Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1158 - 1182 of 9883
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — Gogebic Community College will soon offer a mechatronics program. Two courses will be available starting in spring 2022, one in basic operations and one in robot system operations, according to the college’s workforce development director Glen Ackerman-Behr. According to Ackerman-Behr, mechatronics is where mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and information technology intersect and is seen in companies that use automation in production and distribution. He said that the amo...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] HANCOCK — According to the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department, the western U.P. surpassed 10,000 total COVID-19 cases and reached 200 total deaths this week. From Dec. 1 to Wednesday, there were 47 new COVID-19 cases in Gogebic County, 11 new cases in Ontonagon, 19 new cases in Baraga County, 168 new cases in Houghton and 21 new cases in Keweenaw. There was one death in each of the five counties besides Keweenaw. The health department posted its first COVID-19 update on April 7, 2020, and h...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER - The Christmas Belles have struck again, delivering Christmas gifts for more than 100 children under the care of the state of Michigan to case workers at the state's Department of Health and Human Services Gogebic County office in Bessemer early Friday Morning. Thirty-five women and their husbands drove in from Watersmeet to represent the Belles. The group of 143 women from eastern Gogebic County and the Land O'Lakes area form annually to purc...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from a policy consulting firm on the spending of American Rescue Plan Act funds at their regular meeting in the Gogebic County Courthouse on Wednesday. Tim Dempsey, vice president of Public Sector Consultants, a public policy consulting firm in Lansing, attended the regular meeting virtually and answered board members’ questions on the federal stimulus bill. He said that two unique aspects of ARPA that stand out: there is mon...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - Parents and guardians of children in low-income families were able to pick out Christmas gifts for their kids at the Gogebic County fairgrounds on Wednesday afternoon. The gifts were provided through the Santa's Headquarters annual event, which is a cooperative effort of several local non-profit groups including the Michigan State University Extension office, St. Vincent DePaul, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer city council is considering an ordinance to regulate use of temporary, portable generators as a result of a recent house fire. “As you all may or may not be aware, we had a house burn down because of a temporary generator used for about two years and so the council has been exploring whether or not we need to have some sort of ordinance,” city manager Charly Loper said to the council during Monday’s regular meeting. According to city attorney Ray O’Dea, the city does not need...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Historic Ironwood Theatre is offering its annual Christmas show this weekend, celebrating a “historic HIT Christmas” with screenings of the 1910 silent film adaptation of “A Christmas Carol,” followed by a concert of seasonal songs by local musicians. The first performance will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and a Sunday matinee is planned for 2 p.m. The movie will be accompanied by frequent organist at the theater, Tim Mesun, who will perform his specially composed, original score for...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] The Iron County snowmobile and winter ATV trails will open on Monday at 8 a.m. after the conclusion of the four-day antlerless deer hunt in Wisconsin. "Early season riding conditions can change rapidly. Riders need to use caution as low snow conditions, open water or icy conditions may exist," Iron County Forest Administrator Eric Peterson said. Iron County has more than 500 miles of snowmobile and winter ATV trails. The trails are maintained by...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer City Council continues to study the implementation of a special assessment tax to help ease pressure on the city’s budget, while ensuring continued services to the citizens. The council tabled a decision on the special assessment tax at its meeting Monday to get more information. The council has been considering implementing the tax for a few months to help pay for police and fire services and thus free up money in the general fund. “The money that we had put in the gener...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — The 2021 Jack Frost Parade was the “biggest ever,” according to Ironwood Chamber director Michael Meyer. Saturday night’s parade along Aurora Street in downtown Ironwood had 42 parade entries, said Meyer. The event brought a large crowd, as Aurora Street was lined with people on both sides. Meyer said he believes the parade was so popular because it was the first Jack Frost parade in two years, as the event had been canceled in 2020 because o...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] The Midwest Snocross Series scheduled at Mt. Zion at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood has been moved to Salem, Wisconsin. Pending confirmation from the local ambulance service, the races will now be held at Digger Doug Gust’s facility in Salem on Saturday and Sunday. The decision was announced to the Daily Globe in an Sunday email. Race advisor Rudy Grbavcich said that the venue change was due to a pump failure that prevented Mt. Zion from producing artificial snow. Owing to supply chain i...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] Iron County Human Services, with the help of the Iron County Fire Association and Northern Iron County Engaged Residents (NICER), is working to see that every child in the county has something under the tree on Christmas. “It’s all about the kids,” said Diane Schmidtke, of the Iron County Human Services Department. “Thanks to the community for their great response.” Each year the Human Services staff start identifying families in the fall and distribute forms to gather information about the age,...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Salvation Army is in need of volunteers who are willing to combat the cold to ring a bell and gather donations this Christmas season for its annual Red Kettle campaign. Local Salvation Army Director Jamie Stiffarm said they are "really behind in donations this year." She said the only red kettle they have out this year is inside the Walgreens in Ironwood. Stiffarm said she wishes she could have a kettle up inside Walmart, but the...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — The annual holiday concert season for local schools returns this month. The Ironwood Area School District kicks off festivities with the Luther L. Wright High School band concert on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Historic Ironwood Theatre. The Luther L. Wright elementary K-4 Christmas assembly will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 15 in the school gym. The fifth and sixth grade students will have their Christmas concert at 7 p.m. the following day, Dec. 16, also at the school. The Ironwood m...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - Mercer's Northwoods Winter Wonderland community celebration begins Saturday with the Candy Cane Christmas parade and the wreathing of the Claire d' Loon. The parade will begin at 3:30 p.m. with the line-up starting a half-hour prior. The parade starts at the Mercer Department of Natural Resources ranger station and travels south along U.S. 51 to the Mercer Community Center. The parade will feature floats, decorated vehicles, and walking...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Jack Frost Festival starts in Ironwood on Friday and will run to the end of January. This weekend’s events include a parade, ice-carving event and a visit from Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Ironwood Area Chamber of Commerce Director Michael Meyer said that some businesses in downtown Ironwood celebrate the first Friday of the month by staying open late and Dec. 3, or “Frost Friday,” will be no different. The fourth annual Northern Elves Holiday Market will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College will soon add a third Zoom classroom. The Board of Trustees approved a contract for a Zoom chemistry lab at the Ironwood campus. The college has been using the Zoom platform for instruction since March 2020. The college now has two classrooms dedicated to classes offered on Zoom - one located on the third floor of the Erickson Academic Building on the Ironwood campus and the other is at the Copper Country campus in...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recently produced report cards for every publicly funded school as part of the state accountability system. The Mercer Board of Education discussed the Mercer district’s scores on the report card at its meeting on Monday. School Board President Bob Davis said the accountability score on the report card was 50.8 out of 100. According to the department’s website, a score ranging from 48 to 57.9 places the school district into the two-star ac...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Mike Zeckovich was selected to join the Wakefield City Council during a special council meeting on Monday night. Zeckovich will replace Amy Tarro, who resigned shortly after being re-elected last month but never took the oath of office. During the special meeting, Zeckovich and another candidate for the seat, Carrie Braspenick, were interviewed individually by city clerk Sue Ahonen in front of the council. By a flip of a coin, Braspenick...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield planning commission went back and forth on the issue of limiting the number of dogs that a person can have at a residence, during a lengthy work session on Monday, Nov. 20. The original plan was to limit the number of animals to two dogs and two cats, or a combination thereof not to exceed four animals. Then Mayor Dale White suggested simply putting the brakes on the issue of the number of dogs. The commission then returned to limiting the number of dogs when councilman Cal Sh...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] IRONWOOD — Winter sports enthusiasts gathered at the Historic Ironwood Theatre on Saturday to watch Warren Miller’s new film “Winter Starts Now,” featuring ski and snowboard athletes. The event was organized by Ironwood Ski Devils coach Dan Tregembo and the proceeds from the ticket sales will support the high school ski racing team. “Winter Starts Now” is Warren Miller Entertainment’s 72nd annual release. Miller was an American skier, snowboarder and filmmaker. He passed away in 2018, but his compa...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners held their regular meeting at the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer on Tuesday and the board discussed a national settlement and two information technology-related issues. The board authorized the Gogebic County administrator to pursue participation in the national opioid settlement. There are ongoing cases involving pharmaceutical companies that handle the distribution of opioids and CVS, Walgreens and Walmart have settled outside of court. C...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER - A complimentary holiday meal brought forth by the Bessemer VFW Post 3673 gave many members of the community a place to go this Thanksgiving and a reason to be thankful. "I'm so glad that I could come here. Otherwise I would have had nowhere to go," said Vicki Duray, of Ironwood, who attended the dinner with her son, Dylan. She said she found out last minute about the dinner and said she was so thankful to the person she spoke with at the...
