You know the song.
You may think you know the story.
But you have not heard the fate of the Edmund Fitzgerald told this way.
Discover Wisconsin, the nation’s longest-running travel and tourism TV series, is rolling out a special presentation, “The 50-Year Mystery of The Edmund Fitzgerald.” The package includes a half-hour broadcast episode that will air throughout the Midwest and an hour long documentary that will be release exclusively on Discover Wisconsin’s YouTube and social channels.
Both the episode and the documentary will premiere on the 50th anniversary of the ship’s sinking, Nov. 10, 2025. The special spotlights the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald and explores why it continues to spark curiosity across Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region.
“We’re honored to bring the story of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald to audiences across Wisconsin on this milestone anniversary,” said Mark C. Rose, CEO of Discover Mediaworks. “This film is both a remembrance of the 29 lives lost and a reflection of Wisconsin’s deep ties to the Great Lakes.”
On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a severe storm, killing all 29 crew members. The freighter, loaded with iron ore pellets, was battered by high winds and 35-foot waves soon after leaving Superior. Its final radio message reported some damage to the deck, and the ship vanished from radar shortly after, eventually sinking in Canadian waters near Whitefish Bay. Folk rock singer Gordon Lightfoot recorded his famous song not long after, and for most, his poetic license is all that they know about the shipwreck.
“This documentary represents one of the most extensive productions our team has ever taken on,” said Rose. “We conducted 17 interviews over many months, traveling throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to capture the perspectives and places that keep the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald alive. It was an immense research and editing effort, but honoring the legacy of the ship and those who were lost made every mile and every late night worth it.”
The 50-Year Mystery of The Edmund Fitzgerald combines exclusive interviews with experts and families connected to the story. Featured voices include representatives from the Wisconsin Historical Society, crew members from the Arthur Anderson — the Fitzgerald’s sister ship — descendants of the Fitzgerald crew members, and local residents.
When and where to watch in Wisconsin
The half-hour episode premieres Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. CT on WKOW (Madison, ABC), WFRV (Green Bay, CBS), WAOW (Wausau, ABC), WQOW (Eau Claire, ABC), WXOW (La Crosse, ABC), WTMJ (Milwaukee, NBC), and KBJR in (Superior/Duluth). WLUC in Marquette airs the half-hour episode at 7:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 10.
Streaming premiere
The full one-hour documentary premieres Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. on Discover Wisconsin’s YouTube and social channels. Watch on the Discover Wisconsin YouTube channel.
Encore broadcasts
KBJR in Superior/Duluth will encore the half-hour episode on Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. and again on Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.
Who appears in the documentary
The documentary features interviews with Missy Clark-Nabozny and Chris, granddaughters of Edmund Fitzgerald wheelsman John Simmons; Steve Ackerman, a CIMSS meteorologist with research on 1975 storm anomalies; Paul Hammer, a local expert and resident of Superior; Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archaeologist and diver with the Wisconsin Historical Society; Thomas Nelson, author of Wrecked: The Edmund Fitzgerald and the Sinking of the American Economy; Frederick Stonehouse, author of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and a diver; Bruce Lynn, executive director and resident expert at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society; and Ric Mixter, author of Tattletale Sounds: The Edmund Fitzgerald and a videographer for the 1998 expedition to the wreck.
About Discover Wisconsin
Discover Wisconsin is the nation’s longest-running travel and tourism TV series. The award-winning program highlights destinations, adventures and local initiatives that bring communities together across America’s Dairyland. Episodes can be streamed worldwide on YouTube and at discoverwisconsin.com.a defining Great Lakes story while marking a half-century since the loss. The film brings together historians, local witnesses and families who keep the memory alive, with broadcast and streaming options timed for viewers across the state and beyond.
