Unlocking the Locks: There’s sure to be a small cadre of boatnerds hanging out in Soo Locks Park starting at 11 p.m. Saturday night, waiting to see the first boat of the season pass through when the locks officially open at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. If you want to see the first photos of a boat going through the locks, check out the Soo Locks Visitor Center Association Facebook page. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park ranger Michelle Briggs tells us she plans to take photos of the first boat through and then post them. On Sunday, Michelle will join others for the visitor center open house, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. On Monday, MLive’s Tanda Gmiter reported on refilling the Poe Lock after winter maintenance. TBNewsWatch reported on the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder breaking ice in Thunder Bay, and there was a flurry of icebreaking activity at the St. Marys River, as noted on the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie Facebook page.
First Out in Duluth: The tug-barge Erie Trader/Clyde S. VanEnkevort sailed through the Duluth Ship Canal around noon Tuesday on its way to Two Harbors to load iron ore, reports the Duluth News Tribune, which also posted a video of the departure. After exiting the harbor, the combo spent a good part of the afternoon negotiating the ice, even separating to allow its tug portion to do a little ice breaking.
Carrying a Heavy Load: The bridge over Coldwater Creek on the way to Ouimet Canyon in Ontario will get a $1.3 million replacement, according to the announcement delivered last week in Dorion by Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Michael Gravelle (pictured here). The bridge, which apparently has deteriorating pilings, has load restrictions, which the upgrade should remove. Currently even snowplows and heavy emergency response vehicles cannot use it. According to a story by TBNewsWatch, Michael said the new bridge will be a modern structure "which will enable access to the area's natural attractions for heavy emergency response vehicles, maintenance vehicles, school buses and visitors." Dorion Township encompasses the Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park about 82 kilometres (about 50 miles) northeast of Thunder Bay.
The Minnesota DNR has announced that it will stop stocking the Kamloops strain of rainbow trout in Lake Superior. Instead it will favor a genetically screened steelhead strain of rainbow originating from wild runs in the Lake to protect the naturalized trout population. The Kamloops, which have been stocked near Duluth since 1976, are not natural to the Lake, but have been breeding with the wild rainbow trout. Fewer of those young are surviving. Despite only localized stocking, the Kamloops strain has shown up in trout from Minnesota North Shore streams, the Wisconsin Bois Brule River and in Michigan’s Lake Superior waters. You can find the Minnesota DNR’s full Lake Superior area fisheries management plan and fishing information online. The only truly native trout to Minnesota’s Lake Superior waters are the lake trout (seen in the photo above) and brook trout, sometimes termed “coaster brook trout” when in the Big Lake. Rainbow and brown trout were introduced in Minnesota in the 1800s.
New Prez: Last week, the 10th president of Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, was chosen by the LSSU Board of Trustees. Rodney Hanley was confirmed as the new president, taking over for the outgoing President Peter Mitchell on July 1. Roger most recently served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the nation’s top historically black universities. He’s no stranger to the Big Lake, having also been vice president of academic affairs at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. “My goal is to elevate LSSU to the next level of achievement as an institution,” Rodney says. [In the photo above, from left are trustees Tom Bailey, Richard Barch, outgoing President Peter Mitchell, President-elect Roger Hanley, Ann Parker (presidential search chair), Randy Pingatore and Board Chair Rodney Nelson. Trustees not pictured are Mark Mercer and Sandi Frost Steensma.]
Artistic Explorers: Two Michigan teenage artists will travel with an artistic mentor to Isle Royale National Park this summer after being chosen by a jury for the 2018 Teen Artist Exploration program. Kellan Heikkila, who did the northern lights drawing, of Chassell, and Gabe Clark, who fashioned the ceramic piece, of Charlotte, will visit the island park this summer to explore art through wilderness experience. The teen program is open to anyone 13 to 18 who is a visual and performing artist, writer or composer. This year, 32 applications were received from across the United States. The program is sponsored by Isle Royale National Park, the Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association, and the Copper Country Community Arts Council.
That’s a Lot of Knowing: Know Your Ships, the master field guide to boats and boatwatching on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, came off the press for the 59th year this week. A cruise vessel, Victory I, graces the cover. Roger LeLievre, editor of the publication, says it’s not the first time a cruise ship got the cover spot. “We used the passenger boat South American in 1960 and 1967 and the Bob Lo boat Ste. Claire in 1975, so it’s been a while. I was trying for something a little different.” Tom Manse created the slender classic in 1959, working out of his basement on yellow legal pads to pull together all of the amazing details about the vessels – their size, history, ownership and other details. When he met Tom, Roger was a 10-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, who had always been fascinated by big boats and maritime activity. Roger’s interest in all things maritime was spurred by his grandfather, who worked at Kemp’s Coal Dock, had a summer cottage on the St. Marys River and liked to watch boats sail by. When Roger wanted to buy photos to frame for his grandfather’s birthday, he and his mom met with Tom, who had photos for sale. Before long, Tom was teaching the boy photography, even how to develop pictures in a darkroom. “He would take me with him around the Great Lakes selling books,” Roger recalls. When Roger was 18, Tom got him a job on a freighter. After Tom died, Roger and his mother, Audrey LeLievre, retired city clerk of Sault Ste. Marie, took over the guide. Roger edits, designs and markets it, and his mom delivers books to gift shops in the Sault. A small paid crew and a handful of volunteers – “dedicated boat nuts, all of them” – also help.
Know This Ship: If you’re wondering about the “cover girl” for Know Your Ships this year, here’s some of what the book says: Victory I was built at Atlantic Marine Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., in 2001 as Cape May Light. Her sistership, Cape Cod Light, followed in 2004. Their design was meant to resemble passenger ships of yesteryear. They were built for a holding company called American Classic Voyages, which attempted to take advantage of federal loans and incentives to grow a U.S.-flagged passenger ship industry. After the September 11 terrorist attacks caused a slump in cruising worldwide, the company filed for bankruptcy. The two boats mostly ended in layup until the Miami-based Clipper Cruise Lines acquired one, renamed her Victory l and began service on the Great Lakes in 2016 as Victory Cruise Lines. The service has proved successful, and the company recently bought the sistership to cruise the Great Lakes this summer as Victory II. In 2019, Victory Cruise Lines plans a Lake Huron/Lake Superior cruise that will include Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, Houghton, Duluth and Thunder Bay. The all-inclusive, nine-night itinerary cost is impressive, though: $6,389 for double-person occupancy including meals, alcoholic and other beverages and all shore excursions.
Change of Plans: The Minnesota DOT has revised its timeline for roadwork in the most traveled highway through Two Harbors this summer after a meeting with town business owners, according to a story by Jamey Malcomb of the Lake County Chronicle. The 4-mile, $3.6 million project will repave Highway 61 from Eighth Street in Two Harbors to the Silver Cliff tunnel. The project now will begin in late July rather than early July, starting with a section that has fewer businesses.
Photo & graphic credits: Soo Locks Visitor Center Association; Province of Ontario; Minnesota DNR; John Shibley/LSSU; National Park Service; Matt Yocum; Know Your Ships; Victory Cruise Lines.