Maritime Disasters

When the U.S. Navy formally decommissioned the USS Milwaukee in September, the juncture marked the end of an eight-year journey plagued by problems nearly from its start in Wisconsin. The Navy encountered numerous mechanical flaws with the USS Milwaukee and other vessels of its class known as littoral combat ships. The ships were designed to…

Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) and the Department of Revenue, announced more than $46 million to support an estimated 9,300 small businesses across Wisconsin. The announcement comes as WEDC released a new report, “Wisconsin Tomorrow: Building an Economy for All,” outlining the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery. Sub Headline Here…

Twenty-six people fishing on Lake Superior were rescued when an ice floe broke away from the Minnesota shoreline, stranding them in frigid weather. The Duluth Fire Department was called Tuesday by a resident who saw ice shanties floating away. Crews brought the anglers to shore a few at a time by boat. No injuries were…

First responders worked to rescue dozens of stranded ice fishermen from three different spots near Sturgeon Bay. A total of 66 people were retrieved after the ice floes detached Thursday morning, according to Lt. j.g. Phillip Gurtler of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard received a call about the stranded fishermen at about 9…

The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing has identified the pilot who died as the result of an F-16 crash Tuesday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Air Force Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones was killed in the crash. The 37-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, leaves behind a wife and two children, according to a news release…

Progress is slowly being made as National Guard and county crews have been clearing trees and debris from Saxon Harbor after a July storm sent Oronto Creek roaring through its marina and campground and causing $10 million in damages. What’s left at the harbor are piles of twisted metal and wood. Among one heap rests…

Enbridge Energy will pay $177 million in fines, unreimbursed cleanup costs and safety measures for the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill in a settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency. The company will pay $62 million in fines and $110 million in additional safety measures. The 2010 release of 843,000 gallons…

Wisconsin Emergency Management officials are working with several agencies and counties to address washed out roads and flooding in northern Wisconsin. As much as 10 inches of rain fell overnight across parts of northern Wisconsin. Wisconsin Emergency Management spokesman Todd Pritchard said they’re still getting an idea of the damage. “Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties…

Forty years ago, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior around 17 miles off the coast of Whitefish Point. All 29 crew members were lost, but their stories live on. Family members and historians gathered in Duluth this past weekend to share memories and lessons from its fateful journey. The Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior on…