Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

EPA, EES Coke Battery $135 Million Apart Penalties As Pollution Trial Ends

"When faced with testimony that Zug Island’s EES Coke Battery is one of Michigan’s worst sulfur dioxide polluters, an attorney for the facility said Monday: “So what?” The DTE Energy-owned facility was “permitted to do so,” said Michael Hindelang, attorney for the utility and its subsidiaries that are defendants in the EPA’s Clean Air Act lawsuit over the emissions."

Source: Planet Detroit, 10/03/2025

"Endangered Whooping Crane Dies Of Avian Flu At Wisconsin Wildlife Refuge"

"The International Crane Foundation announced Monday that Ducky, an endangered female whooping crane the foundation planned to release into the wilds of Wisconsin this fall, died on Thursday after becoming infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, a strain of avian flu."

Source: AP, 09/30/2025

The Link Between Lead Exposure And High Blood Pressure In Indianapolis

"Residents of Indianapolis’ Martindale Brightwood neighborhood are confronting stubbornly high rates of hypertension, and public health experts point to lead exposure as a likely contributor."

Source: Indianapolis Recorder, 09/26/2025

‘They’re Small but They’re Mighty’: the Wisconsin Sisters Healing the Land

"The women of Holy Wisdom Monastery have restored 170 acres of native prairie and oak savanna. “Humans need creation to find ourselves,” one said."

Source: NYTimes, 09/25/2025

Chicago Has Thousands of Lead Pipes — and Millions of Unspent Dollars

"No U.S. city has more toxic lead pipes pumping water into people’s homes. And millions of federal and city dollars earmarked to replace them remain unused, a city official said Monday, at the same time that the city is struggling to keep up with deadlines to warn people of the risks."

Source: Inside Climate News, 09/24/2025
October 15, 2025

DEADLINE: IJNR Great Lakes Federal Funding Hybrid Virtual/In-Person Workshop

The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources will bring journalists to Western Lake Erie, Nov 18-21, 2025, to explore the impacts Trump administration changes are having on local communities and what they mean for interests across the Basin, from agriculture, to energy, to fisheries and more. Deadline: Oct 15.

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"A Coal-Burning Steel Plant May Thwart Cleveland’s Climate Goals"

"The facility is the city’s biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Advocates say its dirty blast furnaces need to be replaced with cleaner technology."

Source: Canary Media, 09/19/2025

"Chicago Has The Most Lead Pipes In The Nation. We Mapped Them All."

"As Gina Ramirez buckled her 11-year-old son into her car last month for their daily drive to school, she handed him a plastic water bottle."

Source: Grist/ICN/WBEZ, 08/29/2025

"Green Spaces Are Key To Combating Record Heat In Marginalized Communities"

"Keith Lambert and his family cope with the extreme heat of summertime Chicago by going in and out of their house as quickly as possible and making sure their insulated shades are always drawn."

Source: AP, 08/25/2025
September 3, 2025

DEADLINE: NASW Travel Fellowship for Indigenous Journalists

To attend ScienceWriters2025, taking place Nov 7-9 in Chicago, the National Association of Science Writers is offering Indigenous journalists and communicators grants up to $2,000 for travel costs, accommodations, caregiving and more, plus complimentary registration and one-year NASW Membership. Apply by Sep 3.

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