© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Great Lakes Today was created to highlight issues affecting the lakes. The main partners are WBFO (Buffalo), ideastream (Cleveland) and WXXI (Rochester).Browse more coverage here. Major funding for Great Lakes Today is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American People. Additional funding comes from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Biggest Great Lakes Stories of 2017, Month by Month

Donald Trump [Nick Castele/ideastream]

By Dave Rosenthal

The past year was loaded with turmoil for the Great Lakes. A new president tried to cut $300 million in  restoration projects. Homes were flooded along Lake Ontario. And one of the scariest invasive species -- the Asian carp -- was found less than 10 miles from Lake Michigan.

Here's a look at some of the biggest stories that Great Lakes Today brought you -- from New York to Minnesota, as well as the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. 

JanuaryWisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources revised its website,deleting information concerning climate change, including references to human factors. Environmental groups saw the move as a preview of President Donald Trump's policies. 

February: The unusually warm winter triggered fears about climate change, and  altered life on a Lake Erie island.

March: The warm winter had deadly impact, as  unstable ice was a factor in the deaths of more than 30 people.On a brighter note,  Great Lakes Today hosted the International Joint Commission's public meetings in Buffalo, and hundreds of area residents discussed plans to help the lakes.

April: Environmental groups and regional officials began to push back against President Trump's budget outline, which cut the $300 million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Sea Grant programs.

May: After heavy spring rains, flooding hit the shoreline of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. That  sparked criticismof the IJC's new plan to regulate lake levels. 

June: Great Lakes Today highlighted the potential impact of Trumps budget cuts with a  five-part series, Troubled Waters.

July: A Congressional committee put back funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. But a new threat emerged, as a destructive type of  Asian carp was foundwithin 10 miles of Lake Michigan.  

August: A federal agency released a $275 million campaign -- including  blasting noise underwater-- to battle the Asian carp's advance.

September: Algae blooms turned western Lake Erie a sickly green. Meanwhile,  a series called "New Faces, New Issues"examined how the environmental movement was reaching out to minorities.

October: As media partner for the  Healing Our Waters conference, Great Lakes Today provided hour-by-hour coverage -- and led workshops on the media and citizen science. 

NovemberA three-part serieshighlighted the impact of climate change on a Wisconsin forest, a New York vineyard and a destructive insect that targets hemlock trees.  

December: Environmental scientists were  investigating another threat: chemicals from pain-killers and other drugs that often end up in the Great Lakes.