Lake Superior Podcast

No mammal represents Minnesota’s north shore better than the moose. The winter of 2026 has been busy and significant for these majestic animals.  Through the Northern Moose Alliance (www.moosealliance.org), a joint effort between Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 1854 Treaty Authority, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, 60 juvenile moose were collared to launch...

What started on March 1, 1872, when Yellowstone became the first National Park in the world, has grown to over 433 units covering over 85 million acres in America. Tagged "America’s Best Idea," we celebrate National Parks Week every year in April. Roughly 20,000 people work either full-time or seasonally with the National Park Service but the system also relies on over 130,000 volunteers. The National Parks of Lake Superi...

While some parts of the country can count on crocus and daffodils to signal spring in March, Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula is still measuring snowbanks. Over 300” has fallen across the region and more is expected, possibly into May. From the looks of future forecasts, the area is sure to surpass last year’s total of 315.25” and may be on track for the all-time high of 390.4” set back in the winter of 1978-79. What do you do with ov...

Bats have been called the “Invisible Mammal” primarily because they fly silently and mostly at night. They also roost in dark places, caves or abandoned mines, making them hard to find even in the daylight. For humans, bats aren’t only hard to see, they are hard to understand, yet they play a vital role in our world’s ecosystems and an equally important roll in our agricultural economy. Yet 200 species of bats are nearing extinctio...

For some, growing up on Lake Superior carves a deep connection to place, and no matter where life leads, the pull to return to that rugged shoreline never leaves. Patti Baraks knows too well that hold Superior creates. She grew up in Superior, Wisconsin, and although she has lived, worked and raised a family in Texas, she admits, her internal compass always points north toward that mighty lake. As an early childhood education teach...

The first known map of Lake Superior was drawn by Virginian John Mitchell in 1755. Over the centuries, countless records of the shoreline, depths, lighthouses and communities have been published. But now, there’s another map in the works. This one by the United States Geological Survey. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Jamey Jones, Science Coordinator for the USGS’s Earth Mapping ...

The Gales of November is very real on the Great Lakes, known as the “Month of Storms.”

Some 550 wrecks lie on the bottom of Lake Superior, at least 200 along Superior’s Shipwreck Coast, a treacherous 80-Mile stretch with no safe harbor between Munising and Whitefish Point. 

On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 728 foot freighter went down in a storm described as both blizzard and hurricane taking all 29 crew members to thei...

Biking in the Superior Country is more than just a way to get around—it’s a way of life. From gravel roads to rugged trails to family bike packing along Big Blue’s shoreline, the region offers two-wheeled adventure in every season. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Josh Rizzo, founder of thenxrth.com—an adventure site dedicated to unpaved cycling across three states--Minnesota, Wis...

Lake Superior is not only the largest of the Great Lakes, but the water quality is also some of the clearest. Yet, historically, the Lake was often a dumping ground for all kinds of debris.  "Out of sight, out of mind” was an all-too-common mindset. Don Fassbender, president of Great Lakes Scuba Diving and Lake Preservation, has made it his life's mission to clean up Lake Superior’s underwater world. With volunteers, incl...

"If you didn’t grow it, you’ve got to mine it,” says John Jaszczak, Director and Curator of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum in Houghton, Michigan. Since 1838--just after Michigan became a state--geologists and miners have been collecting rock and mineral specimens as the first American Mining Rush began. Since 1855, those specimens were housed at Michigan Technological University, then known as Michigan College of Mines, makin...

Isle Royale National Park is the Great Lakes Mecca for backpackers. This archipelago of islands is also one of our most remote National Parks so preparing for a visit takes extra planning. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Chris Amidon, Supervisory Park Ranger for Interpretation and Visitor Services. He not only has tips for first-timers, but also has details on some new procedures...

Minnesota’s North Shore has been a gathering place for centuries. Whether heading into the Boundary Waters or out on Lake Superior, Grand Marais ranks a favorite Base Camp. While it may be small in population, it’s big in spirit.  Life here moves to the rhythms of the woods and waters. 

In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Sarah Jorgensen-Halberg, longtime resident and owner of Java Mo...

Long before the Keweenaw Peninsula became a destination for hikers, bikers, and Lake Superior rock hounds, it was the stage for a national copper rush. Shortly after Michigan became a state in 1837,  Geologist Douglas Houghton was sent to Copper Harbor to explore reports from Native Americans about copper in the region. By 1844, Fort Wilkins was built to be the military base helping to keep the peace as fortune-seekers came to the ...

Winter Study at Isle Royale National Park has a decades long history, but just a few scientists ever get the chance to spend time on this isolated archipelago in Lake Superior. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with one of those fortunate ones, Johnathan Pauli, Professor in the Department of Forest & Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. From tracking foxes and ma...

Our National Parks are important places, not just for their preservation of natural beauty and resources, but also for the economic impact they bring to gateway communities. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula sees nearly a million visitors, year round. For the anchor cities of Munising and Grand Marais, hosting those folks has become their chief industry. With a population of less than 2,000, how do the...

Since the 1940’s, Lake Trout have been extinct in all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior. Pressure from commercial fishing as well as the invasion of sea lamprey devastated this native species, and the population in Lake Superior also suffered. For three generations an international team of scientists has been working to restore healthy Lake Trout populations in all the Great Lakes. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast...

Winter can be a sleepy time at the National Parks on Lake Superior, but at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan, visitors come to snowmobile, mush dogs, snowshoe, fish and cross-country ski. But the biggest event to bring folks into the park is the Michigan Ice Fest. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Ice Fest organizer Bill Thompson about the event and what mak...

New Year Resolutions, if you don’t make them, chances are you thought about it. But do those promises keep? In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Bugsy Sailor, the Official Unofficial Ambassador of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Bugsy shares how a resolution he made on January 1, 2019, changed his life.

Key Takeaways:

• Bugsy Sailor captures daily sunrises around Lake Superior, e...

The forests that ring Lake Superior are some of the most magical on the continent. At the tip of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula, in Copper Harbor, you’ll find the Estivant Pines. This 570 acres of old-growth pine has lured hikers for decades. But saving this stand of ancient timber was no small feat.

It started over 50 years ago and in this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with photog...