REPORT OF THE 71st ANNUAL MEETING OF THE INSTITUTE ON LAKE SUPERIOR GEOLOGY
 
The 71st Institute on Lake Superior Geology (ILSG) was held May 14 to 17, 2025 in Mountain Iron, Minnesota at the Mountain Iron Community Center. The meeting was sponsored by the State of Minnesota’s Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation agency, Bayside Geoscience, the Geological Society of Minnesota, the Mesabi Range Geological Society, George Hudak Geosciences, PLLC, and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s (UMD) Swenson College of Science and Engineering Earth and Environmental Sciences department, as well as individual contributors Roger Anderson, Allan MacTavish, Dave Dahl, Tom Erickson, and Barry Frey. The meeting was co-chaired by Amy Radakovich, Allison Severson, Eric Nowariak, and Aaron Hirsch of the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS), and Stacy Saari of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR). Patrice Cobin and Julie Stark of Michigan Technological University served as registrars for the meeting. The institute was attended by a total of 137 participants of which 25 were students. Generous donations from the following individuals helped provide a reduced registration and field trip price for students: Kate Clover, Jim and Isabel DeGraff, Tom Erickson, Tom Fitz, Aaron Hirsch, Paula Leier-Engelhardt, Bob Mahin, Vince and Susan Matthews, Jim Miller, Allison Severson, Mark and Lauri Severson, John Verhoeven, and Gerry White.
The 71st meeting consisted of two full days of technical sessions, which ran from Thursday morning, May 15th through Friday afternoon, May 16th. The meeting also held pre-and post-meetingfield trips on May 14th and May 17th. A total of 51 presentations were subdivided into 8 technical sessions; 6 technical sessions for 26 oral presentations (of which 1 was presented by a student), and 2 poster technical sessions with a total of 23 poster presentations (of which 14 were presented by students). The chairs continued the previous meeting’s precedent of including two poster sessions to allow both attendees and judges more time to review the posters. The first presentation of the technical sessions was given by Mark Smyk (OGS - retired; Goldich Medalist in 2005) who gave the citation for Robert Bell, the 2025 Pioneer of Lake Superior Geology. Bell is the 6th person to be recognized for their contributions to Lake Superior Geology prior to the initiation of the ILSG. The technical sessions of the 71st annual meeting of ILSG were published in 2025 as Part 1 of Proceedings Volume 71 (95 pages).

Five Doug Duskin Best Student Paper Awards were given for student oral and poster presentations as judged by the 2024 Student Paper Awards Committee chaired by Aaron Hirsch (MGS). PhD student poster awards were given to Zsusanna Allerton and Madelyn Banks. Undergraduate student poster awards were given to Celia Cortopassi and Lyndsie Vickers. Omar Khali Droubi received the best oral presentation award.

The 71st ILSG also awarded 12 Eisenbrey Student Travel and Participation Awards to help defray the cost of travel to and participation in the ILSG professional meeting for undergraduate and graduate students. The awardees were Drew Casper, Haley Johannesen, Mary Elizabeth Shalifoe, Linsey Hula, Omar Khalil Droubi, Samara Gries, Renee Jeutter, Aidan Kwiatkowski, Celia Cortopassi, Lyndsie Vickers, Zsuzsanna Allerton, and Bekah Thomson.

As usual, field trips were a highlight of the 71st ILSG. Mountain Iron’s close proximity to exposures of Archean, Paleoproterozoic, and Mesoproterozoic rocks made it a prime location to run numerous excellent field trips. The meeting offered 8 field trips which included 4 pre-meeting trips on Wednesday May 14, and 4 post-meeting trips on Saturday May 17. Seven field trips focused on the varied Precambrian geology of northeastern Minnesota, and one trip highlighted the unique Quaternary features of the region. Seven of the eight field trips were able to run, with one cancelled due to active wildfires in the field trip area. The remaining 7 field trips were well attended. There were 130 registrants for the field trips, excluding leaders, representing over 100 different individuals (some registrants took multiple trips).

Pre-meeting trip 1 was a “Transect through the Quetico subprovince of northern Minnesota,” led by Eric Nowariak (MGS) and Mark Jirsa (MGS-retired). Pre-meeting trip 2 was led by Mark Severson (Natural Resources Research Institute, Teck - retired), Cullen Phillips (New Range Copper Nickel), and Kevin Boerst (Twin Metals Minnesota) and highlighted “Drill Core from three Cu-Ni deposits of the Duluth Complex.” Pre-meeting trip 3 asked the question “How do you make iron and/or manganese in Proterozoic iron formation?” and was led by Alex Steiner and Dean Peterson (Big Rock Exploration) and Latisha Brengman (University of Minnesota Duluth [UMD]). Pre-meeting trip 4 was led by George J. Hudak (University of Minnesota; George Hudak Geosciences, P.L.L.C) and Zsuzsanna Allerton and Annia Fayon (University of Minnesota) and highlighted “New geological insights into the genesis of iron ores at Lake Vermillion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park.”

Post-meeting trip 5 traveled to numerous “Neoarchean alkalic intrusions in the Wawa and Quetico subprovinces” and was led by Terry Boerboom (MGS-retired) and Amy Radakovich (MGS). Mark (NRRI, Teck - retired), Allison (MGS), and Lauri (earth science teacher - retired) Severson planned to lead post-meeting trip 6 focused on a “Unique Keweenawan inclusion (Colvin Creek) in the Duluth Complex.” However, the trip was cancelled due to wildfire conditions, and participants were invited to join other trips or receive a refund. Post-meeting trip 7 led by Dean Peterson (Big Rock Exploration) and George Hudak (University of Minnesota; George Hudak Geosciences, P.L.L.C) visited numerous “Classic outcrops of northeastern Minnesota” Field trip 8 was led by Phil Larson (Vesterheim Geoscience, PLC), Andrew Breckinridge (University of Wisconsin - Superior), and Howard Mooers (UMD) and focused on Glacial Lake Norwood and the Koochiching Lobe.” Field trip guides were published in 2025 as Part 2 of the Proceedings Volume 71 (200 pages).

A catered welcome reception was held at the Mountain Iron Community Center on Wednesday evening, May 14, after all of the pre-trips returned. The event was well attended, and offered a chance for meeting attendees to reconnect with colleagues and friends prior to the start of technical sessions. Steve Solkela provided entertainment for a portion of the evening.

The annual ILSG social and banquet were hosted at the Mountain Iron Community Center on Thursday evening, May 15, 2025. Ninety-three people were in attendance at the sold-out banquet. After introductions and announcements, Mark Puumala announced the location of the 2026 meeting as Thunder Bay, Ontario. The program continued with ILSG awarding the prestigious Goldich Medal to the very deserving Robert Michael (Mike) Easton (Ontario Geological Survey), who unfortunately could not be present at the meeting. Wouter Bleeker (Geological Survey of Canada) provided the citation for Mike, highlighting Mike’s long tenure with the OGS, his impressive publication record, and his contributions to ILSG. Another highlight of the banquet was the keynote presentation by Pete Kero, P.E., Senior Environmental Engineer with Barr Engineering Co and visionary behind the award-winning Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm, Minnesota. His fascinating talk entitled “Mine to Mountain Bike Mecca: The story of the Redhead Mountain Bike Park” detailed the transformation of ten idled open pit iron mines in northeast Minnesota into a world-class recreation destination for mountain biking, hiking, and paddling. Kero fielded many questions from the engaged audience and sold and autographed his book Minescapes: Reclaiming Minnesota’s Mined Lands after the keynote presentation, which ended the banquet program.

The Institute’s Board of Directors met on Thursday May 15, 2025 to discuss ILSG business and approve the 2026 meeting location. The meeting was attended by Amy Radakovich (Board Chair and Assistant Treasurer), Ted Bornhorst, Carsyn Ames, Peter Hollings (Secretary), and Mark Jirsa (Treasurer). Guests at the meeting were the meeting co-chairs Allison Severson, Eric Nowariak, Aaron Hirsch, and Stacy Saari and also Mark Puumala, the Chair of the proposed 2026 Thunder Bay meeting (approved by the board - see below). Michael Easton was unable to attend.

Institute’s Board of Directors meeting notes were taken by ILSG Secretary Hollings, which are as follows:
1. Accepted report of the Chairs for the 70th ILSG, as published in the Proceedings volume, and minutes of last Board meeting, May, 2024 (Hollings).
2. Received and discussed 2024-2025 ILSG Financial Summary (Jirsa/Radakovich). Final approval tabled for Email vote after necessary revisions are made to balances as listed
3. Received, discussed, and accepted 2024-2025 report of the Secretary (Hollings).
4. Approved Alli Severson as on-going ILSG Board member and Pete Hinz and Mark Puumala as co-Chairs.
5. Discussed and approved appointing Amy Radakovich as the Institute Treasurer. This was subsequently approved by the Membership. Mark Jirsa was thanked for his 31 year service to the Institute.
6. Discussed and approved replacing Dean Peterson as the “member from industry” on Goldich Committee (end of term 2025) with Phil Larson.
7. Approved Thunder Bay as the site for the 72nd annual ILSG meeting. The meeting will be Chaired by Pete Hinz and Mark Puumala with tentative dates of May 19 to 23.
8. A number of future meeting locations were discussed including Grand Marais (Jim Miller), Baraboo (Esther Stewart & Carsyn Ames) and Marquette.
9. The revised Eisenbrey guidelines were discussed and approved with edits. Changes expand the list of expenses which are eligible for reimbursement from the Eisenbrey award (ex: registration fees, meals, lodging, and transportation are all now included)
10. There was discussion over the format and page limits for the abstracts. It was agreed that the two page limit would be maintained.
11. The cost of hosting the meeting registration through MTU was discussed. MTU currently charges 12% of the total registration sales as their fee. It was agreed that the hosts of each meeting would evaluate possible hosting options and pick the one that worked best for them. Puumala indicated that next year the hosts would likely go with a Canadian registrar so that registration fees could be charged in Canadian dollars
12. The cost of printing the Proceedings and Field Guide volumes was discussed. It was agreed that future meeting Chairs would explore the possibility of making the full printed volumes a paid option for participants and providing only the guides for individual trips.
13. The ongoing storage of ILSG poster boards and easels was discussed. MTU has stored them for the last ~10 years but can no longer offer to do that. Boards and easels were stored for the past year at the Minnesota Geological Survey, but there is no room for permanent storage there. It was suggested that the storage and transport of the posters and easels become the responsibility of the meeting hosts, such that after each ILSG meeting, the boards and easels would leave with the host of the following year’s meeting. This way storage and transport costs can be built into the next year’s meeting costs. Thunder Bay hosts do not need boards next year and did not want to take them across the border given recent border crossing issues. It was suggested that ILSG perhaps have two sets of boards and two sets of easels - one that resides in Canada and one that resides in the USA. Carsyn Ames volunteered to store the boards and easels at the Wisconsin Geological Survey for the next year, delaying the need to make a final decision.

Our large, five-person committee allowed us to divide-and-conquer the innumerable tasks to make The 71st annual ILSG meeting a great success. We were proud to continue the long-standing tradition of bringing people together from many states and provinces to share and learn about the fascinating geology of the Lake Superior region, both in the meeting and ‘on the rocks.’ The co-chairs would like to thank the many people and organizations who made the meeting possible, including the Mesabi Range Geological Society and UMD students who ran the registration table and helped with merchandise sales, and the numerous individuals who offered to drive rental or personal vehicles on our fieldtrips. The Sawmill supplied all meeting and field trip food, Caribou provided coffee and tea for the field trips, and Peplinjack’s Bakery supplied the delicious field trip pastries. Lastly, we would like to thank the numerous generous donors who donated hundreds of rock and mineral specimens, books, and maps that made up the biggest and most profitable book sale and silent auction in ILSG memory. The sale and auction netted a total of approximately $4,500 which will be used to fund student participation at subsequent meetings. We look forward to seeing everyone next year in Thunder Bay!

Respectfully submitted,

Amy Radakovich, Allison Severson, Eric Nowariak, Aaron Hirsch, and Stacy Saari
Co-chairs, 71st Institute on Lake Superior Geology

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