Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 393
BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Wednesday agreed to place 12 foreclosed parcels up for sale, exerxising its right to the properties. County treasurer Sue Pertile said people are interested in purchasing four of the lots. All 12 of the lots are vacant. Five of the parcels are in Bessemer Township and seven are in Ironwood Township. Pertile said the parcels are offered to neighboring landowners for the price of back taxes and recording fees. “The county will only acquire and transfer to the Land Bank those parcels that the...
HURLEY - A Saxon, Wis., man has been charged with murder and arson in the March 12 fire that destroyed the Bear Trap Inn in Saxon, resulting in the death of Lisa Waldros. Donald Rick, 44, who resided on Church Street at the time of the fire, is scheduled to appear in Iron County Court on the charges next Monday at 1:45 p.m. He told investigators that he stabbed Waldros in burglarizing the tavern, then burned the building in an attempt to make it look like she had died in the fire. According to t...
SAXON, Wis. - Fishermen participating in the 25th annual Saxon Harbor Spring Classic fishing contest sailed into the harbor on Sunday just before yet another lightning storm struck the area. The coolers of fish were quickly measured and weighed under a tent near the boat landing by 2 p.m. Then the competitors from 32 boats and spectators scrambled to get out of the rain from the storm, while the results were being tabulated. Skin Deep, skippered by Dan (Jumbo) Talkowski, Ironwood, won first...
SAXON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' brown trout stocking program shifted to Saxon Harbor on Thursday. Trucks from the DNR's Brule Fish Hatchery arrived around noon with 25,000 browns that were released into the harbor and Lake Superior. That was good news because some area fishermen feared the brown trout stocking effort would be suspended at the harbor. Bill Gobin and Gervase Thompson stocked 6-inch fish from a truck with a tube near the main boat landing, while other...
BESSEMER - The Gogebic Conservation District is gathering landowner information on an effort to eradicate knotweed, an invasive plant species that can penetrate house walls and floors. Jim Finley, district administrator, said the GCD was awarded a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to fight knotweed in the western Upper Peninsula. In seeking information for the effort, Finley has mailed letters to those who may have knotweed infestations. The GSD and U.S. Forest Service spen...
HURLEY - Hurley kicked off its Memorial Day Weekend All-Terrain Vehicle Rally with a 45-minute parade of hundreds of machines in light rain Friday evening. It didn't matter much to the ATV and side-by-side riders, many of whom were soaked in mud from trail riding earlier in the day. Hurley Police Chief Dan Erspamer led the parade down Silver Street for the final time, as he's retiring this summer. The covered side-by-side vehicles probably outnumbered the traditional ATVs on the parade route, wh...
Students aboard a bus from Rhinelander, Wis., waited out rainfall and heavy fog Thursday morning in a visit to Saxon Harbor as the Gogebic Range continued to get battered by thunderstorms. The students were treated to lightning flashes through the fog and a muddy Lake Superior as they got a lesson in northern Wisconsin weather. The sky brightened later in the day, but not before dumping additional rainfall across the area. The Ironwood weather station off Cloverland Drive recorded 1.6 inches of...
BESSEMER— The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Wednesday set the 2016 county millage rate at .00668, the same as in 2015, but it will result in $44,100 more being collected in taxes. A total of $3,401,704 will be collected in taxes, up $44,100 from 2015, according to a report from Gogebic County Equalization Director Tom Novascone. The reason more money will be collected is because the taxable value of the county has increased from $502,635,304 to $509,237,147. In setting the millage, the county board did not need to hold a truth n t...
IRONWOOD - The city of Ironwood's water system received a "good report card" in recent state testing, according to city manager Scott Erickson. Following the water crisis in Flint, Ironwood was the only Upper Peninsula community chosen for water testing by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the state, Erickson told city commissioners on Monday. Erickson praised city utilities director Bob Tervonen and water plant operator Jim Ansami for the favorable results. The city has been...
IRONWOOD - Thunder and flashing lights occurred both inside and outside the Gogebic Community College Lindquist Center gymnasium at Friday's graduation ceremonies. The inside stuff was flashing light bulbs from cameras, while the outside thunder and light show came from Mother Nature. GCC president James Lorenson was nearly drowned out by the thunder as he began to introduce the 82nd GCC commencement speaker, Dr. Randy Smith, president of the Rural Community College Alliance. Smith, from...
WAKEFIELD - "Go jump in a lake" is a command that was followed by about 50 people who participated in the 10th annual Regional Hospice Polar Plunge on Saturday. On a sunny afternoon with temperatures around 32, hundreds of spectators watched as young and old participants dove into frigid Sunday Lake for a worthy cause, namely to raise money for end of life services. Announcer John Oberto, of Iron Belt, Wis., said 40 people signed up for the event and another 10 showed up on Saturday afternoon....
The steady stream of pickup trucks towing boats to Saxon Harbor on Friday along Wisconsin 122 was a sign spring has arrived early on the Gogebic Range. On the calendar, there's officially another week of winter left, but it seemed like mid-spring on Friday as temperatures reached the upper 50s. There's still some ice in the harbor and the main boat landing was closed by the Iron County Forestry Department because ice is undermining the wooden dock there. The other boat landing at the end of the...
IRONWOOD - The city of Ironwood has finally found a suitor to occupy the industrial park speculation building that was constructed in 2003. On Monday, the city commission will consider selling the building and lots to Scandinavian Log Homes, now located off U.S. 2 in Kimball, Wis. According to a letter from Ironwood Community Development Director Michael Brown to the commission, the company would purchase the building and lot, plus an adjacent lot, for $100,000. The company would bring up to 10... Full story
HURLEY — A total of 91 students in the Hurley School District have unmet dental needs, according to Dr. Erin Cutler, who has been working with the school the past three years. She met with the Hurley School Board Monday to discuss how to get more children dental help. Through the Northlakes Dental Clinic out of Ashland, hygienists come into the Hurley K-12 school and screen children three times a year through a federal grant. When it’s determined the children have cavities, or other problems with their teeth, notes are sent home to the par... Full story
BESSEMER — In his final appearance before the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, county prosecutor Richard Adams offered a solution to a pension liability problem. Gogebic County was the fiscal agent for the Western Upper Peninsula Manpower Consortium, which was also made up of five other counties. For 40 years, the consortium served the six counties, but it was disbanded and a new consortium was formed that now serves the entire U.P. Now, the WUP Manpower Consortium pension fund is underfunded by $411,000. The pension plan h... Full story
HURLEY — Residents of the city of Hurley recently received letters that their drinking water contains contaminants that violate state and federal regulations and may be cancer-causing if consumed over many years. The levels of Tribalomethanes and Haloacetic acids in the Hurley water system are exceeding standards, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The samples were taken on Aug. 24. The letter to city residents said they do not need to drink only bottled water, unless they have specific health concerns identified by doc... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley City Council agreed Tuesday to seek a grant that would assist in re-opening the former Super One grocery store off Tenth Avenue. Kendall Building, of Menominee, the developer of the project, would lease the building to Silver Lining, of Houghton. The project developers plan on investing about $2.5 million in the store project, with a June 1 completion date specified in the development agreement. The city of Hurley will apply for a $250,000 Community Development Investment Grant thro... Full story
September traffic deaths in Wisconsin were up by 17 over a year ago, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Last month, 63 people died in traffic crashes. That was seven more deaths than the five-year average for the month of September, according to preliminary statistics from WDOT. As of Sept. 30, a total of 424 people had died in Wisconsin traffic crashes this year, including 68 motorcycle operators, two motorcycle passengers, 40 pedestrians and 13 bicyclists. Traffic deaths through September were 60 more than the same... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Nancy Korpela has been appointed to the Ironwood Planning Commission. Mayor Kim Corcoran made the appointment last week. During the meeting, Korpela discussed how she has opened a business incubator downtown at 320 E. Aurora St. Called 906Boom!, Korpela purchased the old Elks Club, more recently known as the Tori House, as a MakerSpace. She describes it as a place “where people can come together to create, invent, tinker and learn with all sorts of materials, equipment and tools.” There... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — A Wednesday, Oct. 14 meeting has been scheduled on the new assessor’s plat of Aurora Location parcels. Developing the plat was approved by the Ironwood City Commission. City manager Scott Erickson said Monday the public informational meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Memorial Building. There are a total of 29 property owners who must pay for their share of the costs of the plat over a five-year period, or all at once. People living within the Aurora Land Association will now own the parcel... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The vehicle weight restriction ordinance adopted by the Ironwood City Commission on Monday sets a 30,000-pound limit. While the ordinance was designed to keep big trucks rigs off McLeod Avenue and Ayer Street, that doesn’t mean vehicles with heavier loads can’t use those streets. Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Andrew DiGiorgio noted vehicles doing business along those streets, but exceeding the weight limits, will be allowed to make routine deliveries, taking the most direc... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — On a split vote, the Ironwood City Commission approved an ordinance Monday designed to keep heavy truck traffic off McLeod Avenue and Ayer Street. The ordinance passed on 3-1 vote, with commissioner David Sim opposed and Rick Semo absent. It was supported by Mayor Kim Corcoran and commissioners Brandon Tauer and Joseph Cayer Jr. The ordinance was opposed by several business owners and the Ironwood Industrial Development Corporation. Keith Johnson, president of the IIDC, said both McLeod a... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The boat ramp at Black River Harbor will be closed from Oct. 5 to Nov. 13, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners learned on Wednesday. Ottawa National Forest District Ranger Norman Nass updated the board on construction plans at the harbor. Work will begin on the retaining wall on the north bank of the river, immediately downstream from the suspension bridge. The retaining wall maintains a stable river bank, which supports a segment of the Lake Superior beach access trail. Nass said r... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] August in Ironwood was a month of extremes, with very hot weather around mid-month followed by cool temperatures in the fourth week. Kevin Crupi, of the National Weather Service office in Marquette, noted since the extremes balanced out, the average temperature in Ironwood for August of 63.2 degrees was about one degree below the long-term norm. In the Aug. 23-27 period, mean daily temperatures fell as low as 10 to 15 degrees below normal. High temperat... Full story
HURLEY — An Ironwood man entered a not guilty plea to a possession of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, citation Monday in Iron County Court, when a seven-year-old charge resurfaced. Leland Ojaniemi, 58, was cited by Iron County Sheriff’s Department deputy Jason Geach on Sept. 6. An initial adjourned court appearance was set for Oct. 12, when Ojaniemi faces a $263 forfeiture for the citation. Ojaniemi, who was represented Monday in court by attorney Patrick Boerboon, also faces a worthless check charge dating to April 30, 2008, acc... Full story
