Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 91
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP - An area ski resort looking to grow by adding off-season opportunities held its Lake Superior North Country Adventure Fest this past weekend, drawing dozens of motorized vehicle riders from around the Midwest. "It's mainly a social ride for the most part. There are no races," said Matthew Vaughan, CEO of Big Snow Ski Resort, which includes the hills and trails of Indianhead and Blackjack ski resorts in the Wakefield area. "It's...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] RAMSAY — An effort to reduce the size of the Gogebic Range Water Authority Board ended after opposition from municipality members led to removing the action from consideration at its regular meeting Thursday. The municipalities represented on the water authority include the charter township of Ironwood, and the townships of Bessemer and Wakefield, and the cities of Bessemer and Wakefield. Each municipality has two or three members plus alternates and the Water Authority proposed a five-member b...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] RAMSAY — The Gogebic Range Water Authority board received some good news Thursday regarding highway construction that will require moving of water mains. The water authority engineer, Darren Pionk of C2AE, updated the board on the U.S. 2 reconstruction through Bessemer that will require the water authority to adjust the depth and placement of some water mains in the Marshalek Road area. A virtual meeting with Michigan Department of Transportation engineers addressed major concerns over the l... Full story
MARENISCO - Renewal of a U.S. 2 bridge over the Presque Isle River continues directly east of the M-64 turn-off to the unincorporated area of Marenisco. The project funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation began on June 1, along with a concurrent road project on M-64, south of Marenisco's "downtown" region. Hebert Construction Company, of Iron River, is in charge of the bridge project. "The old one was all broken up," said John Donati, an Hebert employee, on Friday. "The water was... Full story
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] The skiing season ended this past weekend on a busy note, despite recent warnings of coronavirus and various health mandates from state and national officials. Big Snow Resort featured a final day of skiing on Sunday at Indianhead Mountain in Wakefield. The same resort's Blackjack location in Wakefield Township closed on Friday. Whitecap Mountains Resort in Upson, Wis., also had its final day of skiing on Sunday. Big Powderhorn Mountain in Bessemer...
HURLEY, Wis - Joan M. Wesenberg, 87, of Ironwood, Michigan passed away Saturday Feb. 8, 2020, after a lengthy battle with COPD at Villa Maria nursing home with a loving family holding her hand as she took her final breath. Joan was born on Dec. 21, 1932, in Ironwood, the only child of Oden and Esther (Mickelson) Walquist. She attended Roosevelt school and Luther L. Wright High School, graduating with the class of 1951. Joan worked as a secretary for A.R. Munari Insurance Agency until 1955, and... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Area elementary students will soon join siblings and parents and sometimes grandparents in saying they learned to ski on the mild slopes of the conveniently located Mt. Zion. Gogebic Community College has operated a ski instruction program for elementary students ever since the school took over operation of the hill in 1968, said Jim Vander Spoel, director of the Ski Area Management Program and Mt. Zion Operations. Youth ski programs p...
BESSEMER - A snowstorm that lingered through the weekend dropped a solid base on local ski hills, which also were busy with other activities such as live music and the annual Yooperfest at Big Snow Resort's Blackjack location in Bessemer. The annual event on Saturday featured busy slopes outside, as well as an indoor art show. Even the artists addressed the theme, dressing in plaid items and/or displaying Yooper crafts such as woodworking and handmade outerwear. Deb Harvey of Wakefield was...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The fireworks were vivid under star-filled skies and snow covered ski hills and the sounds crackled sharply in the cold air to give crowds of patrons and community a memorial New Year's Eve celebration. It was convenient for people wanting to see more than one display. The torchlight parade and fireworks got underway just before 8 p.m. at Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort. That left enough time to drive over to enjoy another...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] RAMSAY - The Gogebic Range Water Authority welcomed new members, elected board officers and formed the executive committee for 2020 at its meeting Thursday. Three new members were present including Dale White and Dan Brown, at-large members for the city of Wakefield, and Jim Spencer, the at-large member for Wakefield Township. The board approved 8-0 the election of officers. Members Neal Nelson, Adam Zak and James Simmons were not present. The...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] ERWIN TOWNSHIP - This week's storms brought enough snow to the Gogebic Range that local winter sport enthusiasts were able to get out and enjoy some of the area's trails with two weeks of November still on the calendar. Roughly 18 inches of snow fell at ABR Trails in Erwin Township, according to co-owner Angela Santini, which was enough to open 43 kilometers of cross country ski trails on the property Wednesday. The open trails featured a mix of...
HURLEY, Wis. - David Joseph Barbacovi, 57, of Hurley, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at his home. David was born on March 14, 1962, at Divine Infant Hospital in Wakefield, Mich., a son of Ray and Jean (Pancheri) Barbacovi. He lived in Bessemer, Mich., throughout his childhood and later moved to the Ironwood, Mich., and Hurley area. David attended Bessemer area schools and graduated from A.D. Johnston High School with the class of 1980. After graduation he co... Full story
HURLEY, Wis. - David Joseph Barbacovi, 57, of Hurley, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at his home. David was born on March 14, 1962, at Divine Infant Hospital in Wakefield, Mich., a son of Ray and Jean (Pancheri) Barbacovi. He lived in Bessemer, Mich., throughout his childhood and later moved to the Ironwood, Mich., and Hurley area. David attended Bessemer area schools and graduated from A.D. Johnston High School with the class of 1980. After graduation he co... Full story
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Road repairs are progressing in Wakefield Township, but there seems to be no shortage of continuing problems. Township supervisor John Cox made that clear at a Tuesday evening meeting of the township board of trustees. Cox, who is also the board chair, said some projects already have been addressed, such as general patchwork, culvert repair on Blackjack Road, and improvement of the intersection at Chippewa Drive and Planter Road. Meanwhile, he...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] RAMSAY — Recent disruption of garbage pickup to six municipalities has led to the dismissal of two drivers and hiring of their replacements, according to the supervisor’s report of the Bessemer Township Board on Monday. “We have two new hires,” said Jeffery Randall, supervisor of Bessemer Township. “They will be officially sanctioned at a special board meeting Thursday night.” The two former drivers were dismissed from the Gogebic Range Solid Waste Management Authority, the garbage pickup firm...
By BRYAN HELLIOS [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Music lovers from the Midwest flocked for the annual Mountain Top Music Festival held at Indianhead and Blackjack Mountain Big Snow Resorts over the weekend. Festival coordinator Bob Weigandt said he hasn't checked the numbers yet, but believes about 400 people showed up. "When the roof starts vibrating a little bit, that's what I look for," he said as he looked up and watched the ceiling bounce to the beat. Starting as a small festival...
By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Even with below-zero temperatures, the atmosphere in the Wakefield VFW was jumping Saturday morning as the Gogebic Range Trail Authority held its inaugural pancake breakfast for hungry residents and snowmobilers. Cooks Chris Umland and Scott Segel flipped pancakes in the kitchen, along with eggs and sausage as other volunteers took orders and brought plates to customers. Chris and Melissa Umland and vice-president Jerry Nezworski “spearheaded” the event, according to GRTA president Steve...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The 4.5-inch snowfall that fell for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Tuesday in Ironwood has been typical for the month. With more than a week left in November, Ironwood has received 31 inches of snow this month and there was 14 inches on the ground Tuesday at the National Weather Service station site at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Montreal River. Typical monthly snowfall through Nov. 20 is 13.3 inches. Snow continued to...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Historic Ironwood Theatre was the hot place to be Saturday as comedian Charlie Berens performed at a stop on his "Oh My Gosh" tour. Berens, known for his popular "Manitowoc Minute" online series, entertained with his variety show - featuring standup comedy, singing and prerecorded sketches. The "Manitowoc Minute" features Berens putting an exaggerated Wisconsin spin on some of the day's top headlines and topics of interest in roughly...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College Ski Area Management graduate Jake Ingle, who grew up in Appleton, Wis. is home in Petosky from the Republic of Korea, where he was instrumental in the construction and maintenance of the snowboarding half pipe used in the Olympic Games. Ingle said, "GCC has opened almost every door for me. The knowledge gained on my internship at Copper (Mountain, Colo.) built a base in mountain operations and I used that to build...
