Wild Waters: Lake Superior could get rowdy this weekend, according to the National Weather Service’s marine forecast for the Big Lake out of Marquette and Duluth. A gale warning is in effect until late Sunday. Tonight and into Saturday, winds are expected at 40 knots (46 mph) with waves averaging 10 to 14 feet and reaching as high as 18 feet. The south shore of the Lake is under a winter storm watch with land-based winds predicted at about 25 mph and potentially heavy snows proceeding eastward from today through Sunday. These two NOAA images, taken on Wednesday evening (left) and Thursday show the different 24 hours can make on our Lake.
Saltie Season: While the snows make spring seem distant, other signs of spring are arriving. The first oceangoing vessel of the maritime season entered under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge around 9:41 p.m. Thursday, according to the Duluth News Tribune. The Federal Weser will haul durum wheat to Algeria after loading at the CHS terminal in Superior. There will be an invitation-only ceremony acknowledging it as the first saltie in on Monday and it is expected to depart on Tuesday or Wednesday. A posting from the Duluth Ship Canal webcam shows the vessel’s arrival.
More Boat News: Two years after being purchased by Heddle Marine Service, the Thunder Bay shipyard completed its first major repair project over the winter. Ian Ross of Northern Ontario Business reports that the shipyard did work on Canada Steamship Lines' Tadoussac. Since purchasing the yard in 2016, the company has mainly done work on tugs or smaller vessels. Tadoussac has been tied up for three or four years, Heddle’s marketing and sales manager Shaun Padulo told Ian. Heddle has formed a partnership with Fabmar Metals, a ship repair, fabrication and machining company in Thunder Bay. Heddle hopes this successful repair reintroduces ship lines to the repair options in Thunder Bay.
Plans are moving ahead for $4.2 million restoration of the 1904 Peter White Public Library in Marquette (seen in an old postcard here). Last week the library board of trustees chose the local firm Closner Construction for the 10-month project intended to begin in May. The project will include tuck-pointing and façade repair outside as well as upgrades to energy efficiency, better accessibility, new carpeting, furnishings and space arrangements inside the building. The library is named after prominent and successful Marquette entrepreneur Peter Quintard White (1830-1905), who created a 10,000-book library on his own before spearheading the move for state money and land donations to create the public library.
And So It Begins: On Monday, the three-year, $31.5 million redo of Duluth’s main downtown street begins its first phase. The reconstruction of 11 blocks of Superior Street will upgrade underground utilities and replace the aging brick street pavers with concrete that distinguishes places for vehicle and pedestrian traffic. New bump outs, places for outdoor cafés or gathering spaces, are part of the plan. The first 4-block portion of the redo will be from Seventh Avenue West to Third Avenue West, with the Duluth Public Library in the center of the work. In 2019, the work will skip to Lake Avenue to Fourth Avenue East and then skip back in 2020 to complete Third Avenue West to Lake Avenue. Traffic will be routed around each portion during construction. The Duluth News Tribune outlined the project in a recent story by Peter Passi. The construction also will change traffic patterns for those entering the city via I-35 from the south and the city encourages drivers to watch for the digital messages that will be used. More information about the projects, updates and sign-ups for construction alerts can be found at the city’s special “Word on the Street” website. At top is an artist’s illustration of the finished work while at right you can link to a detail of the underground utility perspective. The reconstruction work also will affect some Duluth Transit Authority bus routes for much of the summer, the DTA announced this week.
Most Excellent: The University of Wisconsin-Superior’s Lake Superior Research Institute was selected by the UW System Board of Regents to receive an Academic Staff Excellence Award recognizing exceptional service to the university. It is the highest recognition given to academic staff in the UW System. “I can think of no other unit more deserving of this program award than UW-Superior¹s Lake Superior Research Institute,” Jacalyn Weissenbuger, the interim provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, said in announcing the award. “Over the past 50 years, LSRI has involved over 550 undergraduates in freshwater research, generated over $60 million dollars in funded grants and contracts, and made critically important contributions to students, the regional community and communities beyond.” LSRI, currently directed by Dr. Matthew TenEyck, researches and provides guidance on water resource and air and soil quality. It has developed partnerships with more than 150 local, state, federal and tribal governments and is one of only five laboratories in the state certified to conduct certain water quality tests.
Good Dogs: The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men’s hockey team reached the top of the 60-team hockey heap this year, bringing home the NCAA championship after defeating Notre Dame 2-1. It was the second victory won in St. Paul by the Bulldogs, having taken the title there in 2011, too. UMD was a Cinderella team this year and barely squeaked into the final playoffs after losing two of its top four scorers and its goaltender during the season to professional hockey. “We had a roller-coaster first half — took a lot away from it as teaching moments, especially for our younger guys, and we kind of anticipated that,’’ team captain Karson Kuhlman told Randy Johnson of the Star Tribune, adding as understatement, “In the second half, we went on a little run.’’ Karson was named most outstanding player of the Frozen Four and the NCAA West Regional. On Monday, Karson signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins, making him one of seven members from last year’s team to go pro, reports Matt Wellens of the Duluth News Tribune. The NCAA Champions attended several celebration events this week in Duluth, including an autograph-signing session for hometown fans attended by Chelsie Brown of WDIO.
But Wait, There’s More: More time to ski and snowshoe for another couple of weeks in Sault Ste. Marie, one of the advantages of a winter that just won’t give up. Although the official ski season for the Pinder Trail System normally ends April 15, the Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority and Hiawatha Highlands, a division of the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club, have extended the season to April 30, Soo Today reports. The ski club leases land in the conservation area for skiing and snowshoeing on the trails. Because of winter conditions with below-normal temperatures and continued snow cover, walking and other activities will not be allowed on the Pinder trails until May 1.
Mountain Men: Grand Marais, Minnesota, adventurer/mountain climber Lonnie Dupre joined two Canadians to become the first people to summit the 10,135-foot Jeannette Peak in the Selwyn Range of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Lonnie and Albertans Pascale Marceau of Canmore and Vern Stice of Edmonton reached the summit on April 2. “At just 45 kilometres southwest of Jasper, Alberta, it is hard to believe that such peaks have remained unclimbed,” the group wrote in its release announcing their peak-topping accomplishment. “This towering mountain peak has remained unclimbed until now likely due to its narrow avalanche-prone valleys and a perimeter of smaller knife-edge mountains at its base.” While the mountain has no officially recorded name, according to the group, it has been unofficially named after the USS Jeannette, an exploration ship trapped from 1879-1881 in ice while attempting to use ocean current to cross the North Pole. “To place steps and to pioneer routes up an unexplored mountain was truly an honor and an adventure,” Lonnie says. “To add icing to the cake, we even had a wolverine visit our basecamp.” In the photo, Lonnie lifts Pascale, who is holding the The Royal Canadian Geographical Society expedition flag. In 2020, Lonnie plans a several-monthslong journey by dog sled to remote Inuit villages in Greenland in the “Pulling for the Planet” expedition.
A Big Plane & High-flying Award: A couple of plane nice notables in the Lake Superior region.
One of the world’s largest aircraft, the Antonov An-124 Russian cargo plane, landed last week at Sawyer International Airport near Gwinn, Michigan, to pick up a South Korean helicopter used in de-icing tests there. “With a 12,366 foot runway, the runway at Sawyer can accommodate just about any aircraft,” reports Calvin Lewis of U.P. Matters. The arrival of the plane attracted plenty of attention, with plane nerds packing the roads by the airport to get a glimpse of its arrival and departure. ABC 10 did a nifty video of the arrival.
Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth earned the 2017 Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association for its new vision jet, the world’s first single-engine personal jet. The trophy winner, selected by industry leaders, acknowledges “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety in air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.” A prototype of the company’s first jet made Lake Superior Magazine’s 2015 cover for a State of the Lake story on regional aviation.
Photo & graphic credits: NOAA MODIS imagery; Dennis O’Hara; Peter White Library; City of Duluth; Vern Stice; ABC10; Cirrus Aircraft.