Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 433 - 457 of 911
By JAN TUCKER jamadots.com ONTONAGON — An Iowa man faces seven criminal charges in a bizarre incident in the Village of Ontonagon. Paul Dean Smith, 26, DeMoines, Iowa was arraigned in Ontonagon District Court Wednesday. The story started with an alleged theft of an automobile in Iowa. He then drove to Trout Creek where he got stuck and police arrested him in the stolen vehicle Thursday, March 15. Smith then reportedly gave police a false name and while on the way to the jail had a medical incident and was brought to the Aspirus Ontonagon H...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] While students across the country walked out of class Wednesday in a call for action on gun violence and to remember the 17 students killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; Gogebic Range students recognized the effort in various ways. In Ironwood, interested students from the district's upper grades gathered in the gym to talk with members of the Ironwood Public Safety Department regarding school...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The fifth suspect in the murder of a Lac du Flambeau, Wis., man late last year near Mercer had a $1 million cash bond set Monday morning in Iron County Court. Curtis A. Wolfe, 26, of Lac du Flambeau, and four other men are charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of Wayne M. Valliere Jr., of Lac du Flambeau. Wolfe’s attorney, Fred Bourg, appearing by speaker phone, argued Monday that Wolfe is indigent and $1 million bond would be excessive. “One million d...
WATERSMEET — A 55-year-old Wisconsin man died Wednesday after falling through the ice on Thousand Island Lake in Watersmeet Township, according to a Lac Vieux Desert Tribal Police press release. Tommy Handrick, 55, of Minocqua, reportedly broke through the ice while driving a Skid-steer loader machine on the frozen lake. Tribal police and other agencies responded to the 911 call. The Land O’ Lakes Fire Department assisted in removing Handrick from the water. Aspirus Medivac transported him to Eagle River, Wis., Memorial Hospital, where he was...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood residents will soon have a chance to get to know their police officers a little better as the Ironwood Public Safety Department is hosting a series of “Coffee with a Cop” meetings throughout the community. The meetings give residents an opportunity to meet with representatives from the public safety department in a more comfortable setting, according to Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Greg Klecker. “It’s community relations in practice. People are not as inclined...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — A motion hearing on whether a murder charge against Evan T. Oungst will be heard along with charges against four other defendants will be heard Monday in Iron County Court. Oungst, 27, of Arbor Vitae, is charged in the murder of Wayne M. Valliere Jr., of Lac du Flambeau, and also with hiding a corpse. The motion for Oungst will be heard on the same day Curtis A. Wolfe, 26, of Lac du Flambeau, appears in court for an initial hearing on the same charges. Oungst’s attorney told the court Mon...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — A large delegation of Lac du Flambeau tribal members attended initial court appearances Monday for four of the five men who are accused of murder and hiding a corpse. All five are charged in the death of Wayne Valliere Jr., 25, of Lac du Flambeau, near Mercer on Dec. 22. James B. Lussier, 19, of Arbor Vitae; Richard F.A. Allen, 27, of Lac du Flambeau; Evan T. Oungst, 27, of Arbor Vitae, and Joseph D. Lussier, 26, of Lac du Flambeau, appeared in Iron County Court before Judge Patrick Madden. M...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY - One-hundred years ago the Spanish Flu shut down much of the Gogebic Range, but not Hurley's booming tavern industry. It was the same year Michigan joined the Prohibition movement, but Wisconsin didn't follow suit until 1920, author Russell Magnaghi told a large audience at the Hurley K-12 School on Thursday evening. He spoke for 45 minutes about how Hurley largely ignored Prohibition and the taverns prospered. Not only did people drink during...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD — City barricades continued to block traffic on Aurora Street Thursday after Wednesday’s fire and police tape is keeping people out of the destroyed and adjacent properties. Business owners on the block are parking on adjoining streets, leaving Aurora empty and filling Suffolk Street. Jan Miskovich, an owner of The Pines restaurant, a block away from the fire, on the corner of Aurora and Suffolk streets, said she ran water for a couple of hours Wednesday night to try and clear the muddy wat...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - A downtown Ironwood fire that destroyed two buildings Wednesday is also responsible for a loss of life. Ironwood Public Safety Director Gregory Klecker confirmed a single fatality as the result of the early morning fire that destroyed 102 E. Aurora St. - the home of Chelsi's Corner boutique and apartments above it - and an adjoining building to the east. "All that we have right now is one confirmed fatality. That's all we know at this...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The early Wednesday morning fire at 102 E. Aurora St. in downtown Ironwood that resulted in one death and other injuries wasn't the first fatal fire in the building. On Dec. 15, 2006, the body of Greg Pecotte, 25, was found after a third-floor apartment in the building near the corner of Lowell and Aurora streets burned. The Daily Globe reported Pecotte's body was found by firefighters after the blaze was extinguished. At that time, the...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY - A statewide search continues for one of five men charged with conspiring to kill a Lac du Flambeau tribal member in southern Iron County. A Crime Alert notice from the Wisconsin Department of Justice notes James Lussier, 19, of Woodruff, is wanted in connection with the Dec. 22 death of Wayne Valliere Jr. Valliere's body wasn't found until New Year's Day. He had been shot eight times. Lussier is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 263 pounds, has...
Tuesday, Feb. 13 Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Agency food commodity distribution, 9-10 a.m., Pioneer Park Apartments, Ironwood. 906-932-4200. Mercer Friends of the Library, 10 a.m., Mercer Public Library. Pickleball, 10 a.m. to noon, Ironwood Memorial Building. Gogebic County Veterans Service Officer, 9:30-11:30 a.m., Ironwood Memorial Building. 906-667-1110. Friends of the Mercer Public Library, 10 a.m., library, Mercer, Wis. Tiny Tot Story Hour, 10 a.m., Wakefield Public Library, 906-229-5236. Alcoholics Anonymous, noon, Salem Lutheran... Full story
REPUBLIC — A 69-year-old woman who took a wrong turn and became stuck in the snow walked nine miles before finding help, according to Michigan State Police. Troopers from the Negaunee Post said the search for the woman began after she was reported to be in distress around 3:35 p.m. Thursday in zero-degree weather. The Marquette County dispatch center had received a call from a Republic resident who said her sister from Menominee was traveling to Republic and had become lost. The sister took a wrong turn and got stuck in snowbank in a remote are...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A Milwaukee man faces felony charges in connection with an alleged assault this summer at an Iron County, Wis., summer camp. Daniel Aguirre, 19, is charged with first-degree child sexual assault-sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 and exposing a child to harmful material. The assault charge is a Class B felony, with a maximum potential sentence of 60 years in prison, while the other charge is a Class I felony, with a potential maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and/or up to t...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] One of the suspects in the Iron County murder of a Lac du Flambeau tribal member is being sought on a fugitive warrant. A Vilas County bench warrant for the arrest of James Lussier, 19, of Woodruff, was issued by Vilas County Judge Neal Nielsen on Jan. 23, according to automated court records. The records show Lussier is scheduled to be sentenced in Vilas County Court for felony possession of narcotic drugs on Monday. He also faces other lesser charges in two other Vilas County cases. Lussier was...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - Gogebic County and Hurley School District 11th graders quizzed area business and governmental agency representatives about possible employment opportunities at a job fair at Gogebic Community College Wednesday. While half of the students toured the GCC campus, others strolled through the gymnasium in the Lindquist Center to talk with company representatives and read pamphlets on job openings. Dan Adrian, of Ironwood, stopped at the Porcupine...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Criminal charges were filed Wednesday against five people in the death of a Lac du Flambeau, Wis., man whose body was found on New Year’s Day in the Mercer area. Wayne M. Valliere Jr., 25, was last seen alive Dec. 22 and was the subject of a missing person investigation led by the Department of Justice’s Department of Criminal Investigation. Assistant Attorney General Richard Dufour, lead special prosecutor, on Wednesday filed charges in Iron County Circuit Court against Richard F.A. Allen...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Last year a tourist was in the area for a weekend of snowmobiling fun. Spending money in motels, eating in restaurants, paying trail fees and buying gasoline. Only the tourist lost his wallet and had no idea where it was. The man from Milwaukee called and cancelled his credit cards, lamented the nearly 300 in cash lost, and was ready to begin the process of getting new identity when the state police notified him his wallet was turned in....
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - Gogebic County Sheriff Pete Matonich provided the end of year results of the police work done by the Sheriff's office for the city of Bessemer. The GCSD received 722 complaints, resulting in 234 citations issued and 86 arrests made in 2017. A total of 47 accidents happened on Bessemer's roads. In reviewing the month to month comparison, some incidents stand out in 2017. -There were two incidents for methamphetamine possession and one for...
WAKEFIELD — Michigan State Police inform teens of warnings signs of a potentially abusive relationships, something the MSP said as many as one in three teens deal with in some capacity. “It is important for teens, both male and female, to understand the importance of having a respectful relationship that does not include violence or other forms of abuse,” said Jerry Mazurek, community service trooper at the MSP’s Wakefield post. “No relationship is worth putting your life in danger, so it is important to recognize the early warning signs.” T...
OMA, Wis. - A 45-year-old woman was dead at the scene of a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 51 near County CC in Oma Sunday morning. A 32-year-old man involved in the crash was taken to Aspirus Ironwood Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. According to the Iron County Sheriff's Department, a car driven the 45-year-old woman crossed the center line on U.S. 51 at 2:56 a.m. Sunday and was hit by the 32-year-old man's vehicle. The woman was wearing her seat belt at the time of the crash, according...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] The winter storm that swept through the Gogebic Range Monday evening and early Tuesday didn't produce excessive amounts of snow, but drifting conditions made driving hazardous. U.S. 2 near Ashland was closed Monday evening because of winds whipping heavy snow off Lake Superior across the highway. Winds gusted as high as 30 mph across the Upper Peninsula. Parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin received more than a foot of snow. Area snowfall totals varied...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] MARENISCO - Marenisco Township officials made it official Monday, opening the new pavilion in Donald McKenzie Memorial Park with a cut of a ceremonial ribbon and some coffee and goodies for those who came to celebrate. While the structure was built this past summer using a $400,000 Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant, Marenisco Police Chief Bruce Mahler said the township had been working on the project since 2005. Grant proposals were...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — The man found guilty of attempting to rob the Ironwood Holiday gas station was sentenced to prison Tuesday in Gogebic County Circuit Court. Chadd Mathias Andert, 36, was sentenced to between three and 15 years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon. He received a jail credit of 383 days for time served prior to his sentence. A jury found Andert guilty of the charge Nov. 7. It was one of several options the jury had to pick from, but they could only find him guilty of a single char...
