Great Lakes Now

Volunteers work to preserve a historic Great Lakes lighthouse, a Chicago community finds new life through embracing its past and high school students learn about Native American culture with the help of lake sturgeon.

IN THIS EPISODE: Scientists work to understand the causes and potential effects of less ice cover on the Great Lakes, a documentary photographer and three longtime ice anglers reflect on changes to the winter fishing season, and a competitive speed skater reflects on the joys of “wild ice.”

Head out for some ice boating with Host Ward Detwiler and then go winter surfing with the all-female Lake Surfistas. Plus get caught up on news about the lakes you love with our new monthly feature “The Catch.”

A massive mushroom puts the tiny town of Crystal Falls, MI on the map, a look back at where Great Lakes gangsters vacationed “Up North,” and “The Catch” offers up bite-sized news about the lakes you love.

Throughout the Great Lakes region and across the US, water systems are aging. In some communities, this means water bills that residents can’t afford or water that’s unsafe to drink. Leading also to increased pollution in some of Michigan’s most pristine lakes. From shrinking older cities and small towns to the comparatively thriving suburbs, the true cost of water has been deferred for decades.

In this episode of Great Lakes Now, efforts to control invasive sea lamprey, also known as the “vampires of the Great Lakes,” then a look at the causes and impacts of environmental hazards lurking in our homes. And “The Catch” offers updates from around the Great Lakes with news about shipwrecks, infrastructure and a Lake Erie birding trail.

A town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula takes action to save the blue-spotted salamander, a look at whether Great Lakes ports could be the key to easing congestion in global shipping, and The Catch explores whitefish recruitment in the Great Lakes, ecological resilience in Toronto and ancient white cedars on the limestone cliffs of Michigan’s Fayette Historic State Park.

In this episode of GLN, digging into the future of land use in the Great Lakes as needs grow for both housing and agriculture, then an eFoiling adventure on Lake Huron, and The Catch has news about the lakes you love!

Michigan DNR researchers document the northern madtom – a tiny, endangered catfish that’s venomous. Then take a cinematic journey through Earth’s largest freshwater ecosystem – the Great Lakes watershed – with a preview of a new documentary series. And “The Catch” has news about the lakes you love.