Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1741 - 1765 of 9883
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer Area School District has moved two of its elementary classes to virtual learning as a result of exposure to COVID-19. Following the guidance of the health department, students in Megan Wilson’s kindergarten class will be virtual for the remainder of this week, said superintendent Dan Niemi. He said that students in Alexis Headley’s fourth grade class also went virtual on Monday as a result of exposure. According to Niemi, the infected fourth grade student had been out of school...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY -- It may seem like people haven’t finished talking about the last election, but two more contests are on the horizon in Wisconsin as Iron County residents will join voters around the state in casting their ballots in the February primary and April general election. The February primary, which is set for Feb. 16, won’t feature any local races. Instead, voters will decide who will face off in the spring contest for state superintendent of public instruction. Seven candidates appear on the bal...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - Ticket sales are up for the Powerball and Mega Millions multi-state lotteries as jackpots for both have steadily increased as there has been no winner for either twice-a-week drawing for months Lottery officials estimate the Powerball jackpot to be $730 million and the Mega Millions jackpot at $850 million. Judith Gallagher, a clerk at the Holiday Station Store in Ironwood, said they've seen a uptick in ticket sales. "I've sold an abundance...
HURLEY — A man is dead following a snowmobile crash in Iron County this weekend. Iron County Emergency Dispatch received a report of the snowmobile crash on Trail 14 off Game Management Road in the town of Knight at approximately 2:30 p.m. Saturday, with reports that those on the scene were attempting life saving measures on an unresponsive man. Both the Hurley and Mercer snowmobile rescue units — along with Mercer Area Ambulance and Rescue — were initially dispatched to the scene, according to Iron County Sheriff Paul Samardich, due to diffi...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Board of Trustees approved a wage agreement with its union employees Monday, approving a raise in exchange for additional contribution to health care costs. “The (wage increases) were 70 cents an hour and then they agreed to pay an additional $50 a month for health coverage,” Ironwood Township Supervisor Jay Kangas told the Daily Globe. Robert Murphy, a staff representative with the township employees’ union, said the union has also ratified the agreeme...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY - The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction requires CPR training but the Hurley K-12 School also benefits from a teacher who brings years of practical experience to the role. The CPR training is a unit of the freshman health class that is taught by Aaron Bender, a social studies teacher at Hurley School who took over the health class and teaches compression only CPR with defibrillator training about four years ago. He brings 15 years of...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Thanks to action on Tuesday evening by the Wakefield Planning Commission, some city property owners soon may have an opportunity to buy city land that is within — or adjacent to — their own property lots. Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend to the City Council that it “offload” the targeted lots by putting them up for minimum bids. City Manager Robert Brown, Jr. said gradually selling lots that the city does not need will result in “a little bit of pocket change” for city coffers...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Gogebic County has completed all the steps to receive funding for a retirement fund shortfall with the former Western Upper Peninsula Manpower Consortium, according to reports at the Gogebic County Board meeting on Wednesday. In her report to the board, Juliane Giackino, county administrator, said the process to reimburse the county shortfall funding in the transition from the consortium to Michigan Works! in 2013 that has since increased to $1,101,926 as of the most recent 2019 v...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — Residents of the city of Bessemer will be asked to complete an in-depth survey in the next couple of months. The survey asks questions as to where and what the city should accomplish in the next five years to help the council formulate the city’s master plan. The city council started the process of formulating a new master plan for the city during a special meeting on Tuesday. “In the last three years there’s been a lot of getting things together for the city, whether it was ordinan...
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Transportation issued its first quarterly transportation aid payment of the year earlier this month, with municipalities around Wisconsin receiving a combined $126 million — including more than $470,000 to Iron County and its cities and towns. “These payments represent part of the cooperative work we do with local governments across the state to keep goods and services moving throughout Wisconsin,” WisDOT Secretary-designee Craig Thompson said Monday in the announcement of the aid payments. “We are co...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Air passengers reporting not being allowed to fly with their skis were a topic of the Gogebic-Iron County Airport meeting on Monday. Airport board chair Joe Bonovetz said he has received calls from air passengers who complained they couldn’t bring skis on the plane as checked luggage or as a carry-on. The question of skis was part of the interview process with Boutique Air and other airline applicants during the Essential Airline Service interviews in 2019, he said. Bonovetz said he was...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution to amend its 2020 budget due to unanticipated revenues and expenditures incurred by the city related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution passed the council 6-0 and adjusts the 2020 revenues with an additional $336,610 in revenues and $328,959 in expenditures. City Alderman Steve Lombardo was not present. The additional revenues in the resolution include $99,700 for grant funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture O...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MONTREAL, Wis. — The city of Montreal now has a replacement for city clerk Sue Lesky when she retires this spring after the Montreal Common Council voted to offer the job to office assistant Lori Genisot Tuesday. “Lori brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and history within the city of Montreal,” Mayor Erik Guenard told the Daily Globe Wednesday. “We’re lucky to have her.” He added that Genisot accepted the position when he contacted her and that the city is expecting to hire someone to...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The city of Ironwood received high marks on its annual budget audit, according to remarks from the auditing firm during a work session prior to the regular meeting of the Ironwood City Commission on Monday. Details of the audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020, were presented by Tony Pollack, a CPA with Makela, Pollack & Ahonen, P.L.L.C., the city’s contracted auditing firm, and Paul Linn, the city finance director and treasurer. The presentation noted that most activity occ...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — An additional half-mile loop has been added to the ski and snowshoe trails in the Miners Memorial Heritage Park. Friends of the MMHP started working on the new loop on Nov. 15, according to Rick Semo, the club’s president. The additional trail officially opened after the first major snowfall in late December. “We had it partially groomed before that, but it wasn’t really ready because it’s rougher than the rest of the trail,” Semo told the Daily Globe. “Next year we’ll get it worked out a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Work on developing a motorized trail loop in the city of Ironwood continued with a recent work event featuring volunteers from the Gogebic Range Trail Authority and the Aurora Club. The group worked mostly in Miners Memorial Heritage Park, maintaining some existing trail and building a bit of new trail. "We had to clean it out to make (the trail) a little wider so the groomer can go through," said Leslee Hein, the secretary for the GRTA...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A utility terrain vehicle crash in Iron County Friday night killed one woman and had a man sent to the hospital, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office announced the next day. Iron County Emergency Dispatch received a call reporting the crash with a woman under water at 8:42 p.m. Friday, but was unable to get a specific location about the scene of the crash from the initial caller, Iron County Sheriff Paul Samardich said in a news release Saturday. Deputies — along with members of the Hurle... Full story
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] ERWIN TOWNSHIP - This year marks the 12th year of the Sisu Ski Fest, with participants near and far joining in the fun. Due to COVID-19, the 2021 race is being held differently, relying on individuals to record their times from whereever they ski, and report them instead of gathering for the large race of previous years. Racers are able to participate from any location, as long as they ski their proper race distance and record their time. This year's r...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Planning Commission is preparing for a busy year — much of which will be reviving conditional use permits for commercial marijuana license applications. The first order of business at the Thursday meeting was to elect board officers for 2021, with Sam Davey elected chair and Stephanie Holloway as vice chair on 5-0 unanimous ballots. Commissioners Robert Burchell and Mark Surprenant were not present. Davey served as chair in 2020. Holloway was appointed to the commission in...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD Township — A six-year-old dream of establishing a hotel and casino complex at the top of Indianhead Mountain in Wakefield Township is inching closer to reality as plans are now in the works to construct a viable road to the proposed site. Barry Bolich, manager of the Gogebic County Road Commission in Bessemer, said by phone Thursday that the GCRC will apply for a state grant in hopes of “totally” rebuilding Indianhead Road, which connects U.S. 2 to Big Snow Resort’s Indianhead location. The gran... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - With the construction calendar returning to normal following delivery and personnel delays, the Pat O'Donnell Civic Center may be open for use by mid to late February, according to officials. Most of the essential work is expected to be completed by mid-February, and if the ice is ready to be made, then the building could be open for use by the end of the month, said Michelle Rigoni-Sivula, civic center manager. That is contingent on...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer city council will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday to discuss the city’s master plan. “We’re just in the early stages, but the master plan is the guiding plan for the city for the next five years,” said city manager Charly Loper. The meeting, Loper said, is a “brain storming” session for the city council. However, the public is welcome to listen in and provide feedback and-or ideas to Loper directly either before or after the meeting. The city sent out an open-ended...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Politicians around the region are reacting to the violence in Washington D.C. Wednesday as a violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to delay the Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The proceedings resumed later Wednesday after the Capitol was cleared by law enforcement and was completed early Thursday. “As are so many Wisconsinites and Americans, I am watching these horrifying events unfold in Washington, D.C. in disbelief. The... Full story
