March 1, 2021 By David Murray
Barge traffic resumed on the Illinois Waterway as temperatures rose and the country’s midsection recovered from the polar vortex. Jeff Lebeau, assistant lockmaster at Starved Rock Lock and Dam, said February 24 was the first day that temperatures went above freezing.
According to Lebeau, floating pack ice at his lock and dam is still thick enough to require transiting towboats to use an assist boat. “The winch isn’t strong enough to pull cuts against the ice,” he told
The Waterways Journal.
The lock removed its 105-foot width restriction February 24 and went back to a 108-foot width.
December 18, 2020 By David Murray
In the top story of 2020, an invisible virus has, to date, caused more than a million and a half deaths worldwide, sickened tens of millions more, overwhelmed the health care facilities of many countries at times, and upended the global economy, completely reshaping some industries. It is a story that is far from over, but whose end may be in sight.
After crash development by an emergency team under the aegis of Operation Warp Speed, two vaccines have been developed, one by Pfizer-BioNTech and the other by Moderna. Pfizer’s has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration after encouraging testing indicating an effectiveness of more than 90 percent. Moderna’s vaccine was awaiting approval at press time, with 6 million doses ready for immediate allocation.