More tax dolars at work...! The SIMPLE solution is simply carry one less auto each trip and construct a steel box on the inside of the Badger to catch the ash . Empty it right at the coal pile each trip....There, "problem " solved --- let's move on..!

I agree Snide, the owners of the badger have millions of dollars and want everyone else to help them out. They want to get this done without having to spend a penny of their own money.

But then the owners would actually have to pay for it snide. The longer they kick it down the road the longer they have to try and find ways for us (the taxpayers) to pay to solve the problem for them.

Snide, Joe, how is asking for financial assistance any different than any other business? How is it different than the Muskegon Carferry, who recieved a large sum of money to start up its operation? And remember that you are not the only taxpayer, infact the carferry pays taxes, as well as it's employees, and the money that the ferry brings into town contributes to the local economy. That is enough logic for you in one day, you are busy hiding from black helecoptors and dreaming up conspiracy theories.

Hi all...I live in upstate NY...near Rochester. But I am from Michigan. I've been on the Badger (back in 1974)on the evening trip east to Ludington....my family vacationed up north near Frankfort in the 1950's..so yeah, I remember all the Ann Arbor ships coming and going... That said...the Badger is a gem well worth saving. It is hugely popular with people from outside of Michigan or Wisconson. Yes, your Lake Express has it's own (for reasons that matter to them) fans. Rochester New York suffered the fiasco of the "Fast Ferry" to Toronto. Pretty much doomed from the outset by monetary short sightedness and public needs...I believe that the smaller and more efficient Lake Express you have over there is a fine compliment to the much treasured alternitive offered by the SS Badger.

Hey, cynical people, did you read the article? LMC is covering 30% of the project costs. I have been riding the carferries across the Lake since 1941. The Badger is a beloved vessel. She offers fuel efficient travel for hundreds of trucking companies and private cars traveling from one side of the Lake to the other, saves us fuel emissions and road wear (funded by taxpayers), provides a very pleasant travel experience, and it's a historic treasure. Hopefully this is the first step to a successful conversion to natural gas. Long live the Badger!