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  • County Board puts brakes on 911 surcharge increase

    Larry Holcombe|Apr 23, 2015

    BESSEMER - The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners tabled a request Wednesday by the 911 Committee to increase the monthly surcharge on phone lines. Emergency Services Director Jim Loeper presented the committee's request of increasing the monthly surcharge from $1 to $1.30. Loeper said the money is needed as the cost of equipment, salaries and insurance continue to increase. Loeper said the county's 911 annual budget of $299,000 is supported by the surcharge on phone lines and cell phone...

  • Annual turkey feed helps fund fire deparment

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 2, 2015

    KIMBALL, Wis. — It was turkey with all the fixings all Sunday afternoon at the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department’s 33rd annual Turkey Dinner fundraiser. Fire Chief John Smith called the turn out “very good” with a mid-afternoon rush that pushed the number of diners to more than 800 by 3 p.m. More were expected before closing at 5. The money raised each year helps the department with purchasing all sorts of equipment and training, Smith said. “We buy gear, hoses, all sorts of things. It helps take the pressure off the town’s budget. We’re able...

  • WINTER CLEAN UP

    Larry Holcombe|Feb 3, 2015

  • ICHD aims to promote health at Hurley School

    Larry Holcombe|Jun 11, 2014

    HURLEY - Besides cleaning out the desk and helping the teacher tidy up the stacks of books, what better thing to do on the last day of school than learn about healthy things to do this summer? At least that's how Zona Wick, of the Iron County Health Department, saw it as she marshaled the ICHD's annual health fair at the Hurley School on a sunny Tuesday morning. "Goal of the day was to promote health," Wick said. "We're trying to instill good, healthy habits in these kids, so they realize good,...

  • Ironwood City Commission approves funding for US 2 project

    Larry Holcombe|May 13, 2014

    IRONWOOD - With a May 19 start date set for the beginning of a two-year U.S. 2 reconstruction project in Ironwood, the city commission approved the project's funding at its meeting Monday evening. Both years, or phases, of the U.S. 2 project, are part of a larger Phase III water and sewer project. Phase III also includes water and sewer work in part of the neighborhood north of U.S. 2 and west of Lake Road, and some work in Norrie Location. The commission passed ordinances to call for the sale...

  • Chippewa Valley Bank has new office in Hurley

    Larry Holcombe|Apr 9, 2014

    HURLEY - Chippewa Valley Bank officials are calling their new office in Hurley "lucky No. 13." "We're really excited to be here. Small towns are what we're all about," said CVB board member Randy Somerville, who attended a ribbon cutting at the new bank office on U.S. 51 near 10th Avenue in Hurley Tuesday morning. "We understand the challenges and difficulties that small towns encounter and the seasonality and nature of the local businesses," Somerville said. Chippewa Valley vice president, and...

  • Girl Scouts active in community goodwill projects

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 10, 2014

    For more than 100 years, the Girl Scouts have been working on their mission of building girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout Troop 102 years ago this Wednesday, on March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Ga. The Girl Scouts are an American institution, chartered by Congress in March of 1950, and are still growing strong, according to the organization's website, girlscouts.org. Today, there are 3.2 million Girl...

  • Boy Scouts of America celebrates 104th birthday

    Larry Holcombe|Feb 10, 2014

    In a scene worthy of an episode of Downton Abbey, William Boyce, an American visiting London in the early 20th century, got lost in the thick London fog. A scout helped Boyce find his way, but refused a tip, saying it was his duty to be helpful. Boyce was so impressed he wanted to begin a similar scouting program in the states. He spoke to the founder of the British scouts, Robert Baden-Powell, a nobleman himself, about the fine character of the young scouts he had encountered. Back in America,...

  • Cannon seeks congressional seat in Michigan's 1st District

    Larry Holcombe|Jan 15, 2014

    IRONWOOD - Retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Cannon is looking to extend a career dedicated to public service by being elected to Congress in 2014. Cannon, D-Fife Lake, a former Guantanamo Bay commander, announced his candidacy last August to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, in Michigan's First Congressional District. The Vietnam veteran and former Kalkaska County Sheriff, is touring the Upper Peninsula this week to "listen and talk with as many people as possible," he told the Daily Globe...

  • Brand new addition, family welcomes first baby of new year

    Larry Holcombe|Jan 7, 2014

    IRONWOOD - The first flower of 2014 bloomed in the wee hours of Jan. 2. Sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, a bundle of joy, according to the new parents, Ron and Aubre Hoeft, of Ironwood. Iris Lillian Hoeft was born at 1:26 a.m. on Jan. 2, making her the first baby born at Aspirus Grand View Hospital in 2014. "She's just perfect," said Aubre. "She has her days and nights mixed up a bit, but she's great." "She's great, everything's great," said Ron. "Everything is different. There's a whole new...

  • Festivale Italiano fills Hurley with music, food

    Cortney Ofstad and Larry Holcombe|Sep 3, 2013

    HURLEY — Hundreds of people celebrated their Italian heritage, or pretended to be Italian for a day, during the annual Festivale Italiano in downtown Hurley Saturday. Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce director Dorrene O’Donnell said the event was “humbling” in terms of community support. “It is just nice to see,” O’Donnell said. “To have this many people show up for a community event is wonderful.” Attendees dined on authentic Italian foods, including spaghetti, raviolis, gnocchis and other dishes...

  • Resident volunteers time to clean up city property

    Larry Holcombe|Aug 27, 2013

    WAKEFIELD — Wakefield resident Scott Favero received permission from the Wakefield City Council Monday evening to clean up an eye-sore on city property. Favero plans to remove some old storage tanks and a few hundred tires from a spot along a an old railroad grade that is now a trail. The spot is about 500 feet east of Sunday Lake Street, south of Nunnemacher Street. Favero will do the work for free, but plans to scrap the metal and tires for profit. “He hopes to send some money back our way...

  • Rising water levels force bridge on M-28 to close

    Larry Holcombe and Jan Tucker|Apr 30, 2013

    EWEN — The Michigan Department of Transportation closed the bridge on M-28 over the South Branch of the Ontonagon River just east of Ewen Monday at 2 p.m. At 3:30, the water was still rising according to Ontonagon County Road Commission officials, but the water was not over the road. Truck traffic was being detoured on M-64, M-38 and U.S. 45. Lighter traffic was rerouted to a bridge just south of M-28, adding a 3.5 mile detour, according to Jerry Mattson of the OCRC. Mattson, one of many OCRC w...

  • 'Suspicious' backpack prompts downtown Hurley evacuation

    Larry Holcombe|Apr 15, 2013

    HURLEY — A backpack left near the front door of Gogebic Taconite’s office in downtown Hurley led to the evacuation of the area for more than six hours Saturday until a bomb squad declared there was no threat. Gogebic Taconite personnel located the backpack near the front door of their office at 402 Silver St. Saturday morning and reported it as a “suspicious item” to police at about 10 a.m., according to Hurley Police Chief Dan Erspamer. Police cordoned off a four-square block area of downtow...

  • The hills are alive

    Larry Holcombe|Apr 8, 2013

    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...

  • Open for business

    Larry Holcombe|Apr 6, 2013

    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...

  • Bessemer school board seeks bond referendum

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 27, 2013

    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...

  • Piano concert to benefit Hurley Education Foundation Wednesday

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 19, 2013

    HURLEY — Alex Marciniak will present a piano concert to benefit the Hurley Education Foundation Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in the Hurley K-12 School auditorium. The concert will include the Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach, 30 variations on an aria theme in G Major. While Marciniak, a instructor of speech, music and other fine arts at Gogebic Community College, has performed many of the variations in concert before, this is the first time he has presented the entire work. “It’s very beaut...

  • Lac Vieux Desert Tribe donates 2 percent funds

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 16, 2013

    WATERSMEET — The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe presented its semi-annual revenue sharing funds to Watersmeet Township and Watersmeet Township School officials Friday afternoon at the casino. The funds, also known as 2 percent funds, are presented to local units of government twice a year as part of 1994 compact with the state, according to tribal board vice chair and 2 percent committee member Joette Pete-Baldwin. On Friday, the township received a check for $158,235. The school’s check was for $22,500. According to Pete-Baldwin, any group, thr...

  • Benishek visits GCC campus, looks forward to second term

    Larry Holcombe|Mar 12, 2013

    IRONWOOD — U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, is looking forward to his second term in Congress, despite a rocky start with the uncertainty surrounding federal budget cuts and a looming government shutdown. “I don’t really see this as a Democrat or Republican thing,” Benishek told the Daily Globe in an interview Monday afternoon. “The House has voted on a few things, but the Senate hasn’t passed a budget in four years. That’s no way to plan anything. We’re governing from crisis to crisi...