EDITOR’S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — A federal judge is expected to take several days to rule on a request to block capping work on a Menominee landfill under a lawsuit over pollution at the site is decided. Federal Judge David McKeague of Lansing heard oral arguments Wednesday on the motion for a preliminary injunction. The motion, filed with the federal court in Lansing, asks that fall to cap the Menominee City Dump with sand, said Leslie Koster of Amberg, Wis. Koster and Dale Pape Sr. of Menominee filed suit in May against landfill owner Menominee- Marinette County Airport Authority, demanding that the authority clean the dump of toxins and cap it with clay or other similar material. The suit and the accompanying motions will be heard in Lansing. In Marquette Wednesday, a small group of people, many holding signs and placards decrying toxic pollution, picketed in front of the federal building to “raise public awareness that the dump is full of toxins,” said Koster. “It’s leaking into the area’s water supply and into the Menominee River, which goes directly into Lake Michigan.” The 20-acre dump is in Menominee Township and was opened near the conclusion of World War II. It has been officially closed since 1982.