Teal Lake Meltdown structure officially submerged

NEGAUNEE — The community had been anticipating the day the mining structure on Teal Lake would sink and that day has finally come and gone.

The structure had been on Teal Lake since February 2019 for a fundraiser called the Teal Lake Meltdown where community members could purchase tickets to guess what day and time the head frame would become completely submerged.

The time that the head frame initially broke through the ice was on Thursday, April 25 at 6:17 p.m. but was not completely submerged until Friday April 26, at 12:18 p.m. The winning guess was April 26, 1:07 p.m. which was 49 minutes from the time the head frame submerged in the water.

“This year was the largest prize amount and I also believe this year is the latest that we’ve gone into the spring before the structure submerged. There were about a half-a-dozen guesses that were all very close to that time. That Friday was a very popular pick” said Negaunee Lions Club Member, Neil Lynch.

The grand prize was $1,508 and a check will be presented to the winner this week. This was the third and most successful year for the Teal Lake Meltdown.

All proceeds benefit the Negaunee Lions Club and the Greater Ishpeming Negaunee Area Chamber of Commerce.

And for those wondering what is happening to the structure, the Sheriff’s Department will be using it as part of a training exercise with the dive team to recover the structure.