Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 326 - 350 of 393
BESSEMER — An effort to recall Bessemer School Board member Bill McDonald sustained a setback Tuesday when the Gogebic County Election Commission rejected wording on a petition seeking a vote on the issue. The woman who is attempting to recall McDonald, fellow school board member Sheri Graham, said she would seek to file another petition to recall McDonald, omitting language the panel found objectionable. All three members of the election commission — probate judge Joel Massie, county clerk Ger... Full story
Reading the story this week about a border collie that was stuck in a tree for a few days brought back fond memories of my pooches. It seems Laddy, a 7-year-old, vanished from his home in Iowa. The clever pooch made a break for it when he discovered the battery in his collar was dead, so the electronic boundary his masters had designed didn’t work. The family desperately searched for the dog, found two days later 10 feet up in a tree by a neighbor, who heard Laddy barking. He took a photo of the... Full story
IRONWOOD — Ironwood City Manager Scott Erickson will check out the cost of the city constructing a sidewalk on the south side of U.S. 2 in the 2014-15 highway reconstruction project. The sidewalk along the entire north side of the highway will be replaced in the Michigan Department of Transportation project, but the city commission must decide if a sidewalk should also be placed on the south side at the city’s expense. Erickson told the city commission Monday a south sidewalk could only ext... Full story
The three municipalities involved in a $1,160,000 improvement project at Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant in Ironwood approved bonding for the work this week. The city of Ironwood and Ironwood Township approved bond documents on Monday and the city of Hurley approved the borrowing on Tuesday. The three communities will borrow $465,000 through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in a 2 percent loan to help pay for the project. The remaining money will come from the... Full story
IRONWOOD — A blighted structure has been boarded up to be demolished and another house is scheduled to be leveled, the Ironwood City Commission learned Monday. An eyesore at 213 Bonnie St. that was condemned by the city has been taped off and the city will seek bids from contractors to get it torn down. City officials have been working for the past three years to raze the structure at 213 Bonnie owned by John Harteloo. The commission condemned the property on Feb. 11 and gave Harteloo until A... Full story
SAXON, Wis. — Arnold Kero, of Saxon, was 7 years old in September of 1944 when he arrived home from school to hear the worst news any kid could imagine. His father, Emil, was plowing a clearing that has since grown over with trees at the Kero homestead on Niemi Road, near the Saxon Flowage. Emil Kero got down off the tractor and told Arnie his older brother, William, 23, was one of 48 American soldiers who had been killed while fighting the Germans over control of bridges in Holland. The f... Full story
SAXON, Wis. — The Iron County Fair kicked off under blue skies and ideal temperatures Friday as a weekend of family fun began. There won’t be any dust for this year’s fair, as the quarter inch of rain that fell Thursday night added to the summer’s precipitation total. The grounds were in good shape, despite the recent rain. Swine and sheep judging took place Friday morning and a hog named Bruno that was named grand champion later tried to eat the decorations in his stall, using a pen-mate for le... Full story
IRONWOOD — Preparations for the Aug. 8-10 Gogebic County Fair are again getting a boost this year through the juvenile court system. The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners learned Wednesday that some youngsters who have been sentenced to community service are assisting in painting and other tasks to prepare for the 92nd annual county fair. Chad Novascone is supervising the community service project for the second consecutive year. Commissioners expressed appreciation for the help from the youngsters and the numerous other volunteers who a... Full story
BESSEMER — Two sons of an elderly Ironwood couple who lost a parcel of land containing a camp because they didn’t pay taxes approached the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners with complaints Wednesday. The property will go up for auction at a sale of tax-reverted parcels on Aug. 3 in Watersmeet. “It’s out of our hands,” county board chairman Dan Siirila, of Ironwood, said. Richard and Tom Pallin said their mother had offered to pay the 2010 taxes with a personal check, but the county wouldn’t accept it. They said their elderly parents were ov... Full story
BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday backed a more southern route for Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed statewide bicycle trail. Instead of supporting Snyder’s northern route that would follow Lake Superior and mirror the North Country Trail, the board suggested a route that would locally extend from Ironwood to Watersmeet, along a trail that already exists. Barb Kramer, a Dickinson County commissioner, spoke to the board, supporting a southern route that would go through her county. When Gogebic County commi... Full story
HURLEY — The attorney for a Kimball, Wis., resident who is accused of threatening to blow up the Iron County Courthouse in Hurley filed a request for a substitution of judges Monday. Robert (Barrel Bob) Gollubske, 76, is being represented by Peter Bear, of Madison, who requested a substitution for Iron County Judge Patrick Madden. On Tuesday, the application for a new judge was approved, according to court records. Bear told the Daily Globe that attorney Jeff Scott Olson, of Madison, has also entered the case on Gollubske’s behalf. Gol... Full story
IRONWOOD — Ironwood residents will likely vote in November on a special 10-year, $2 million millage to fund street improvements. The city commission voted 5-0 on Monday to approve referendum language seeking to authorize levying two mills per year for street projects. The ballot language now goes to Gogebic County Clerk Gerry Pelissero for approval. The proposal needed to be submitted to the county clerk's office by Aug. 27. City manager Scott Erickson said not every street that needs work would be repaired under the special millage, but s... Full story
A group calling itself the Penokee Defenders has set up a fund to support its Website and provide a legal defense fund for Katie (Krow) Kloth, of Stevens Point, who is charged in connection with a protest at the planned Gogebic-Taconite mine. A $5,000 signature bond was set in Iron County Court Monday for Kloth, 26, who faces charges related to a heated June 11 confrontation at the site of the proposed iron mine near Upson. Kloth is charged with felony robbery and three misdemeanors related to the disturbance with G-Tac employees. The criminal... Full story
IRONWOOD — The cause of a Tuesday night fire that destroyed an unoccupied house in Ironwood is under investigation. Ironwood Public Safety Department fire officer Brandon Snyder is in charge of the investigation of the fire on Scott Street, near the Montreal River, about two blocks from the Knights of Columbus hall. Around 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, a neighbor, Keith Lehto, reported seeing sparks coming from the house next to his. According to an IPSD report, no one was living in the house that is a... Full story
HURLEY — A $5,000 signature bond was set in Iron County Court Monday for a 26-year-old Stevens Point woman who faces charges related to a heated confrontation at the site of a proposed iron mine. Katie Kloth, 26, is charged with felony robbery and three misdemeanors related to a June 11 disturbance with Gogebic-Taconite employees at the site of mine drilling in the town of Anderson, near Upson. Kloth, wearing a “Save the Penokees” shirt, appeared with her attorney, John Bachman, of Eau Clair... Full story
IRONWOOD — Ironwood is seeking funding for the massive 2014-’15 U.S. 2 reconstruction project and city officials hope a recent visit by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley will help the effort. A letter to Calley addressed by Mayor Kim Corcoran and the city commission on June 25 notes most grants available through the state focus on downtowns and the city has been informed its U.S. 2 corridor is not grant-eligible. Calley visited the city recently as part of a Pure Michigan campaign emphasizing tourism. The letter notes Ironwood officials have been wor... Full story
Iron County’s unemployment rate improved by 2.5 percent in May, but the 11.5 percent figure was still the second worst in the state. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced the May job rates late last week. In April, Iron County’s jobless rate stood at 14 percent and it was 11 percent a year ago. The monthly release from the DWD did not state the reason for the improvement in the job picture throughout the state, but summer hiring and numerous construction projects likely brought in more jobs. The DWD said in 2012, Wis... Full story
IRONWOOD — The warm days, cool nights recent weather trend is expected to continue through the Fourth of July and a few days after, according to the National Weather Service in Marquette. There’s little chance of precipitation in the immediate forecast, with a 20 percent probability of a thunderstorm on Thursday, so there shouldn’t be any rain on area parades. Sunday’s forecast is for a 40 percent chance of a thunderstorm, followed by a 60 percent chance on Sunday. The low of 43 degrees for the... Full story
IRONWOOD — There's a tough decision ahead for Michigan legislators on health care, State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, said Friday. Speaking at a town hall meeting at Gogebic Community College, he said a special session of the legislature may be called on the Medicaid expansion bill. “We may go back this summer to vote on it,” he said. State Rep. Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, said he opposes the bill and voted against it in its current form because it would require people making under $15,000 to “pay $1,200 out of their pockets” for health ca... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Gogebic Community College President Jim Lorenson said Friday he has noticed a change in Michigan politics on the western Upper Peninsula level. In the past, he said Michigan politicians often didn't work together. The fact that has changed was evident Friday evening when State Sen. Tom Casperson, a Republican from Escanaba, and State Rep. Scott Dianda, a Democrat from Calumet, held a joint town hall meeting at the GCC Lindquist Center. A... Full story
It’s that special time of year when critters of all types are showing up along and on roadways across the Gogebic Range. Driving past the Hurley K-12 school last Saturday, I noticed a doe about to give birth in the ditch. I didn’t want to startle the animal, so I drove down the road a bit and pulled over, taking a photo from afar. The deer hopped into the heavy woods, a safer place to welcome its fawn into the world. Quite a few fawns were spotted on the Iron County Board’s annual highway tour... Full story
BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners reluctantly agreed to sign an interlocal agreement with the Western Upper Peninsula Alliance Wednesday for workforce development and training programs. Board members have frequently expressed dissatisfaction that the Michigan Works program in the county has been reduced to a single employee, but they felt they had no choice but to sign the agreement. The new WUP alliance, beginning July 1, also includes Baraga, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties. The agreement replaces the W... Full story
IRONWOOD — It’s likely a farmers market will be added to the attractions at Ironwood’s Depot Park, but not anytime soon. City commissioners on Monday discussed the possibility of setting up a market with community development director Michael Brown. “There are lots of opportunities out there,” Brown said of the park, which will serve as a trailhead for a statewide non-motorized trail, as well as a focal point for snowmobilers. Brown said a city resident who moved here from Minnesota, Rich Duncanson, first brought up the possibility of a farm... Full story
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Kiwanis Club has boosted a local group’s efforts to build bicycle trails in the Copper Peak area. The Kiwanis Club Tuesday presented a $1,000 check to Brad Kusz, of Ironwood, trail boss for the Western Michigan Bicycle Club. Kusz said three loops of mountain bike trails are being constructed and the first loop should be completed by the fall. Kiwanis Club member Jim Mildren said the money donated to the club was raised through Go Ride Our Gogebic Range trail rides. The... Full story
IRONWOOD — A traffic order setting up a no-parking zone near the Miners Memorial Mural was approved by the Ironwood City Commission on Monday. Since the mural was painted on the wall of the building last year, it has become a popular downtown attraction, often resulting in dozens of spectators stopping by and taking photos on any given day. The traffic control order states there will be no parking on both the south and north sides of McLeod Avenue, beginning at Suffolk Street and extending 75 f... Full story
