Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI)

"Close Calls At Michigan’s Dams Are A Climate Warning To America"

"Flooding across northern Michigan last month pushed rivers to record levels, testing the limits of the state’s aging dams so severely that officials in one city nearly ordered evacuations as water threatened to spill over the top of a key barrier — a close call that highlights the growing risk that intensifying storms pose to similar infrastructure around the country."

Source: Grist, 05/11/2026

The Rebuilding Of Milwaukee’s Lead Program – And How It Could Change Lives

"Thousands of Milwaukee children are growing up with poison in their blood. It courses through their veins, cements in their bones and threatens to rob them of impulse control, learning ability and physical health."

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/11/2026

"Flooding in Chicago Is Getting Worse. Here’s Why."

"In a little-noticed memo early last year, Illinois scientists made a dire prediction." "Blamed in part on climate change, the threat of water ponding in your yard or your basement is growing, a Sun-Times/WBEZ investigation has found, putting health, homes at risk."

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, 05/06/2026

"Feds Order Immediate Inspection Of Cheboygan Dam Powerhouse"

"Federal energy regulators have ordered immediate inspections of the Cheboygan Dam powerhouse and other Michigan dams that faced the risk of failure in this month’s historic flooding. Separately, state officials said they plan to inspect dams under their oversight to check for damage from the high waters that nearly overtook several impoundments last week amid spring snowmelt and heavy rains."

Source: Bridge Michigan, 04/29/2026

Ohio Bill Would Replace All Lead Service Lines. It Could Cost Billions.

"An Ohio bill would require the state replace all lead service lines, but some statewide organizations worry about the costs associated with the bill."

Source: Ohio Capital Journal, 04/29/2026

#SEJ2026 Live — Coverage of Conference Tours

SEJournal is providing full coverage of all eight of the day-long tours from the annual Society of Environmental Journalists’ conference, April 15-18, in Chicago. In Part 2, contributors Meg Duff, Nathaniel Eisen, Nhung Nguyen and Marlowe Starling provide detailed reports from tours focused on the transitioning steel industry, microgrids, climate-friendly crop practices and evolving Midwestern agricultural systems.

Also check out the first round of tour coverage and read all the great work from our team of early-career freelance journalists, part of SEJournal’s live #SEJ2026 Live conference reporting.

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War and Pizza — #SEJ2026 in Chicago

Nearly as rejuvenating as attending the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual gathering is perusing the après-conference spoof by contributing quipster David Helvarg. While it seemed he was mostly there unabashedly preselling his forthcoming book, he somehow found time to send up SEJ’s earnest sessions, lambast its blown-up tours and rib its beat dinners. Read his Chicago roast.

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