Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Area ski resort managers are optimistic that more regional skiers will stay closer to home this season and help boost the struggling pandemic economy in the new year. All the local ski hills and trails plan to be open with adjustments to operations that discourage crowds and lines. Area cross country ski events have gone virtual, were canceled or are still being considered. Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Ironwood Township is p... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - With most cornhole leagues inactive during the coronavirus pandemic, the special events attract many players including the first ever tournament sponsored by Whitecap Mountains Ski Resort on Saturday. The tournament is one more way to draw people to the resort in the off-season, according to David Dziuban, resort manager. The golf course had an especially busy summer and in addition to weddings and family events, the cornhole...
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...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] UPSON, Wis. — It was a celebration of the “FreeHeelers” and the “tele-turn” this weekend as skiers from around the region attended World Telemark Day at Whitecap Mountain Resort. Keith Opperman, the designated “Midwest Telemark Ambassador” for Telemarkdown, a ski manufacturer in New Hampshire, said he and fellow telemark skiers Steve Benson and Matt Menders, organized the free demonstration event with equipment provided by the manufacturer....
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...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A scavenger hunt is underway in northern Iron County. Participants have until Aug. 11 to attempt to solve a series of clues and visit 11 sites around the northern part of the county. The hunt is designed to promote wellness and show off some of the lesser-known tourist sites in the region. “We wanted to get people outside, (as well as) include the heritage and sites that people might not be aware of,” said Rita Franzoi, the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce’s events coordinator. “Things...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - The charred remains of the base lodge at Whitecap Mountains Resort are now in the process of being demolished after a Jan. 18 chimney fire destroyed the building in Upson, Wis. David Dziuban, who manages the 400-acre resort, said Saturday that his own staff so far has deconstructed about 50 percent of the ruined structure. Dziuban said they are employing a deliberative approach "to limit as much as possible what goes to landfills." He added...
HURLEY, Wis. - Raymond H. Mezzano, 91, a long-time resident of Montreal, died peacefully after a courageous battle with cancer, May 18, 2019, in Hurley, Wis. He was born in Montreal on Aug. 13, 1927, son of the late Anton and Marjorie (James) Mezzano. He attended the Montreal grade school and J.E. Murphy High School, earning a G.E.D. diploma after his service in the Navy. Raymond enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1945 at the age of 17 and served overseas in the Azore Islands attached to the Seabees.... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Local runners got their first look at the new route for the Paavo Nurmi Marathon Wednesday at an informational meeting at the Iron County courthouse. Organizers said the 51st running of the annual Iron County race was a logical time to implement the course change, which will have the marathoners run from Hurley to Whitecap Mountain Resort in Upson and back to complete the necessary 26.2 miles. The primary motivation for the change in course was safety — both for runners and volunteers man...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County’s summer recreation season got underway Thursday as the county’s ATV/UTV trails opened at 7 a.m. Although the trails have dried enough from the spring thaw to allow them to open, according to the Iron County Forestry and Parks Department, spring riding conditions may still exist on many trails. Riders may encounter soft spots on the trail system, according to a post on the department’s Facebook page. “Please use caution when riding, especially on Trail 6 in the areas west of W... Full story
By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - With temperatures reaching 50 degrees on Saturday, enthusiastic skiers were trying to enjoy some of the last days of ski season at Whitecap Mountain. The bright, sunny skies brought a good crowd out to stay at the resort as well as skiers who just came for the day. Skier Ben Bonitz, who came from Eau Claire to ski, said his family has had season passes for Whitecap for about 15 years. Not only was he excited about the skiing, but the work of...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - Despite a Friday fire that destroyed its main lodge, the Whitecap Mountains Resort was open for business on Saturday. "The lifts were operational as of 8:30 a.m. this morning," said Summer White Eagle, who handles marketing for the resort. Shortly past noon on Saturday, she said, "hundreds of people" already had visited the resort that day, which is operating from its nearby hotel and continuing to host recreational groups as planned....
UPSON, Wis. - Employees at the Whitecap Mountain ski resort watched hopelessly late Friday afternoon as the main lodge area burned out of control. Iron County fire departments attempted to save the check-in area on the south end of the main lodge, as the building to the north burned to the ground by 6:30 p.m. On Martin Luther King weekend, which is usually the busiest time of the downhill ski season, many skiers also watched the building burn. David Dziuban, who is managing an effort to revitali...
HURLEY - The 6 to 8 inches of heavy snow that fell on Friday on the Gogebic Range improved conditions for all outdoor activities. Area motels and gas stations benefitted from the snow that also blanketed Minnesota and the Upper Peninsula. The Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce said the White Thunder Riders had three snowmobile trail groomers running on Friday and two would operate overnight. Trail conditions were fair to good in northern Iron County. Trails 3 and 13 south, from the Hogsback east/so...
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 P.J. GLISSON [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - The first Oktoberfest at Whitecap Mountains Resort in Upson featured a crisp, colorful Saturday with participants arriving in rows of cars or all-terrain vehicles. A large, white tent greeted them with jukebox music and enticing aromas of picnic-style foods, along with hot and cold beverages. Gina Secord, of Odanah, was ushering her daughter, Kaylin, and her niece, Audrey Nelis-Stone, to a hay ride after some rowdy playtime in a bounce house....
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] UPSON, Wis. — Octoberfest is coming to Whitecap Mountain on Saturday with events planned for young and old alike. Whitecap manager David Dziuban said the events will begin at 10 a.m. with a keg-tapping. There will be a bouncy house for the kids, face painting, a bean bag toss and a scavenger hunt. The fun, games, food and refreshments will run until 11 p.m., with Lake Effect performing music from 7 to 11 p.m. Fall colors are peaking across the Gogebic Range and the scenery at Whitecap on Tuesday was sp...
HURLEY, Wis. - On Sept. 23, 2018, at 6:02 a.m., David Phillip Lundberg, 82, passed away, having lived life to its fullest. The joy he found in working hard was done. David was born in the sand counties of Wisconsin on Sept. 24, 1935, and he grew up on a farm near Saratoga. He left the farm for college in 1953. Over the next decade, he completed courses at Northwest College in Minneapolis and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Europe, and finished... Full story
HURLEY — Despite having some of the highest concentration of sugar maple forests in the country, northern Wisconsin and the western Upper Peninsula lack a strong commercial maple syrup industry. A forum in Iron County planned for later this fall will look at whether there is interest in changing that. “The intent is to gauge interest in the community (for) developing commercial enterprises here based around maple syrup and its products,” said Darrin Kimbler, one of the University of Wisconsin-Extension educators organizing the forum. “This...
UPSON, Wis. — An ongoing renovation project at Whitecap Mountains is preparing the facility for year-’round tourists. David Dziuban is managing the effort that currently includes 30 employees. “These are all local people. We wanted to make an effort to hire locally,” Dziuban said. The main lodge is being renovated into a new cafeteria, kitchen, restaurant and bar, and snowmaking will return for the winter. Dziuban said one thing that can’t be improved is the terrain and the beauty the ski and golf experiences offer. He began working to turn W...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] The 16-day Iron County Heritage Festival begins this weekend - Friday actually - with a passel of activities. The festival is an annual effort by the Iron County Development Zone to market events across the county, said director Kelly Klein. "The whole idea is to be an umbrella for a lot of different things going on and to show people there are things to do," said Klein. "It goes across the county and seems to work really well." The events are popul...
HURLEY, Wis. - On June 21, 2018, at 12:30 a.m., Evelyn Jeanne Lundberg, 80, crossed the river into the arms of her Heavenly Father. She fought the good fight and completed the race. Evelyn was born in Medford on Aug. 22, 1937. She obtained her bachelor's degree in primary and secondary education at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She married David Lundberg on Dec. 23, 1960. They moved to the Montreal area in 1965 and began running Whitecap Mountains in 1966, where she remained until h... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — In Iron County, a lot of financial decisions live and die at the Iron County Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee. The county board debated changing that Tuesday as it discussed whether purchases above a set amount needed to be brought before the full county board rather than handled by the committee. “I feel that too much has been put onto the finance committee, as far as being able to make decisions without coming back to the full county board. We don’t get any recomme...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - David Lundberg, owner of the Whitecap Mountains Ski and Golf Resort in Upson said he bought the location in 1965 when all it had was two "T-Bar lifts and a building." Lundberg was fresh out of Fuller Seminary in California as a 28 year old husband and father of three, but he had enough faith to move Whitecap's three mountains over the last 50 years. Lundberg said he bought a chain saw first and went to work clearing ski runs and...
HURLEY, Wis. - Anna Mae Sbraggia, 85, of Montreal, died peacefully early Tuesday morning, Dec. 12, 2017, at Villa Maria Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hurley, following a lengthy battle with Parkinson's Disease. The former Anna Mae Miller was born Nov. 6, 1932, in Pence, daughter of the late Joseph and Ann (Kaseno) Miller. She attended grade school in Pence and graduated from J.E. Murphy High School in Hurley in 1952. She began working as a nurse's aide at St. Joseph's Hospital in Ashland,... Full story
