Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1616 - 1640 of 9679
LANSING — State Rep. Greg Markkanen’s plan to protect funds intended for sustainable forest management is headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk after the state senate passed the legislation Wednesday. The legislation aims to limit what the money in the state’s Forest Development Fund can be used for. “Living in the Upper Peninsula, we all know how incredibly important it is to ensure our forests are managed properly,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock. “In addition to providing jobs for many U.P. residents, the forest management industry help...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer Area Food Pantry has seen a dramatic increase in the demand for food since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to pantry board member Louise Minisan. “My numbers are at least a thousand (people) a week that we are feeding, and that’s pretty huge for Mercer,” Minisan told the Daily Globe. “Previously, we had about 350 people per week that we serviced.” The pantry handles food distribution twice weekly. On Wednesdays they distribute dairy products from the state’s...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] WHITE PINE — Refinery operations could begin as soon as the first quarter of 2021 with the announcement Wednesday that Northern Initiatives has received a $700,000 grant award to support Phase 2 development of the White Pine Refinery at the former White Pine Mine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services made the announcement as part of its Community Economic Development Program. The White Pine Copper Refinery Inc. and PM P...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — Gogebic County will need to hire an attorney administrator to appoint lawyers for indigent defendants now that the judiciary is barred from that role, according to a presentation at the Wednesday meeting of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners. Appearing virtually from Ogemaw County, attorney Melissa Wangler, the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan regional manager for the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, said the MIDC is implementing the new Standard 5 that was approved b...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Toys for All program, which benefits children of low income families in the Mercer school system, is gearing up for distribution day on Dec. 19 at 9 a.m. “We have 41 children that we have gotten coats and boots and snow-pants, Christmas outfits and toys for,” said Louise Minisan of the Mercer Food Pantry. She said that the program focuses on warm clothing, but there are lots of toys for the children, too. “There are literally garbage bags that I use to pack all the toys in and som...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley City Council on Monday heard more updates on the proposed Range View Drive project that could see nearly half of costs reimbursed through the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Local Supplement program. Hurley Street Commissioner Scott Santini, and Jeff Seamandel, a project engineer with MSA Professional Services, the city’s engineering company, were present to update the board on progress to rebuild and widen Range View Drive from 10th Avenue to the west side...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Gogebic Community College Rainbow 6 Seige will compete against Hawkeye Community College of Waterloo, Iowa, in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s esports national championship on Monday. The Samsons earned the right to compete in the championship on Tuesday by beating Snow College of Ephraim, Utah, 2-1 in the semifinals. Members of the Rainbow 6 Siege team include: Keegan Bolen, Captain, James Dickerson, Carson Johnson, Jaidon Jokela, Leandro Narvaez and Cody Sch...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MONTREAL, Wis. -- After 18 years as clerk/treasurer for the city of Montreal, Sue Lesky is planning to retire this spring. “Working with you and the rest of the staff has been a highly fulfilling experience for me and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to be with the city of Montreal for the last 18 years,” Lesky wrote in a letter to Mayor Erik Guenard and the city’s common council announcing her decision. “This year has certainly been a challenge and has made me realize it’s time to spend m...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — As the winter weather approaches so does the planning to build sliding hills and an outdoor ice rink, according to action at the Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee meeting on Monday. The committee 7-0 approved a request from member Tom Kangas to build a “simple ice rink” by flooding the volleyball court at the Historic Depot Park once the air temperatures permit. The term simple rink followed discussion that the rink would not have boards and only a snow border to contain the water...
Editor’s note: This is a first in a series of stories on homelessness in the region. By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — Local leaders described a recent virtual town hall meeting on rural homelessness as “eye opening” after hearing how the problem is less visible but as significant in the smaller communities as it is in urban centers. The virtual town hall is a regular series that involves leadership of area cities and townships. The Nov. 24 town hall on homelessness was attended by Wakefield Mayor Dale White, Ironwood Ma...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - It was different but the town of Mercer still celebrated its Northwoods Winter Wonderland with a stationary drive-thru parade on Saturday. Residents and visitors drove along U.S. 51 south of town in front of the Mercer Area Chamber of Commerce office and Claire de Loon statue. The nice weather canceled an ice-skating rink near the Mercer Community Center but the mild temperatures also brought a lot of people to the other outdoor...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD – An ice carving contest in Ironwood’s new Downtown City Square over the weekend only drew two participants, but organizers called it a success. The event was part of the Ironwood’s First Friday and continued on Saturday, drawing a few dozen spectators stopping by to watch the creations take shape. “I thought we would have gotten more sign ups since it would be easy to socially distance for ice carving, but I think this is just a weird year and we are just not getting the kind of activit...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] HURLEY — This year, many parades have had a new look due to social distancing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. So, as organizers of Hurley’s inaugural Holiday Parade made plans for their first such event, they settled on a “reverse parade” for Saturday. Floats, displays, and even Santa Claus himself were at a standstill, taking up stationary positions along the parade route through the industrial park — as parade-goers were the ones on the move, driving by each of the floats, taking in...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — A Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board recommendation will add more than 4,000 acres to Gogebic County forest land, according to a Thursday announcement. The Gogebic County Forest Expansion Project was among 26 acquisition grant recommendations from the Trust Fund Board totaling $27.2 million. The county application requested $3,225,300 to add approximately 4,007.3 acres with the county budgeting for a 26% local match. This acquisition of unique forestland consists of many s...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - The "Tree of Love" and "Celebration Tree" at Aspirus Ironwood Hospital were lit for the holiday season Tuesday, but without the ceremony that traditionally accompanies the tree lighting. A maintenance man simply flipped a switch at exactly 4 p.m. to light the trees, without an audience and as nearby staff continued with their work. "We aren't having the ceremony this year. We are doing a virtual video," said Alicia Cook, the liason for the As...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The effort to make safety improvements to West Range View Drive, the only road access to Hurley K-12 School, is again moving forward with a possible state grant, according to reports at the Hurley Board of Public Works meeting on Wednesday. Hurley Street Commissioner Scott Santini, and Jeff Seamandel, an engineer with MSA Professional Services, the city’s engineering company, addressed the board regarding the plan to widen a section of West Range View Drive from 10th Avenue to the mai...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - Around 1,500 Xcel Energy customers were without power for about an hour Wednesday morning following an equipment failure at a local substation. An 8:41 a.m. a power regulator failure at the Ayer Street substation, at the intersection of Easy Street in Ironwood, was the cause of the outage, said Christine Ouellette, senior media relations representative for Xcel Energy's Michigan and Wisconsin office in Eau Claire. Technicians immediately...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The annual gingerbread house event at the Bessemer library is being held virtually this year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In years past, residents would come to the library and build their gingerbread houses on a specific day. However, this year the library is providing gingerbread house kits and families are instructed to build their gingerbread houses at home and then submit a photo of their completed project to the library, so that it can be posted on the library's Facebook page...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley Police Department will support the Iron County Health Department and Wisconsin National Guard in conducting a public COVID-19 drive-thru testing event at the Hurley Fire Department on Tuesday, Dec. 8. In his report to the Police Fire and License Committee at its Monday meeting, HPD Sgt. Justin Colossaco said that the department provided support for a previous testing event. People will drive through the fire hall truck bay from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for testing in their vehicles a...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer Planning Commission approved the site plan for a new Dollar General store during its regular meeting on Tuesday. The approval of the site plan is contingent upon the store receiving all necessary permits. The Dollar General is set to replace the Travelers Motel, which is located at the east end of the city, off of U.S. 2. The motel will remain open until the sale of the property is finalized, according to owner Donna Maslanka. Maslanka has owned and operated the motel for 30 y...
