Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1026 - 1050 of 1063
HURLEY — The Hurley City Council decided Tuesday to borrow approximately $130,000 to cover additional costs for its County D road extension project. According to Jeff Seamandel, MSA Professional Services project manager, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is requiring the city to widen approximately 1,000 feet of south Wisconsin 77 at a future intersection with the proposed County D extension. The city had already earmarked approximately $950,000 for the County D project. Seamandel s...
WAKEFIELD — The city of Wakefield is pleased to be moving forward with an improvement project for the dam at the northeast corner of Sunday Lake, which the city has sought to update for several years. The city was recently awarded a Michigan Department of Natural Resources Dam Management Grant in the amount of $69,300 for the spillway gate replacement. The city will be responsible for a ten percent local share of the $77,000 total project cost. The dam management grant was one of six awarded i...
Artists and craftspeople know that the colors they choose — and leave out — are critical ingredients in their works’ success, no matter the medium. Color done well is captivating. Color done badly? It’s just bad. Or drab. Yet a color tweak may be all it takes to turn up a piece’s vibrancy and magic. An eye for color is both intuitive and learned, say the experts. Kaffe Fassett has spent a lifetime experimenting. The septuagenarian is exuberant with color in his embroidery, knitting and fabri...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Theatre was alive with “The Sound of Music” Saturday evening as upwards of 200 folks took part in a sing-a-long showing of the 1965 Academy Award winning film. The adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein’s beloved Broadway musical of the same name stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, seven precocious, yet very musical children, and a host of nuns and Nazis. Set in Salzburg, Austria, in “the last days of the Golden Thirties,” Maria, a wannabe nun, shows up at the v...
HURLEY — Dorrene O’Donnell is the new executive director of the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce. She started work on March 18, in a big way. “My first official act as director was attending the governor’s conference on tourism,” O’Donnell said. “I learned a lot while I was there, and gained a lot of contacts.” So far, the job has been “wild,” according to O’Donnell. “I’ve been settling in, and learning the ins and outs of chamber life,” O’Donnell said. “It’s been a lot of fun.” O’Donnell bri...
BESSEMER — The Gogebic-Iron County Paisano Club held its spring dinner Sunday at La Panetteria in Bessemer, celebrating Italian heritage and scholarship funds raised for area high school seniors. Speaking to a crowd gathered for the annual event, chapter president Dorothy Walesewicz said the club was founded in Bessemer on August 6, 1969, making it 44 years old this year. She said the purpose was to raise money to assist area students getting ready to move on to college. “We now have more than 44 members, most of them here (today),” she said....
IRONWOOD — Some kids spend their spring break visiting grandma’s house. Others are able to enjoy a trip to Florida, which maybe also includes a trip to grandma’s house. Still others fashion the week closer to home resting from a long winter’s study, waking up sometime around noon and spending the rest of the day on the couch playing Xbox. Ironwood seventh graders Austin Danielson, 14, and Jayson Pietrocatelli, 13, had a different idea Friday. They went into business. They opened a coffee sh...
HURLEY — Elementary students at the Hurley K-12 School learned about improving their overall health during the annual Health Fair on Friday. According to Iron County health officer Zona Wick, the event “went well,” with students learning about staying active, eating right and other healthy choices. Representatives from the Wisconsin Dairy Council, Iron County Health Department, North Country Independent Living, Domestic Violence Escape, the office of Dr. Paul Hagemann, DDS, Aspirus Grand View Ho...
HURLEY — The Hurley K-12 School played host to an American Red Cross blood drive Thursday. According to elementary secretary Leola Maslanka, it was the third drive that the school has done this year, with 97 pints of blood collected after the first two. The goal is to have enough units to collect a scholarship from the Red Cross for a graduating senior. Going into Thursday, the school had enough for a $1,000 scholarship and needed 54 more pints to increase the scholarship to $1,500. ...
Iron County Board of Supervisors Chairman Dennis DeRosso, 78, of Oma, Wis., who also served as county administrator, died on Monday. A lifelong resident of Iron County, DeRosso devoted much of his life to make the area better, including donating his time to many civic organizations. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus in Ironwood and the Hurley and Mercer Lions clubs, among other organizations. He worked at the Iron County Forestry Department, retiring as county forester. However,...
IRONWOOD — Big changes have taken place at the Western Upper Peninsula Convention and Visitors Bureau in Ironwood in the past year. In November, the bureau moved to a new location, downsizing from the previous spot. It has launched a state-of-the-art website, geared at attracting more visitors. The new office is at 405 N. Lake St. in Ironwood. Office manager Donna Kauppi, said, “We moved here in November, and things have been going great. We have a lot more exposure here, and we have a lot mor...
HURLEY — The Iron County Memorial Building Restoration Committee discussed future fundraisers during a meeting at the Iron County Courthouse on Monday. Fundraising chair Dorothy Walesewicz spoke to the committee about the possibility of hosting a fundraiser in conjunction with the Memorial Day events in the area. “It would be a great time to have an open house and let the community see the work that has been done,” Walesewicz said. Each year, the Hurley American Legion and Hurley Veterans of Fo...
HURLEY — Big projects continue to be marked off the “to-do” list for the Iron County Memorial Building Restoration Committee. According to volunteer Dorothy Walesewicz, the project started as a way to preserve a county landmark. “I know that we’re not the only ones that didn’t want to see that building torn down,” Walesewicz said. “We wanted to see that building still standing and operating.” Many improvements came with paint and a brush. “Paint can do wonders,” Walesewicz said. Other projects included the chimney being repaired, bathroom re...
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield City Council swore in longtime resident Charles Picoldi Monday, to fill an unexpired term vacated by a resignation. A seat on the council became available when April Rauh resigned her position in March. One application, from Picoldi, was received by the city to fill the vacancy. The council is now comprised of Joseph DelFavero, Ted Finco, Picoldi, Jason White and Mayor Richard Bolen. The council approved GEI Consultants to complete the engineering design for the c...
MERCER, Wis. — More than 100 kids turned out for the annual Mercer Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday at the Mercer School. According to club members, the event has been taking place for over 20 years, starting off with real hard boiled eggs before switching to plastic. Different age divisions searched in different parts of the school, and after gathering as many eggs as possible, the kids dined on hot dogs, hot chocolate and their candy. “The school has been great in letting us have thi...
BESSEMER — Drivers from all over the Midwest traveled to Bessemer over the weekend to participate in the first ever Snowmobile Drag Race and Hill Climb on Saturday and Sunday at Big Powderhorn Mountain. According to Bruce Noren, general manager at Powderhorn, the weather was key in making the event successful. “We had really great weather today (Sunday),” Noren said. “So that helped.” The event is one of many snowmobile-themed events in the area, and according to Noren, each event is great for...
IRONWOOD — Kindergarteners in the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District have enjoyed a new age tool for learning this school year. Students presented their skills on iPads to the GOISD at the Elk and Hound in Ironwood on Thursday. Area kindergarteners and teachers demonstrated how the devices are used in the classroom to representatives of school districts in Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield-Marenisco, Ontonagon and Ewen-Trout Creek, and board members from Gogebic Community College. ...
ONTONAGON — The Ontonagon-White Pine Rotary learned Wednesday there are 578 students in the two-county area which are served by the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District in special education services. Marge Leaf, director of special education for the GOISD, and Rotary member Bruce Mayle, superintendent of the GOISD, told the members of the impact committee special education has on disabled from birth to 26 years old in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. In Ontonagon County, Leaf said, the Ontonagon Area School District has 80 special e...
ONTONAGON — The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park will host a guided hike as part of statewide events celebrating Arbor Day in Michigan. The hike is scheduled for April 27 at 1 p.m. (EDT.) The Porkies is one of nine locations hosting a Michigan Department of Natural Resources-sponsored events. “This is the first year that we are doing an event with Arbor Day,” said Bob Wild, park interpreter. “We usually do events around Earth Day.” The event is part of a new initiative for the Porkies to partner with other entities, including...
BESSEMER — The Bessemer Area Schools Board of Education is asking voters to approve a $6.67 million bond referendum for what officials are calling a “major infrastructure update.” The district is looking to create a more energy-efficient, healthy and safe educational environment at both schools, according to district administrator Mark Johnson. The school board approved a bond referendum request this month and plans to hold two public meetings to discuss the project. The first will be April...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — Changes to the comprehensive plan for zoning ordinances were discussed by the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees’ Monday. Ironwood Township resident Tom Schneller spoke to the board during the public comment portion of the meeting about concerns he has with the rough draft that the township planning commission is working on. “I have read the first 50 or 60 pages, and there are some things that are extremely wrong and that I am extremely concerned with,” Schneller said. H...
HURLEY — Representatives from the Gogebic Taconite company spoke to the Iron County Mining Impact Committee Monday about possible reclamation at the proposed mine near Upson. GTAC president Bill Williams said studies on the proposed mine site would help shape ideas as to what the site could become after the mining process is completed. Williams said former mining areas in Minnesota have been turned into all-terrain vehicle parks after mine sites closed. “Another possible idea that has been mentioned is a shooting range,” Williams said. “Idea...
WAKEFIELD — Regional Hospice’s seventh annual Polar Plunge saw an increase in plungers and donations this year at Saturday’s event in Wakefield. Forty-one brave souls plunged into the cold waters of Sunday Lake, including two entries in the scaredy-cat category, which requires participants to only go in up to their knees. “We broke the record for jumpers,” said Mary Oberto, of Regional Hospice in Bessemer. “We had 41, the most we’ve ever had.” Oberto organized the event with Kathy Maki of R...
HURLEY — The Hurley Lions Club held an annual pancake breakfast Sunday at the Liberty Bell in support of the Hurley K-12 School’s participation in a summer youth camp program. Club treasurer Bob Traczyk said the fundraiser, held each year on Palm Sunday, raises money that helps students spend a week at the North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters. “We’ve been dedicating these funds to the summer youth camp for around 10 years,” he said. Traczyk said the fundraiser itself has been...
BESSEMER — Many area children delighted in finding candy, quarters and prize tickets inside Easter eggs during an egg hunt in Bessemer Saturday. Kids and their parents from across the Gogebic Range attended the free event hosted by the Bessemer Chamber of Commerce at Washington Elementary School in Bessemer. Attendees lined up by age before entering the main floor to search for 1,424 eggs hidden in the hallways, stairwells and around the gymnasium and stage. Each hunter was allowed to collect 10 eggs, and after every child had their eggs, e...
