Last week, two cutters carved a track from the Soo Locks on the eastern edge of Lake Superior all the way to Duluth. The Mackinaw then cut a path up the North Shore, breaking open paths in the ice and clearing the way for thousand-foot freighters to carry their first cargo of iron ore, coal and grain.
But the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alder stayed behind to break up the ice in the Duluth-Superior harbor.
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