There is barely any ice in the Great Lakes due to warm winter temperatures.
Record warm winter weather is having severe ramifications on the ice cover that typically
engulfs the Great Lakes at this time of year. Just 5.9% of the Great Lakes are currently covered
with ice compared to an average of about 40% for this time of year, according to the latest
Great Lakes ice analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Warmer winters increase the likelihood of ice-free lakes, and the upper Midwest has
experienced some of the nation’s strongest winter warming trends, according to James Kessler,
a physical scientist for NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab, and Alisa Young, a
climate scientist for the lab.
When comparing the average wintertime temperatures of 2002 to 2021 with the first half of
the century, it is clear that the upper Midwest has experienced some of the nation’s strongest
warming trends, Kessler and Young told ABC News.
Read more at this ABC link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/barely-ice-great-lakes-due-warm-
winter-temperatures/story?id=107065523
Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club’s Shipyard Tours are no more. What will replace them?
STURGEON BAY, WI – The long history of the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay’s annual Shipyard
Tours has come to an end, but the club has a new cruising tour lined up to replace it as a major
fundraiser.
The local club announced Friday, Feb. 9, it will no longer hold the guided walking tours that for
more than 30 years gave thousands of guests an inside look at Sturgeon Bay shipyards on the
first Saturday of May while also highlighting how the shipyards and the maritime industry
impacted the city. The Sturgeon Bay Rotary directed all proceeds toward scholarships for youth
and continuing education of adults, affordable housing projects and child care in Door County.
In earlier years, several shipyards on the waterfront took part, but the past couple of years have
focused on Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding. Now, a news release from the Rotary said Bay Ship’s
growth and changes in recent years mean if a tour was to take place, it wouldn’t provide the
same access to the facility’s inner workings nor the quality guests have experienced in the past.
For 33 years, the Rotary Club of Sturgeon Bay has worked with the community ship builders
and other maritime partners to highlight the importance of our maritime history, the news
release said. The Rotary Club has used the funds raised from the event to help with various
community projects and youth scholarships in Door County. The cornerstone to the event was
the tour of the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding yard and we would like to thank Fincantieri for their
past and continued commitment to our community.
To replace the Shipyard Tours, the Sturgeon Bay Rotary is working with Shoreline Boat Tours
and the Door County Maritime Museum to sponsor narrated cruises created especially for the
event over a June weekend that feature the working history of the harbor.
“Sturgeon Bay Working Waterfront Tours, Past and Present” will focus on educating guests on
the community’s ties to the Great Lakes. Along with featuring the history of what the harbor
meant and continues to mean to Sturgeon Bay, the 90-minute tours will highlight seven unique
working waterfront points of interest and provide an up-close look at the waterside of the
harbor. Tickets will also include access to the Door County Maritime Museum and new Kress
Viewing Tower.
Tours are scheduled to take place June 21 to 23; start times are 8:15 and 10:45 a.m. and 12:45
and 2:45 p.m. Tickets are $75 and go on sale April 1. The boats have a capacity of 25, so a
maximum of 300 tickets will be sold for the entire event.
For tickets or details, visit doorcountytickets.com. For updates on the tours or more
information on the local club, visit sturgeonbayrotaryclub.org or the Rotary Club of Sturgeon
Bay Facebook page.
Green Bay Press-Gazette
Seaway Monthly Tonnage Data
An increase in all tonnage on the Seaway except for general cargo.
See Chart of data below.
Bill Kloss
