Two former-Echo-reporters-turned-river-nerds were featured last week on the Greening of the Great Lakes radio show talking about their new website, Michigan River News.
Jeff Brooks Gillies and Andy McGlashen launched Michigan River News this summer because, well, they love Michigan and its rivers. They report original news stories and also collect river stories from across the state.
But that’s not the whole story.
On their website, the founders note that rivers “sustain and enrich human life … provide food and drinking water … irrigate crops and generate electric power.”
And they’re right — rivers give us a lot.
They also tell us a lot. They’ve been described as nature’s urinary tracts because they often show symptoms of larger environmental problems.
But, while we love rivers, Jeff and Andy here at Echo, we’re also paying attention because they’re filling a news void — the health and status of Michigan rivers.
It may seem a small void, but it’s one that’s important to environmentalists, paddlers, anglers, and others who just enjoy the simple pleasures of a river.
It’s a void that can be filled on the web, as our news becomes increasingly personalized and defined.
It’s a void that I, a river nerd myself, didn’t know existed until they launched.
So, head over to Mlive for a write-up about Jeff, Andy and the website, and scroll to the bottom to hear the fellas talk about their work.
(Full disclosure — I have written two original stories for Michigan River News and have gotten skunked river-fishing with its founders)