Coronavirus temporarily puts SS Badger out of commission
Ludington, MI – With one of the crew members on the S.S. Badger having tested positive for COVID-19 and three more in quarantine, the Lake Michigan Carferry temporarily suspended the ship’s service.
According to officials, after one of the crew members tested positive, they conducted contact tracing, which resulted in three more crew members getting quarantined. The other three crew members are reportedly waiting for test results.
“The safety of our employees and passengers is our top priority. We are hopeful that this is an isolated case,” Mark Barker, president of Interlake Maritime Services, said. Barker said suspending sailings will help reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
Officials expect the S.S. Badger to resume service on Aug. 19, but further updates will be provided as they are available.
WOOD-TV
Great Lakes Maritime Academy honors U.S Senator Levin
Traverse City, MI – In July, U.S Senator Carl Levin passed away at the age of 87. He was Michigan’s longest serving senator. Now, Northwestern Michigan College is taking the time to thank him for the work he did for the Great Lakes Maritime Academy.
Senator Levin helped the secure the the training vessel State of Michigan the academy uses to train its cadets. He then oversaw the $3.7 million it took to turn the ship from a Cold War vessel to one suitable for students.
“That was probably close to 20 years ago and it’s still in great shape,” said Jerry Achenbach, Superintendent for the Great Lakes Maritime Academy. “All of the cadets use it. Before his work the academy had 100 cadets enrolled, because of his work we now can maintain and enroll 200.”
Northwestern Michigan College says Senator Levin’s legacy will live on at the school through every cadet that trains on the Maritime Academy ship.
9&10 News
Small-scale removal efforts could be the answer to invasive mussels on Lake Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore – The divers leaned back from the edge of the boat and splashed into water, bobbing up for a moment before dropping down to a world just a few miles off the northern Michigan coast — and worlds away from the one above the surface.
Today in Lake Michigan, quagga mussels, Eastern European invaders generally smaller than a stamp, reign over an upended underwater ecosystem. The mussels arrived in the Great Lakes more than three decades ago, eating, excreting and spreading zealously ever since, attaching themselves to everything from water intakes to shipwrecks, and all the while filtering life out of the food chain and a $7 billion fishing industry.
But solutions in open water, at least on a small scale, are starting to seem possible to soften the bivalves’ brunt.
Experiments are playing out in Lake Michigan with hopes of restoring fish spawning habitat. Manually removing mussels, with another invasive species offering an assist, has kept rocks clear. Other treatments from copper compounds to genetic biocontrol are in the mix as a collaborative dedicated to mussel control plans for the future.
Harbor House Publishers joins long-established, family-owned Waterways Journal Inc.
Boyne City, MI – For more than five decades, Harbor House Publishers has looked for ways to better serve its customers and partners. On July 20, 2021, it took another step forward when it joined The Waterways Journal and its parent company Bound Media Group.
“We have had many opportunities over the years to become part of something larger, and we have now found the perfect fit,” says Michelle Cortright, second-generation publisher of Great Lakes/Seaway Review and founder of Harbor House Publishers, Inc. “The values and customer service of Bound Media Group allow us to expand the ways we help our customers and assist in community development.”
Harbor House Publishers retains its identity, staff and office in Boyne City, Michigan. The long-time team continues to connect with customers and turn visions into digital and print products.
“Michelle Cortright did an amazing job after purchasing the company from her father, Jacques LesStrang, in 1987,” said Nelson Spencer, Jr., president of Bound Media Group. “She grew the relevance of Harbor House Publishers’ maritime titles while building a first-class custom publishing business. Just as impressive, Michelle built a great team of professionals who we are excited to have join our team. We are humbled and honored to have Harbor House join our family of media products.”
As president and publisher emeritus, respectively, Spencer and Cortright welcome Leslie Tunney to the Harbor House Publishers team. With an extensive background in city and regional publishing, Tunney is part of the executive team at Bound Media and vice-president and publisher at Harbor House Publishers. She specializes in bringing together various aspects of publishing — advertising, branding, marketing, management and new product development for business-to-business and business-to-consumer products.
Tunney says: “I look forward to meeting each of our clients and partners as we continue to build on the respected legacy of Harbor House Publishers.”
The Waterways Journal, Inc., doing business as Bound Media Group, is based in St. Louis, Missouri and has been a maritime publications company since 1887. The Waterways Journal is a weekly magazine covering the inland river system’s 25,000 barges and more than 3,800 towboats, dredges and material handlers. The company’s portfolio also includes Inland River Record, Inland River Guide, Quimby’s Cruising Guide, International Dredging Review, Marina Dock Age, as well as two annual expos and other meetings.
Harbor House Press Release
