That mine is now shuttered, and the property is owned by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Cliffs in turn has sold some of the old LTV equipment, including this shipment, which was purchased by Jindal Steel. A total of 850 pieces have been shipped to Jindal via ocean containers and then on intermodal trains to coastal container ports.

(Meanwhile, thanks to a surge in demand for Minnesota iron ore, all remaining mines on “the Range” are running full-out and looking for ways to boost production.)

Martitime Day features Richard Stewart
Richard Stewart was the keynote speaker at Duluth-Superior’s Maritime Day 2006 program. Dr. Stewart (who is featured throughout this edition of North Star Port) is co-director of the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute and professor-director at the Transportation and Logistics Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Superior, Department of Business and Economics.

National Maritime Day, which is sponsored by the Propeller Club of the United States, commemorates the first steam vessel crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on May 22, 1819, by the SS Savannah. The day is set aside annually to recognize the benefits that the maritime industry provides this country and all who live here.

Teaching transportation to teachers
With visits to ports at both the east and west ends of Lake Superior in July, the Great Lakes Maritime Transportation Teacher Institute started its work. The unique traveling workshop took teachers to Duluth-Superior and Two Harbors, Minn., during week one and to Marquette, Munising, Sault Ste. Marie and Escanaba, Mich., during week two.

The first contingent of educators in the Great Lakes Martime Transporation Teacher Institute enjoyed a delightful summer day while learning on the waterfront at the Port of Duluth-Superior.

The goal of the institute is to provide participating teachers with a foundation in maritime transportation — its history, current operations and future challenges — to facilitate the development of standards-based lessons in science, math and social studies. Hands-on experiences in the workshops investigated economic and environmental issues of Great Lakes shipping throughout the course. Subjects included the history of maritime transportation, mechanics of a lock system, navigation, harbor dredging, toxic sediments and aquatic invasive species control.

Lessons will be incorporated into a Great Lakes Maritime Educators Guide to be widely distributed throughout Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Lessons will be posted on the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute website and be used in a traveling trunk of teaching resources for classrooms.

The teacher institute, offered through Michigan Tech, was made possible by a grant from the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute with funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Co-sponsors contributing to the program included the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Michigan Technological University Transportation Institute, Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and environmental Education, Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Minnesota/Wisconsin Seagrant and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Further information on the program is available at http//wupcenter.mdu.edu