An invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the Great Lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Trinidad was built for the Great Lakes grain trade between Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo and Oswego. The ship’s owners did not invest much money into its upkeep, leaving its career relatively short.

Drew Gronewold, an expert in hydrological modeling at the University of Michigan, presented his annual update on Great Lakes’ water levels. Lake Michigan is holding steady, but for how long?

The boy went missing in the water near the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk Beach in Indiana. This marks the seventh drowning in Lake Michigan in 2023.

The Great Lakes was named a global “Hope Spot,” joining the Galapagos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef and the Bering Sea as a place identified as critical to the health of the ocean.

The 191-foot cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler on a blustery night in September 1894, sinking both. The Ironton’s captain and six sailors clambered into a lifeboat but it was dragged to the bottom before they could detach it from the ship. Only two crewmen survived.

The acknowledgment of the errant missile by Gen. Mark Milley came amid questions about whether the government was creating unnecessary risk by shooting down aerial objects that military officials say didn’t pose a security threat.

The downing comes after earlier objects in Alaska and Canada were shot out of the sky because they were flying at altitudes that posed a threat to commercial aircraft, according to the officials, who had knowledge of the downings and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.

WTTW News explains the science behind lake effect snow. (Hint: We’re lucky to be on this side of Lake Michigan.)

Shedd researcher Karen Murchie has been singing the praises of suckers for years in service of drawing more attention to the overlooked fish. Now the broader scientific community is taking note. 

Illinois is rebranding Asian carp as “copi” in a bid to get people to eat the invasive fish into submission. Fishermen are catching thousands of pounds a day and barely making a dent in the number of carp in waterways like the Illinois River, where it's estimated 20 million to 50 million could be harvested annually.

Legislation signed Thursday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker now mandates the placement of rescue equipment along Lake Michigan access points, including piers.

A stalled movement to give the invasive Asian carp a more palatable name has regained momentum, and the big reveal is now set for June 22.

Field studies over the past few weeks — a collective effort known as the “Winter Grab” — were intended to boost knowledge of what happens in the five lakes when they’re covered partially or completely with ice.

As enchanting as Lake Michigan's ice may appear, it’s unmistakably dangerous, as evidenced this week by the presumed drowning of an Indianapolis man who fell into the water off shelf ice at Indiana Dunes National Park on Monday.

The infusion from the bipartisan measure enacted in November, combined with annual funding through an ongoing recovery program, will enable agencies by 2030 to finish work on 22 sites designated a quarter-century ago as among the region's most degraded.