Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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While Mercer voters approved a school bond proposal, several incumbents in various local races across Iron County lost in Tuesday's election. The Mercer School District asked voters to approve a bond proposal to raise $800,000 a year beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, through the 2028-2029 school year for maintaining operations, programs and facilities. The measure passed 455 to 286, or 61% to 39%. A similar proposal failed last year 393-365 (52%-48%). Also in Mercer, Tanner Hiller...
HURLEY - President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 60 years ago today on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas. The 35th president of the United States was shot as he rode through downtown Dallas on what was essentially an early campaign trip for the coming 1964 election, looking to shore up his southern support. A little more than three and a half years before, Kennedy, then a young U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, was running for president and made a campaign stop in downtown Hurley on March 17, 1960. A...
HONOLULU - U.S. Navy Ensign William M. Finnegan, a Bessemer native who died in the attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, was finally laid to rest on Sept. 7 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. He was among the 429 sailors aboard the USS Oklahoma who were killed that day, but also among the 388 of those who were left unaccounted for, according to a release from the Bureau of Navy Personnel. The remains of the 388 unidentified personnel were first interred as...
Tuesday is Election Day in Wisconsin. A race for an open seat on the state Supreme Court will appear on ballots statewide, but there are local contests and ballot initiatives across the state, including here in Iron County. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Former state Supreme Court justice Daniel Kelly and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz are battling for a 10-year term on the state’s high court in a race that will decide the ideological balance of the court. The vacancy comes from Justice Patience Roggensack’s retirement as hi...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission approved vacating the alley south of the 400 and 500 blocks of East Birch Street, as well as Deane Street between the two blocks, at its meeting Monday evening. Michael and Greta Erm requested the move, as they plan to build a home there on Birch Street. Commissioner Jim Mildren said it was exciting to have someone building a new home in the city. A brief public hearing on the matter was held before the meeting, at which no one spoke. City Manager Paul Anderson told the commission there is opportunity t...
IRONWOOD – The Ironwood City Commission passed a resolution Monday updating the city’s Zoning Ordinance through a series of amendments. Community Development Director Tom Bergman said the update was a longtime coming, something they had been working on for a number of years. He said the Planning Commission held public hearings in December 2021 and July 2022 on the matter. “The City Commission and Planning Commission met multiple times to hold workshops on specific aspects, specifically the general provisions in regards to medical marij...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission held a closeout public hearing on the Downtown City Square project prior to the regular meeting on Monday. Routsala Concrete Construction finished concrete work in the city square and embedded a steel city logo near the intersection of Aurora and Lowell streets in June. Jerry Wuorenmaa, executive director of the Western U.P. Planning and Development Region, reported the completion of the project to the commission. Wuorenmaa said that a Community Development Block Grant provided $1,475,927 toward administr...
IRONWOOD — Festival Ironwood is returning next week from July 13-17 with five days of family-friendly events under a big top tent in the Historic Depot Park. The festival will feature food, live music, a classic car show and more. Festival events start at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. Festival coordinator Will Corcoran said that the first night is organized by the Ironwood and Hurley Rotary Club and includes live music by the Lake Effect under the big top, as well as beer and brats through 10 p.m. The local Fat Tire and Superior Riders bike c...
Fireworks can be an exciting Fourth of July spectacle, but when handled improperly, these pyrotechnic devices can cause fires, severe injuries and deaths. Local public safety departments recommend handling them with care over the holiday weekend and following all applicable laws. “Each July 4th, thousands of people – most often children and teens – are injured while using consumer fireworks. Despite the dangers of fireworks, few people understand the associated risks: devastating burns, other injuries, fires and even death,” Lt. Matthew...
BESSEMER - The Bessemer Downtown Development Authority is seeking bids to have the concrete removed between the curb and the sidewalk between East Sellar Street and East Colby Street on South Sophie Street. DDA staff person Samantha Dorr said that funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development only covered the concrete demolition up to the southmost point of Sophie Street and cannot cover the north three quarters of the street. According to Dorr the city can pay for the...
BESSEMER – The Bessemer Planning Commission went over a draft ordinance to regulate short-term rentals during its regular meeting on Tuesday night. “It’s very thorough, there’s no question about it,” said councilman and committee member Terry Kryshak. The ordinance will require all short-term rental companies provide the city with a local agent. City manager Charly Loper said this person would have to be available to accept phone calls on a 24-hour basis, have a key for the property and be able to get there within 60 minutes. The ordinance...
SAXON, Wis. - Volunteer firefighters were roused from their beds around 3 a.m. on Wednesday to respond to a fire in Saxon Harbor, Saxon-Gurney Fire Department Chief Stacy Ofstad told the Daily Globe on Wednesday. Thanks to their rapid response, Ofstad said the fire was extinguished around 7:30 a.m. and there were no injuries. The fire was contained to a beach on the east side of Oronto Creek, Ofstad said. The fire destroyed some driftwood on the beach, but Ofstad said that mother nature helped p...
IRONWOOD - Ongoing problems at the Historic Depot Park in Ironwood prompted the Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee to consider setting a curfew on the depot park pavilion at their regular meeting on Tuesday. Committee chair Sam Davey said "the kids are just out of hand" at the park and proposed the curfew so they will have to leave the pavilion by a certain time or face charges for trespassing. The committee discussed a curfew time of 7 p.m. or 30 minutes before sunset, with the exact time...
IRONWOOD – Ankur Rungta, a business owner who hopes to open a retail marijuana establishment called QPS Holdings on 100 W. Cloverland Drive in Ironwood, recently presented an amended site plan for his establishment to the Ironwood Planning Commission, which was discussed in a public hearing on Thursday. Director of Community Development Tom Bergman clarified to the commission that QBS Holdings does not have a retail marijuana establishment license and is not pre-approved for one. However, they wanted to amend their already proposed site plan i...
BESSEMER - Construction season is fast approaching and Bessemer is gearing up for the second phase of its two large construction projects: a rebuilding of U.S. 2 through town and the city's water and sewer project. The Michigan Department of Transportation and city officials have announced that a detour of eastbound U.S. 2 traffic along city streets south of the highway will take effect May 31 and last through early September. "This summer is going to be hectic. There are a lot of good things...
HANCOCK — New COVID-19 cases in the western Upper Peninsula continued to rise over the past seven days as Gogebic and Ontonagon counties moved from low to medium COVID-19 community levels, according to an update from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department on Thursday. From May 11-18, there were 60 new cases in Houghton County, 32 cases in Gogebic, 12 cases in Baraga, nine cases in Keweenaw and seven cases in Ontonagon, for a total of 120 new cases. This marked the fifth consecutive week that the case rate increased, the health d...
In the aftermath of warm weather and temperatures above 50 degrees this past weekend, the Iron County Snowmobile and ATV/UTV Trails were closed for the winter season at 8 a.m. on Monday. The Iron County Forestry and Parks Department can legally keep the trails open until March 31, but they closed the trails 10 days early this year because of the warm weather and rain, Office Manager and Trail Coordinator Tara Krall said to the Daily Globe on Monday. When the rest of the snow melts and the ice...
BESSEMER - The A.D. Johnson Junior-Senior High School in Bessemer was flooded with the sound of music on Saturday morning, as roughly 50 students competed in the District Solo and Ensemble Festival. The students, who represented both the Bessemer Area School District and the Ironwood Area School District performed various solo and ensemble pieces for both band and choir. The students performed one or two selections and then received feedback from Dale Smith, of the Wisconsin School Music...
BESSEMER — Washington Elementary students will have an opportunity to get their COVID-19 vaccines on Friday. The school is hosting a vaccine clinic for its students to get their first dose from 9 a.m. to noon. The clinic is offered in conjunction with the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District and the Western U.P. Health Department, which will be on site to administer the vaccine to the students. Principal Mark Switzer said it is not required for anyone, but if they want to get vaccinated, they can with parental permission. “I’m not s...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission approved a special water rate for the Ironwood Snowmobile Olympus, a water and sewer infrastructure project and bids for a new portable generator at a lift station at its regular meeting on Monday. The city commission approved a request from the Friends of the Gogebic County Fair for a special water rate for their 2021-2022 Snowmobile Olympus being held at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds on Dec. 31 and Jan. 7-9. The town offers a 50% water rate to events that bring people to the community to help s...
MONTREAL, Wis. - Mayor Kelly Traczyk said that the city of Montreal applied for the Neighborhood Investment Fund Grant to receive funding for a proposed park at the Montreal common council meeting on Nov. 9. Traczyk said it will be named Riverside Park, which is also the name of the community center on a 1938 map of the city. The proposed park will be located on 22 acres of city property and will have a "mindfulness meditation walk," a dog park and community gardens. An old baseball field will...
HURLEY, Wis — The Hurley School Board awarded the Hurley/Ashland co-op hockey team a $500 grant per player during its regular meeting on Monday night. The district has been participating in the co-op for four years, and every year participation has increased. According to Brooke Gilbertson, the team was formed with five players from Hurley. In its second season it had six, in the third season there were eight players, and there are now nine Hurley players on the team. She said she expects to have at least nine next year as well, possibly m...
HURLEY, Wis. - Workers with the Iron County Public Health Department provided influenza vaccines to community members at a drive-thru clinic at the Iron County Highway Department in Hurley on Wednesday. Public information officer Zona Wick said that the health department provides influenza vaccines to the community annually in the fall. The health department starts reaching out to the community as soon as the influenza vaccine becomes available, she said. The health department works with the...
BESSEMER — A policy to reimburse residents some of the cost for freezing water lines was enacted, and an ordinance dealing with the same issues was repealed, following a public hearing during Tuesday’s Bessemer City Council meeting. The new policy will reimburse residents for 50% of their expenses to thaw frozen water lines, up to $100. In order to qualify for the reimbursement, the property owner must have observed any let-run directives, have a structure that is heated and regularly inspected, and left snow above the water line. The pol...
MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer Board of Supervisors discussed the federal stimulus bill, essential worker compensation and a bond for broadband services in the county on Thursday. Chairman John Sendra said the town recently received $72,272 in funds from the federal government as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. They will receive the same amount again in a second installment of the stimulus bill in June 2022 for a total of $144,545. The town was also provided money from the state of Wisconsin to compensate essential workers who...
