From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Great Lakes governors and mayors – including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley – are banding together to explore big changes for the Chicago River to protect the world’s largest freshwater system.

Just three days after five Great Lakes attorneys general filed a lawsuit to force Chicago to plug the canal system to protect Lake Michigan from the advancing Asian carp, a coalition of regional leaders announced plans Thursday to embark on a $2 million study to determine just what it will take to get that job done.

The idea of damming the canals is considered anathema to the Chicago business community because of the impact it could have on the barge industry and the way wastewater flows in the Chicago area. But political leaders across the region are taking the idea seriously. Read more.

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Got a research idea worth a bigger room? The 2026 State of Lake Michigan Meeting is accepting proposals for symposia and workshops, and we want to hear yours!📅 Nov. 4–6 | Michigan City, IN⏰ Proposals due June 1 at 1 PM ETHelp shape what the Great Lakes research community discusses this year.🔗 Submit at the link in bio.
To every educator who has brought the Great Lakes into their classroom, thank you. 🍎Your curiosity is contagious. Your lessons last. And the students who learn to love these waters? They’ll protect them.Happy Teacher Appreciation Week from all of us at IISG.
Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: June 3, 2026.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.