Christian Science Monitor: From the bridge of the Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw, northern Lake Huron of the Great Lakes looks like a vast, snow-covered field dotted with ice slabs as big as boulders -- a battleground for the icebreaker's 58-member crew during one of the roughest winters in memory.
It's been so bitterly cold for so long in the Upper Midwest that the Great Lakes are almost completely covered with ice. The last time they came this close was in 1994, when 94 percent of the lakes' surface was frozen.
As of...