By Jeff Gillies, gilliesj@msu.edu
Great Lakes Echo
May 29, 2009
Bryan Hansel, who began an attempt in early May to paddle a kayak around all five Great Lakes, has suspended his trip to deal with tendon problems in his forearms. He made the announcement on his Web site, Around the Great Lakes.
In the meantime, those still hungry for Great Lakes circumnavigations can fill up on Loreen Niewenhuis’s walk around Lake Michigan and Hannah Williams and Matt Abbotts’ kayak trip around Lake Superior.

By Joe Vaillancourt
Capital News Service
LANSING — The Michigan Department of Corrections energy bill was low. Surprisingly low.
“They wanted to send someone over to check our meter,” said Department of Corrections Director Patricia Caruso. “Our bill was three or four thousand dollars less for than it had been, and as it turned out, it was accurate.”
The Department of Corrections has “gone green”– taking many steps to use cleaner, more efficient energy and reduce waste, officials said.
“We made a priority of doing just the small things like turning off the lights …

(MI) The Flint Journal – The much-touted water pipeline from Genesee County to Lake Huron finally seems to be on its way, and there doesn’t appear to be environmental issues stopping it from being built.

(ON) SooToday.com – The International Upper Great Lakes Study (IUGLS) has announced that, using web-conferencing technology, seven public meetings will be held on June 9 and 11 in communities around the Great Lakes Basin to solicit comments and answer questions on the draft report Impacts on Upper Great Lakes Water Levels: St. Clair River.

(ON) The Sarnia Observer – Toxic chemicals are putting some species of fish at risk in the St. Clair River, a wildlife ecologist says.

(MI) The Detroit News – Hockey fans may be focused on the Stanley Cup, but thousands of Michigan residents are vying for a more obscure prize: the Garlic Mustard Cluster Cup.

(ON) The Standard – Bloody-red shrimp, first discovered in the Great Lakes in 2006 and multiplying rapidly, could pose ecological and economic risks to Lake Ontario.

(MI) Muskegon Chronicle – About 60 middle and high school students from Mona Shores, Oakridge, North Muskegon, Whitehall, Montague, Fruitport, Newaygo and Grant gathered Thursday at Muskegon Community College to explain their yearlong projects. They included restoring streambanks, reviving schoolyard habitats, removing invasive species and rearing salmon.

(MI) Bay City Times – Fourteen agencies have been awarded more than $187,000 in state Water Quality Monitoring grants to assist with inland beach water quality monitoring for the 2009 and 2010 swimming seasons.

(IN) The News Dispatch – For years researchers looked at the water of Lake Michigan to find the source of high bacteria readings, but one source of outbreaks of E. coli may be in the beach sand. Bacteria counts tend to be much higher after storms send waves splashing ashore, with water returning to the lake through the sand.