The rain that flooded Duluth last week also flushed an unprecedented quantity of dirt, pollution and bacteria into Lake Superior. All that nasty debris may have sullied two of the 12 cleanest beaches in America.

A group of brave surfers were spotted hitting the waves on Lake Superior Friday. WDIO in Duluth reports the air temperature was near single digits, but the Great Lake was in the mid-30s. One of the surfers says he's been catching the waves for the past 15 years.

There's no question Minnesota is home to beautiful lakes, but the most popular and largest in the state has become one of the top vacation spots in the country, according to a CNN report. Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin and another Minnesota destination, Lake Kabetogama, also made the list.

Check out this video from Duluth photographer Dudley Edmondson. On the day of the mighty leap year blizzard, he says he came across this group of hardy surfers "who wait around all year for this kind of weather to surf the big waves on Lake Superior."

Jeffrey Watson was underwater in Lake Superior for at least thirty minutes while swimming with friends in Duluth Monday. His father says the 13-year-old never regained consciousness and his organs were beginning to shut down when the family decided to take him off life support.

A photo of a Bayfield, Wisc., man swimming with his aging dog in Lake Superior has found a huge following online. The photo shows John Unger cradling his 19-year-old shepherd mix, Schoep -- who suffers from arthritis and finds comfort in the water. Photographer Hannah Stonehouse posted the photo on Facebook, and it reportedly has been viewed more than 1.8 million times.

A joint program, established in 1991, between the United States and Canada is on track to reduce nine toxic chemicals like mercury and PCBs by 2020. According to Minnesota Public Radio, a draft report says sources of pollution around Lake Superior have cut mercury emissions by 80 percent and dioxins by 85 percent.