Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1693 - 1717 of 9873
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — Non-traditional college students at Gogebic Community College may soon be attending classes tuition free. The college announced on Tuesday that it will participate in the Michigan Reconnect program, which will provide free tuition to those students who qualify for the program starting in summer 2021. “The program does serve largely non-traditional students, those that are age 25 or older and do not have an associate or bachelor’s degree. We are targeting non-traditional students that eithe...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee on Monday prioritized projects for the city's 2021 capital improvement plan and recommended for approval by the city planning commission. Playgrounds and park systems are tools for attracting people who are considering a move to the city, said Tom Bergman, director of community development for the city of Ironwood. They are also important factors for families when considering where to purchase...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Gogebic County Fair Board is looking to improve outreach and marketing for on-site weddings as the number of rentals are increasing. As of Monday, there are four wedding rentals of the fairground multipurpose building already scheduled from May through September 2021, according to county fair coordinator Terttu Anderson at the fair board meeting on Monday. At her recommendation, the board members agreed to investigate lighting improvements and a cleaning regiment for the m...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER – Due to limitations on in-person gatherings the Bessemer City Council voted during its meeting Monday to hold the 2021 Board of Review hearings in a hybrid fashion. Residents will schedule an appointment during one of the two scheduled days. During that appointment he or she will have two options to meet with the council. If they have difficulty with Zoom a representative of the city will be available to assist them with logging into a “Zoom station” located at city hall or the resid...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley K-12 School annual yearbook staff are using some innovation to create a meaningful depiction of an unusual year amidst changes during the coronavirus pandemic. “We are having an interesting time navigating the yearbook this year,” said Shannon Peterson, a high school English teacher at Hurley K-12 School, who also serves as the faculty advisor for the yearbook committee and the school chapter of the National Honor Society. “So we’re figuring that out.” The yearbook staff spend m...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Flooring for the player benches, penalty box and ice level media area was the main topic at the Pat O’Donnell Civic Center Board meeting on Monday. The board unanimously approved the civic center staff to explore options to add the floor work to the contract with Rink Systems Inc., the company installing the dasher boards and plexiglass, with the option to seek a third party company, or to purchase materials and have volunteers do the work if possible. The flooring issue came as a surpri...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — If federal grant funds are approved, the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department may result with a new fire truck worth as much as half a million dollars. Fire Chief Mike Singleton told the Daily Globe last week that he and his staff are working to complete an application for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The department’s baseline request will be for $276,000, but Singleton said that up to $500,000 in grant funds could be possible and that the higher amount would allow the...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] HURLEY - Kate Randall, 10, of Hurley is the winner of the fourth annual Winter Medallion scavenger hunt. Randall said that she found the medallion hidden between two decorative banners, off a light post near the Hurley Clinic on Jan. 24. The event, sponsored by the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce working with an anonymous donor, annually asks the public to find a hidden medallion, and offers weekly clues on the chamber's Facebook page. Rita Franzoi,...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — February has been declared “Love your Library” month by the Mercer town board, and the Friends of the Mercer Library have planned a month long celebration. During the month of February it is encouraged that residents visit the Mercer Public Library and explore the wide variety of services , resources and collections of books and other things the library provides, library officials said in a press release. These services include programs, technology assistance, games, puzzles, hobby...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY - The food service staff at Hurley K-12 School say the adjustments to serving students in-school during the COVID-19 pandemic are efficient and working. Dawn Rye, food service director for Hurley School District, credited her previous career in health for coming up with a plan when faced with the challenge of designing a food program routine that protects students and staff from the spread of coronavirus, but also is efficient and affordable...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer School District Board of Education is taking a look at a shortfall in property tax revenue, according to discussion at the regular board meeting on Monday. School board president Robert Davis said he had just learned Monday that the school district’s January 2021 tax payment was $614,289. That is a $196,482 shortfall from the January 2020 tax payment of $810,771. “That is a significant amount relative to our budget,” Davis said. “I don’t know what the source of this shortf...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] Libraries in Wakefield, Bessemer and Ironwood will resume in person services this week. These libraries have only been offering curbside services since October. “It’s been a tough couple of months, so we are excited to open,” said Joel Laessig, director of the Wakefield Library. Laessig said the closure has been particularly hard on library patrons who don’t have internet access at home. He said that people use the library for internet access to file for unemployment and do their taxes, and make ap...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The Iron County Health Department held its first COVID-19 vaccination clinic in the Iron County Memorial Building Wednesday, as it continues to work to combat the coronavirus pandemic's spread in the county. "We requested vaccine for this week and then got a large allocation, so we were able to say on Monday, 'OK, we can do this mass vaccination' and move people through," Health Officer Katie Hampston said. Wednesday was the first of two...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic and Ontonagon resource advisory committees to the U.S. Forest Service will soon become a single committee, according to a forestry official report at the Gogebic County Board of Commission meeting on Wednesday. Darla Lenz, who was named the forest supervisor for the Ottawa National Forest on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service in July, attended the meeting virtually to introduce herself officially to the county commission and to discuss changes that will affect the Gogebic C...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — MECCA Trails has extended its annual Winterfest. The event was originally scheduled to end Feb. 21, but will now run through March 28. “We extended the date because it is a virtual event. We said, we might as well run this all winter long. We got kind of a late start because the snow wasn’t cooperating with us,” said Mike Shouldice, president of the MECCA Trails Association. The festival consists of four events: the Turtle River Pursuit — an 11K classic and 11K skate race, the 5K Claire...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has completed the purchase of a pair of permanent motorized easements in the Western Upper Peninsula, the DNR announced Tuesday, securing a total of 67 miles of trail access for a combined price of $985,969. One will secure roughly 56 miles of 30-foot trail access in parts of Gogebic, Ontonagon, Dickinson, Houghton and Iron counties, according to the DNR’s announcement. The DNR paid $832,968 to the Keweenaw Land Association for the eas...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors voiced its support for the restoration of the Wisconsin Fund Tuesday. The board passed a resolution urging state politicians to push for the Wisconsin Fund’s funding to be reinserted into the state budget. The fund provides grants to residents as a way to incentivize the replacement of failing septic systems, the county’s assistant zoning administrator, Gerry Nasi, previously told the Daily Globe. “It helps the people of Iron County tremend...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — Aaron Froelich was officially hired as the Gogebic Community College assistant esports coach during the regular meeting of the college board of trustees on Tuesday. Froelich, who also serves as the manager of Campus Suites, has been a volunteer assistant coach for the esports program since August. He said he’s been involved with esports since spring of 2020, and volunteered because of his interest in the sports and its history. “I have some graphic design in my past and I feel I can reall...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — When it can be safely held, the city of Ironwood plans to hold a memorial for residents who were lost to COVID-19. The planning directive came following the COVID-19 response updates during the Ironwood City Commission meeting on Monday. With all of the discussion on the impacts to local businesses and when the restrictions would be lifted, the commissioners began talking about the devastating human toll that is less discussed due in part to the privacy laws of the Health Insurance P...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Health Department has been receiving small amounts of COVID-19 vaccinations and has begun scheduling appointments for county residents over the age of 65. “Last week, the Iron County Health Department asked individuals 65 and older to call the health department and sign up for COVID-19 vaccines to be placed on an eligibility list. Over 500 residents called and signed up,” a department spokesperson said in an update Monday. “The health department is receiving a vaccine...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Volunteer Fire Department will continue to help, and receive help from several area departments, as needed after the township board of trustees renewed mutual aid agreements with a number of neighboring communities Monday. The agreements are with five other municipalities in Gogebic County — the cities of Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield, as well as Bessemer and Marenisco townships — and Hurley, Montreal, Kimball, Oma and Pence in Wisconsin. An additional a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County may develop another source of income from its county forest as the Iron County Forestry Committee approved exploring the use of the county’s timberlands to sell carbon offset credits last week. There will be counties in Wisconsin that pursue using their land for carbon credits, Iron County Forester Eric Peterson said, adding that if Iron County waits too long it may miss a valuable opportunity. “There’s some uniqueness to it, so I guess I feel now is the time to look at it,...
