Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 393
It’s hard to believe the longest day of the year has already come and gone on the Gogebic Range, as Friday marked the summer solstice. At 1:04 a.m. Friday, the summer solstice arrived, marking the astronomical start of summer. Now area residents are seeking some extended sunshine, like the bright skies of Monday, to dry up last week’s rainfall. The Farmers Almanac predicts an “oppressively hot” July for the Midwest and other areas of the country, but not as bad as in the last two years. The 197-year-old publication also predicts normal amounts...
HURLEY — A felony robbery count and three misdemeanor charges were filed in Iron County Court Friday against a Stevens Point woman in a June 11 heated confrontation at the site of a proposed iron mine. Katie Kloth, 26, is alleged to have committed the crimes near the site of the mine in the town of Anderson, near Upson, during a protest demonstration. The criminal complaint filed by Iron County District Attorney Marty Lipske charges that Kloth used force to grab and destroy a camera, wrestling it away from a Gogebic-Taconite employee, who s...
IRONWOOD — The bike ride Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley participated in on Tuesday in Ironwood was only a drop in the bucket compared to the one he plans for the future. Calley and his son, Collin, 9, participated in a mile-long bike ride from Jacquart Fabric Products in the city’s industrial park to the downtown Depot, which will mark the trailhead for a statewide non-motorized trail. The mile ride is a tiny part of the trail that’s in the works. “This is the beginning of a vision to connect al...
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has denied an appeal from the Bad River Band to stop exploratory drilling near Upson. Late last week, DNR waste management director Ann Coakley said the drilling will continue. The Bad River Band of Indians contended the impact of drilling was not fully considered during the 10 days the DNR had to decide on whether or not to allow Gogebic Taconite to drill. Coakley said G-TAc met all of the requirements of the law for exploration and there was nothing in the letter from the tribe to...
MONTREAL, Wis. — John Lauzon’s Hobbit House is a work in progress. The resident of 82 Minnesota Ave. in Montreal is an ardent woodcarver, so when a spruce tree in his front yard became potentially dangerous to his house, he hatched the idea of carving a Hobbit haven. “I hated to cut it down and waste wood,” he said. Lauzon claims Hobbits had been hiding under the deck of his house and they needed a place to stay, so he began carving out the tree as a shelter for the little creatures. That re...
LANSING — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday requested President Barack Obama declare a major disaster for the state as a result of severe flooding that occurred in 16 counties, including Gogebic and Ontonagon, from April 16 to May 14. Gogebic County officials estimated damages across the county at around $2.6 million, with most of the costs related to road repairs. Gogebic County Emergency Management Director James Loeper told the Ironwood City Commission at its last meeting that the statewide...
IRONWOOD — A crew of about 10 people braved 50-degree, rainy weather to advance the brick-laying project at the Ironwood Depot on Wednesday afternoon. With 7,800 bricks to place along the sidewalk, it was no small task. Around 600 of the bricks are engraved with names of families and special designations. Those bricks cost $100 apiece. They are being placed under shelter at the depot, with protection from the rain. “We’re also replacing some bricks that are 25 years old and falling apart...
SAXON, Wis. — Fishermen braved some rough seas both Saturday and Sunday to participate in the annual Saxon Harbor Boating Club Spring Fishing Contest. There was heavy fog on Saturday and even snow near Outer Island as the thermometer plunged to the upper 30s. Sunday’s competition began two hours after the scheduled 6 a.m. starting horn as Lake Superior waves dashed too high early for safe boating. The lake calmed down on Sunday to provide some smoother conditions. The How-ie Fish won the Cla...
WAKEFIELD — Wakefield-Marenisco senior class president Bethany Engel on Friday recalled good times and not so good times of the graduating class of 2013. There was the day in grade school when an impromptu hockey game broke out and classmate Aaron Fetters was hospitalized after being hit in the face with a makeshift hockey stick. That obviously wasn’t one of the good days. She also remembered all of the hard work that teachers put in to prepare the students for the world away from school. Tho...
IRONWOOD — Although monsoon season continued in Ironwood on Wednesday, at least the rain was slacking off a bit. Ironwood recorded .39 inch of rain for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Wednesday. That brought the total precipitation for May to 6.76 inches, most of it in the past week. Ironwood’s 100-year record for total May precipitation is 7.18 inches, set in 1942, according to National Weather Service statistics. Rain fell for the fifth straight day as creeks and rivers continued to flood and mos...
LITTLE GIRL’S POINT — An elderly couple luckily escaped injury when a sinkhole broke open on County 505 (Lake Road) under their vehicle around noon Tuesday. The collapse of the county road was the result of more than 5 inches of rain in less than three days. Gogebic County Road Commission Engineer Darren Pionk said there had been quite a bit of damage from flooding throughout the county and he had been in contact with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials about getting funding ass...
HURLEY — Bond was continued at $10,000 cash Monday in Iron County Court for a Kimball, Wis., resident who’s alleged to have threatened to blow up the courthouse. Robert (Barrel Bob) Gollubske, 75, appeared for his continued initial appearance with attorney Peter Bear, who asked that a signature bond be set. Gollubske is charged with a felony bomb threat. Bear said Gollubske has lived in Iron County for 18 years and he doesn’t pose a flight risk and is not a public safety threat, since all of hi...
UPSON, Wis. — Gogebic Taconite plans to drill 13 test holes at its proposed Upson area mine site, where hundreds of core samples were removed in the past, according to an application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The company is seeking to develop a mine in Iron and Ashland counties and the exploration license request by the WDNR submitted Thursday must be acted on in 10 business days under a mining law. Most of the surface and mineral rights for the land containing the d...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission Monday took no action on a planning commission hot potato recommendation to reject rezoning for property owned by George Dalbeck. Dalbeck is seeking rezoning from residential-1 to residential-3 for land at 207 Bonnie Road to allow for construction of a shop/barn to work on logging equipment and house a few horses. The surrounding properties are all zoned R-1 and after numerous neighbors complained about the proposed rezoning, the planning commission previously rejected it on a 6-0 vote. The city commissio...
HURLEY — The Silver Street bridge was reopened to traffic Thursday afternoon as the water level on the Montreal River dropped substantially during the day. With more than a foot of slushy snow falling on the Ironwood area, Iron County Emergency Management Director Stacy Ofstad said it was still a “wait and see game,” however. Lt. Mike Rimkus of the Ironwood Public Safety Department said the water had gone down quite a bit in the east branch of the river at the Silver Street bridge. A bridg...
IRONWOOD — Can the weather get any worse? The Ironwood area was under both winter storm and flooding advisories Wednesday from the National Weaether Service office in Marquette. Both the Silver and Poplar Street border bridges on the Montreal River were closed to traffic Wednesday because of rising water levels as crews piled sandbags to protect businesses. Sandbags piled four high were stacked up in case the river washed over the bridge on Silver Street. As of Wednesday afternoon, the river h...
IRONWOOD — A portion of Norrie Park Road washed out on Monday evening as snowmelt continued to flood some Gogebic County roadways. The wash-out was near South Davis Road, according to an Ironwood Public Safety Department report. Norrie Park Road had been closed earlier because of standing water as snow in the swamps from the winter season’s 208-inch accumulation melted and covered the roadway. IPSD officers continued to monitor levels of the Montreal River near Norrie Park. The river app...
LITTLE GIRL’S POINT — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has agreed to provide $20,000 for Gogebic County to continue dredging operations at Oman’s Creek this year, resolving a few years of negotiations. As a result, the Gogebic County Forestry and Parks Commission is seeking bids on dredging the boat access site at Little Girl’s Point. The site is owned by the state of Michigan and has historically been operated by the MDNR. The creek mouth often closes with strong north winds....
IRONWOOD — The 9.3 inches of wet snow that fell Monday night and early Tuesday on Ironwood pushed April’s total to a record in a winter that won’t end. The snowfall that was recorded to 7 a.m. Tuesday at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant brought the month’s total to 44 inches, eclipsing the previous 100-year April mark of 43 inches set in 1928. More snow arrived after 7 a.m. The season’s total for Ironwood stood at 207.7 inches and the on the ground total increased to 21 inches. A...
There’s a hint of spring in the forecast, just not early in the week. The National Weather Service was predicting an 80 percent chance of up to 11 inches of snow today, with a high of only 37. Warmer weather’s predicted for Friday, with a high of around 50, and Sunday’s high will be around 66, with a chance of thunderstorms. The following Monday’s high is forecast to dip to 46, however. Recreational trolling boats were able to get out onto Lake Superior out of Saxon Harbor over the weekend...
IRONWOOD — Blizzard-like conditions dumped more than 17 inches of snow across the Gogebic Range Thursday and Friday and it continued to snow heavily into the night. Winds up to 40 mph whipped around the snow and created white-outs, making driving nearly impossible. A total of 7 inches of snow fell for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Friday in Ironwood and it snowed much more after that, sending the seasonal snow total near the 200-inch mark. As of 7 a.m. Friday, it stood at 189.7 inches. Gogebic R...
LANSING — The city of Ironwood has been named an award winner for its downtown revitalization efforts. The Michigan Municipal League’s Region 7 Community Excellence Award was presented to the city last week at the MML’s conference in Lansing. The region includes all communities in the Upper Peninsula. Ironwood now goes on to compete against the other six regional Michigan winners for the statewide Community Excellence Award at the MML’s annual convention Sept. 17-20 in Detroit. “We’re...
IRONWOOD — The gradual snowmelt on the Gogebic Range may be interrupted by heavy snow tonight and Saturday. The National Weather Service is predicting an 80 percent chance of wet, heavy snow, possibly mixed with rain, from tonight through Saturday evening. Accumulations of around 6 inches are forecast in a swath from Ironwood to Ontonagon. Hazardous driving conditions may result, as roadways will become extremely slippery. Temperatures between 28 and 39 degrees are predicted during the period of...
IRONWOOD — Property acquisitions will be minimal for Ironwood’s 2014-’15 U.S. 2 (Cloverland Drive) reconstruction project, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Mike Premo, of MDOT’s Crystal Falls office, told a gathering of about 75 people at a Thursday public meeting in Ironwood that two chief areas where property purchases will be required are the two intersections where a fifth lane of traffic will be added. The extra lanes at the Douglas Boulevard (Business U.S. 2) and Lake Street intersections will be used for left-ha...
IRONWOOD — Michigan Department of Transportation and city of Ironwood officials Thursday heard passioned pleas for new sidewalks on both sides of U.S. 2 during highway reconstruction in 2014-’15. While there was some criticism of rerouting of traffic through Hurley during the 2014 construction at the public hearing at the Memorial Building, the sidewalk issue was equally as controversial. The DOT plan is to have a sidewalk extending the full two miles on the north side of the highway, but not on...
