U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer Kevin Perri inspects the author s kayak and life jacket during a paddle craft safety check this spring at Joe Kernan Park in South Bend. Perri, who lives in Denver, offered the safety check as an impromptu event while visiting family in town.Â
Michigan lighthouse, Model T plant among historic preservation projects honored with state award
Updated May 07, 3:36 PM;
Posted May 07, 3:36 PM
Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse in Alpena County. Photo used with permission from the State Historic Preservation Office
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LANSING, MICH. This week the 2021 Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation honored the preservation work behind five Michigan historical landmarks, ranging from a lighthouse in Northeast Michigan to Detroit’s Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, the birthplace of the Model T car.
According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), the program, now in its 18th year, celebrates “outstanding historic preservation achievements that reflect a commitment to the preservation of Michigan’s unique character and the many archaeological sites and historic structures that document our rich past.” The 2021 awards were given out during a virtual ceremony hosted by the State Historic Preservation
SOUTH BEND â The cascading water and light show that helped spark the rebirth of the downtown area over the past several years will soon be more than just a gathering spot and a pretty picture.
In about eight months or so, engineers hope to activate a 2.5-megawatt hydroelectric generating plant thatâs been under construction below Seitz Park across from the Century Center since August 2019.
The plant, which is being built by the University of Notre Dame, will harness water from the St. Joseph River at the south end of Seitz Park and channel it as it drops about 13 feet into 10 hydro turbines just north of the dam.
NILES â The old Pucker Street hydroelectric dam on the Dowagiac River is all gone, except for a retaining wall that contractors will remove this year. Demolition crews left by early March, and now crews must finish removing sediment, shift the river slightly to the west at the site and build a rock-strewn âriffleâ to improve fish habitat, the cityâs utilities manager, Jeff Dunlap, said.
If weather cooperates, he said, the city hopes to finish the nearly $12.5 million project by the end of the year.
The damâs removal had begun in September 2019 after several years of planning, pegged as critical since the aging structure, at some 90 years old, hadnât been used for more than 20 years and was a safety hazard. The opened river will allow fish species like steelhead, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, brown trout, white suckers, and walleye to finally reach upstream to 159 miles of river and tributaries, according to the Southwest Michigan Planning Commissi