Lake Michigan drownings run high as summer ends
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2:36
Aspiring chefs are cultivating their dreams at Ivy Tech
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1:40
Rainy and breezy Tuesday
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0:21
Westbound lanes on Indiana Toll Road reopen after crash
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0:58
Hockey team hosts ’Rally for Rudy’ car wash
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1:06
South Bend School Board of Trustees reviewing the code of conduct
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2:33
Newly annexed land in Mishawaka could see a Gurley Leep auto...
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3:48
Farmers react to recent trend of farmland sales in St. Joseph...
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2:47
Reaction to potential TikTok ban
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2:49
Michigan City Fire Department holds ’Firefighter for a Day’...
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1:27
Ivy Tech program building future auto technicians
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2:43
Elkhart elated about Big Balloon Build
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1:34
Volunteers use Earth Day to spruce up Woodlawn Park Trail
There's not much good news coming out of the Lake Michigan shoreline this swimming season as it's just been story after story of drownings or rescues or a combination of both all summer long this year. In fact, we're unfortunately on pace to surpass last year's record.
And Lake Michigan has always been a bigger problem than all of the other great lakes combined. Thanks to the higher population around Lake Michigan and above average air and water temps over the past couple of years, many more people are heading to the lake to cool off, leading to more incidents. Since 2002, there have been more than 400 reported incidents in Lake Michigan. That blows away all other lakes by a lot. And the last couple of years have been the worst.
2018 was a record year for great lakes drownings with 117. By this time last year, there were 27 Lake Michigan drownings. This year, there have been 75 drownings around all the great lakes and 36 of those have been in that body of water behind me. So, please continue to take these red flag days seriously and stay out of the water. Even when yellow flags are flying, rip currents and high waves are still out here.