[Music] [Music] I'm Maria huitt welcome back to Almanac North today we're discussing transportation in our region from the history and unique features of fairies of mine Island to the do's Innovative snowplowing infrastructure and the DTA new partnership with the duth school systems we're going to share a variety of Transportation related stories this evening later we're visited by the Zeitgeist theaters Andrea Krauss and Amy demer to discuss their ongoing Transportation themed film screening series there's a lot in store for this evening First We join Dennis Anderson at Denny's desk for a look at how Transportation has shaped duth hello I'm Dennis Anderson and this is Denny's desk it's a place for remembering the past relating it to today and looking to the Future and today we're talking about Transportation hosting a unique combination of air land sea and rail duth certainly has proven to be a robust Proving Ground for all methods of transportation in fact Delo stands as a vital Maritime Gateway with a very rich history of shipping that has shaped its identity the city's expansive Harbor serves as a Lynch pin in the transportation of goods and resources now from the very early days of fur trading to the bustling contemporary era Delo shipping industry has been the heartbeat of Commerce really connecting the region to Global markets the city's strategic location at the Western most tip of the Great Lakes combined with the St Lord Seaway access has made this a crucial hub for the transport ation of iron ore coal grain and other Commodities the loose hilly terrain has also shaped its Transportation Legacy for example in the late 19th and early 20th centuries cable cars and trolleys crisscrossed the Hillside and streets providing accessibility and connectivity cable cars gracefully ascended to loose steep inclines while the rhythmic clanging of the trolleys echoed throughout the streets weaving literally a network of tracks that connected neighborhoods and facilitated the daily lives of delians today our local public transit options keep duth connected via bus lines that constantly evolve to provide access to the entire city duth is now positioning itself as a hub for the development of cuttingedge Transportation methods shaping the future duth truly is at the Forefront of embracing sustainable and efficient Mobility Solutions initiatives such as the integration of electric vehicles bike sharing programs and smart transit systems showcase the city's dedication to reducing environmental impact while enhancing accessibility the community support for Forward Thinking urban planning coupled with a strategic location and robust seasonal weather makes duth an ideal testing ground for emerging Technologies like autonomous vehicles and green infrastructure and so is this City continues to evolve Delo stands not only as a paragon of its Transportation Heritage but also continues as a Pioneer toward a more sustainable and technologically advanced Transportation future thank you Denny a new pilot program between the duth public schools and the duth transit authority was set into motion this past January with a goal of getting high schoolers to school on time producer Mega McGarvey has the story [Music] some local DTA Riders may be seeing more backpacks and gym EGS as a result of the duth public school's newest partnership with the duth transit authority this partnership has been two years into making uh it started off with an identified need by one of our staff members who indicated that students were having difficulties getting home uh they were having difficulties taking advantage of after school programming so the staff member reached out to the DTA about two years ago and asked if they would be willing to partner with us the pilot program is open to all high school students and all uh District staff as well all they need to do is show their their photo ID when they get on the bus and they're free to ride um anytime that the DTA is in service which means they can get a free ride here here here and even right here well the DTA is everywhere right that's kind of an old saying that we're we're on both ends of the city on the top of the hill and the bottom of the hill so what we're really there is to provide access not just to all the citizens of duth but certainly it's an opportunity for for students who may not have access this local issue of accessible academic Transportation comes on the heels of a national shortage of bus drivers according to research by the economic policy Institute there are approximately 192,00 bus drivers working in K through2 schools in September of 2023 which is down over 15% compared to September of 2019 oh we are actively always um posting positions uh trying to make individuals aware that we are hiring as a school district um we're constantly evaluating our salaries for our current uh bus drivers to make sure that we're really competitive we're posting our job opportunities everywhere to make sure that individuals are aware of the opportunities that exist and how uh wonderful of a school district this is and how much we need them to join our school district and help our students get back and forth to school I can above all appreciate how hard it is to find school bus drivers I can appreciate how important it is when they're there to do their job um the the students got to get to school they got to get home um our passengers have to get this work they have to get home from work so I think this really is a seamless uh seamless partnership um where the the district if anything that we can alleviate their Transportation issues from is a good thing and we'll take all the extra ridership that we can get on our end right now we have we have a designated key in our Fair boox where the students are going to show their ID and the drivers will record that ride as we move forward um hopefully Beyond this pilot program we the district will have dedicated uh new passes that they're going to have that we'll be able to use in our Fair boox system just like the University students do now uh with that we're going to be able to get gather much more data and and uh ridership uh metrics that are really going to pinpoint uh the who what where and when of the students ridership so we can really tailor it uh between the DTA and the district to to make it as effective as possible we anticipated that at the very start of the program which you can imagine that that it takes a while for word to get out but we were pleasantly surprised to see that just in that first week we had over a thousand rides that that we were able to provide I think moving forward um part of in with the district we're going to come to a to a resolution to what that final product looks like I I consider it a sucess already there are many students who have indicated that uh without this Transportation they wouldn't be able to get to school on time they wouldn't be able to get to work on the weekends and it just really has enhanced U their ability to get back and forth to school and work writers beget writers I mean every time somebody rides the bus and they have a good experience or it gives them opportunities they didn't have before they tell somebody else really it's getting them on that the first time um getting them to use the system our new better bu blueprint that we launched late summer is it makes it even easier right the schedules are consistent it's it's much easier to find where you're going you can get on our app it it gives you all kinds of tools right down to the bus stop level that you can find your real-time uh arrival of your next bus right at the bus stop level so once once everybody gets on the bus I think they're going to find that the tools are there to really make it a seamless way to get to where they're going one of the things that we are focused on is advancing Equity making sure all of our students have opportunities this is really going to meet those needs of those students who do who do not have reliable transportation the pilot program runs through June 6th of this year after which the district and the DTA will review their findings and consider next steps we are now joined by Andrea and Amy from zeist welcome and thank you so much for being here thanks for having us now I think a lot of people when they hear Zeitgeist they think of the restaurant the theater film but there is an armite Guist that is very Community focused um and that is the Community Development Department so can you tell us a little bit about that department yeah absolutely um uh my name's Andrea and uh the Community Development Department focuses on some active living and Public Health health related topics uh active living meaning like how we move around our community in ways that are um on foot uh by bike um rolling whatever that looks like and so accessibility is a key part of that and as an arts and storytelling organization um way people know zeist we use that lens to help platform different voices uh and tell the stories of how our movement around the community is uh SU successful or not based on the policies or built infrastructure um and then we look for ways to help connect people and share those good ideas of what's working and and look for policy and practice changes that can improve it for those in our community who maybe are struggling with access uh uh throughout the community so can you share a little bit about what inspired the selection of the films that you're including in this Transportation Equity film series yeah a lot of it is the voices that are platformed in our community so often um voices can be marginalized or unheard and many times those are voices that are most in need of changes to our systems so a lot of the films are platforming those types of voices like whether it's um ADA compliance uh Americans with Disabilities uh or those that deal with racial or gender-based discrimination or dangers in moving about the community freely so we looked at ways that we can platform more voices and bring more people into that conversation of what safe and Equitable uh Transportation looks like so logistically how how does this work how often are the films um how can people check them out yeah we have the films monthly this is part of our Transportation Equity film series typically they're on the fourth Thursday of each month so we just had one uh free to ride uh which was about public transportation and citizen engagement to make that work for more people um and then it was followed by a discussion with the DTA so that's the other component of these films is that we can highlight a story through the film all experience it together and then think about the extensions into our own Community about where these similar themes are playing out and hear from folks that are working on those types of topics so our next film will be February 22nd and that's called the human scale which is looking at how urban areas are currently designed in ways that isolate us that separate us we're in our vehicles moving through often private vehicles um and opportunity to change that to create opport uh places for social connection and uh safer more vibrant uh economies um we know when people are out and moving around on foot they get to know their neighborhood their neighbors uh places feel safer local economies um are more vibrant and productive too and what are you hoping the audience will you know if they go to one of these film screenings what do you h hope they leave with well I would hope that they uh one have a shared experience with the people around them sometimes uh even just experiencing a film or art something like that together makes you feel less alone uh in the world and navigating some of these challenges uh but I also hope that through the connections we make after the film they see how they can connect with issues and make their voice heard so um we often have direct connections to projects happening in our community like for example with free to ride in public transportation the DTA can talk about citizen engagement in the better bus blueprint and where it's at today and where it could be going in the future and how to be involved in making it work for more people so for most of the film screenings is it uh like a a national film or Regional and then you have a chat afterward to talk about it through a local lens it varies but that is the typical uh the typical program most of these are National films um some are Regional we have highlighted stories of people um like Emily Ford uh voice for the wild is coming up in the future um one of our I think that's in March um and we also brought in a filmmaker it's not from this region but we also brought in a filmmaker last year to talk talk about uh experience of biking wall black and some of the the organizing that they've done in LA and the parallels to communities here in duth too so are there any specific themes that you hope the audience like walks away with a better understanding um I think the the piece that is most meaningful is the ways we can connect to each other to share stories and make change that an indiv individual's experience might not be happening in isolation and creating platforms to to share uh that individual experience and see it as part of a larger context wonderful well Andrea Amy thank you so much for being here and sharing about the Zee films series coming up thank you all right now snow removal is nothing new to people in the Northland mind do is on The Cutting Edge of how to clear and maintain roads during the winter here is Chris Cheney maintenance operations superintendent for mot he shares how their plow drivers and trucks adapt to the seasons and are constantly evolving how to keep the roads [Music] clear I'm Chris Cheney I'm the maintenance operation superintendent for mot District 1 we are literally the the first line when it comes to delivery of goods and services EMS uh State Patrol fire anything nothing can roll until we've done our job and clear the roadways so it's it's of primary importance to keep the roads in safe driving condition because we do have I would say the most continental climate in the country right it's uh the coldest colds some of the warmest Hots and the most snowall in the midwest with really cold temperatures typically we get a lot of wind we have a lot of shaded curvy roads the snow impact to the roadway is immediate and we we do need to get get it cleared off and that's that's our goal is to do it as quickly as we can there's over 3700 Lane miles a roadway some 545 Bridges uh enormous amount of Roads uh we have 99 plow routes and typically about 85 Mainline trucks and about 10 spare trucks or so our drivers are all professional and they're driving in the worst possible conditions and they're getting to work in the worst possible conditions right you wonder how does a guy to plow the road get to work right probably cuz he's been there at midnight or coming in at noon right and the operators they're they're the most valuable resource we got it's these are the folks that leave their Christmas dinner or their Thanksgiving dinner or New Year's Eve parties or Super Bowl or anything else and they're in a plow truck while everybody else can make it to and from wherever they're going and the range has some very high traffic areas too you know the 53 Corridor 169 across the range uh and with all the mining companies uh there's enormous uh es and flows and traffic you know your Rush Hour just like there is in more metr likee areas and it you can see the shift change that the mining companies make a big difference and of course there's school buses and people need to get to work and still all of our folks that work at the local Hospitals and Clinics and wherever they might be going they need to get there and we need to make sure they get there safely so the technology side has been immense first of all granular salt by itself doesn't melt anything until it actually goes into solution right when it starts going into a solution starts melting the Ice uh and the trouble with just granular salt on the road traffic whips It Off pretty quickly we're at the literally the headwaters of Mississippi we've got the Lake Superior drainage basin the Rainy River drainage basin Boundary Water canoe area the greatest source of freshwat in the world and every pound of salt we put out there goes into Solutions so we got to think about that and balance that with the need to keep the roads clear so we really cut down the amount of granular salt we're using because the liquids help the salt stay where it is we can put it out as a slurry like oatmeal the salt doesn't scatter and bounce the tra traffic actually especially if it goes slow behind a plow truck grinds it in and helps melt that ice more quickly and and that said it there's no golden BB's right it's it all has an impact sand can be crushed by traffic and create dust and uh it can cause water turbidity and in our more urban areas cause we have to sweep all that sand up literally thousands of tons whatever you put down you got to sweep up uh back throughout catch basins and drainage structures so it has its impact but every bit of sand that we collect and even if we have to pay to dispose of it it's salt that would have been in the water our regain times we track regain times on our Pavements you know your super commuter would be like 0 to 3 hours so we'd expect that to stay bare through the event or within 3 hours after now there's a little science there's a little bit of you know magic into it you know kind of guessing what the weather's going to do and we have really good forecasting right now we have a road weather information station I think we have 22 of those across the district arst sites that give us Real Time radar and weather and and Road conditions our mdss system it's maintenance decision support system helps us uh at least guide for recommendations for salt uh application and that's a work in progress it that system is learning as we go as we start expanding our liquids because we can use a heck of a lot less granular salt and have the same result when we're using more liquid because it stays where you put it and and it goes to work faster that's that's our biggest current expansion is more liquid capacity storage facilities that reload sites and truck stations and brine generation so it's the [Music] future transportation between meline Island and Bayfield may have commenced with indigenous people and French fur Traders by canoeing back and forth for necessary Goods but today most folks on meline island get to the mainland via ferry our team at PBS North climbed aboard the ferry to learn more about its past and its exciting [Music] future melin Island fairy line began in 1970 of the merger of two competing fairy lines apostel Island Ferry and nitu Ferry fery transportation is a unique type of Transportation it ranges from the fairies in New York that serves at Staten Island in Manhattan all the way down to more rural areas is it's very efficient energy-wise you know because it uses diesel as is all your transport that use the Lakers on Lake Super perior in the middle on our Transit over there it's like 180 ft deep so a bridge wouldn't make sense because of the depth nor the um number of people coming back and forth the significant El Nino in 1998 caused us to run all year long since then for eight Winters we've either run all winter long or all all but 10 days and so that affects our operation in the winter people look forward to the fer shutting down to the winds sled season and then ultimately being able to drive free back and forth as many times a day as they want in the winter we have many more days that we have to shut down or cancel trips because there's too much wind or too much weather and it's unsafe to operate so that can cause a problem for some of our customers because they've got doctor appointments they got a haircut or they have to go visit the grandkids in Minneapolis the other thing about the um fairies is that we use diesel engines we are considering diesel electric maybe for overhaul or a future boat diesel engin start at Tier 1 which is the you know most pollutants most emissions you know nox um and we have upgraded at least four of our five boats to tier three we want to be a good environmental partner with the community and with our neighbors so we have solar panels on the um P The Passenger Terminal in Bayfield we have we're part of travel Green Wisconsin and we use biodegradable oils and hydraulic fluids upgrading our engines and trying to minimize pollutants the changes we see at the ferry are um Vehicles tend to keep getting larger okay there are some compact vehicles and we offer for a uh reduced uh price fery card we have one for seniors we have one for compacts and passengers and for regular which is um you know 17 to 19 ft and then we charge u a different terar for vehicles longer than that but the larger Vehicles cause us a problem especially this time of year because if you have a pickup that's 22 feet you know 20 21 ft um you can probably only get like five or six of them on our winter boat because they have such a long wheelbase a ferry when it is built you know uh should last you know a number of years and so we can't react always that quickly the fairy line um as it is meline Island fairy line Incorporated has been in operation since 1970 we are in the process right now the town of Le Point is um planning to buy the fairy LAN and we are working through a lot of the financial details okay and so it would be owned by the harbor Commission of the town of Le Point I'm of the understanding that the town of Le Point wants to run it similar to how it's running now you know efficient um provide service to the community and uh provide it at an affordable price before we go let's take a look at what you might be getting up to this weekend the lusky and finished sliding Festival continues all weekend in Palo Saturday starts at 7:30 a.m. with a traditional breakfast and leads into a full day of artisan demonstrations Museum displays games and of course sliding all weekend long if you're looking for something something to keep your gardening skills sharp over the winter Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at the heartley Nature Center conservation Minnesota the duth Monarch buddies and the arrowhead chapter of wild ones are hosting a Hands-On demonstration about winter seed gardening a variety of native plant seeds potting soil and materials will be provided participants are encouraged to bring their own washed and dry transparent gallon milk jugs for planting Sunday from noon to 4 the Rapids Brewing Company is hosting the Valentine's mini market at their Tap Room in Grand Rapids this is the perfect opportunity to support local vendors while shopping for your sweetheart or to spoil yourself offerings include hot sauces locally ground coffee homemade soaps and more and speaking of Valentine's Day you won't want to miss our next episode of Almanac North where we look at all things related to love I'm Maria huitt thank you for joining us on all manac North I'll see you next time good [Music] [Music] night