SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) — Lake Superior State University has celebrated the coming of spring with its annual incineration of a fake snowman after a 24-hour delay caused -- ironically -- by snow.
Several hundred people attended Friday's ceremony on the university campus in Sault Ste. Marie.
Students and maintenance workers assembled the 12-foot-high snowman using a wood and wire frame and paper stuffing. They dubbed their creation Polar Vortex after the frigid air mass that made this winter one of the coldest in memory.
The burning usually happens the first day of spring. But a fresh layer of snow and brisk winds Thursday prompted a postponement.
University spokesman John Shibley says the event went smoothly and included a ceremonial passing of the torch from retiring President Tony McLain to his successor, Thomas Pleger.
Hans Ahlström is the host of several programs including the daily musical variety show Weekday, the mostly straight ahead jazz show Night Studio, the self explanatory Blues Today, and the eclectic Sound Spectrum. You can also hear Hans as the local host of NPR's All Things Considered news magazine. He also helps manage Public Radio 90's web content, interviews local and visiting writers and artists, works with NMU student interns, and writes the occasional news story.