction is for higher-end items and is on the main level.
Konnie LeMay/Lake Superior Magazine
Let your visitor voice be heard: Tourism Thunder Bay is about to undertake an online makeover and is seeking input from visitors about what they’d like to see on the website. The 5-minute survey will be up until October 4.
More frequent ferrying: Madeline Island Ferry on September weekends will speed up its schedule to every half hour rather than 45-minute to 1-hour schedule. With good weather, business picks up from visitors during September. After Bayfield Apple Festival on October 7, the final daily ferry from the island to Bayfield (9 p.m.) and Bayfield to the island (10 p.m.) are only scheduled for Thursday-Sunday and dropped from the rest of the week.
A bit of noteworthy praise: We sometimes can’t help bad things happening, but how community people respond can make all the difference. A Daily Mining Gazette editorial “Ishpeming Shows What Yooperism Is All About” describes how the local police and others helped out when a 12-year-old’s wheelchair was stolen – and found within a day thanks to tips. The police provided a substitute chair for that day.
Photo credits: Black Warrior Marine/Towboat U.S.; Michael DeWitt; Miisaniinawind; Konnie LeMay/Lake Superior Magazine