Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1877 - 1901 of 9883
MARENISCO - The Marenisco Township Board of Trustees addressed a list of agenda items at its Monday evening meeting, but the biggest news was that it was the final occasion for Supervisor Richard Bouvette to lead the charge. After nearly a quarter of a century leading the township, Bouvette - who will be 75 in January - wrote in his November newsletter column that he is "ready to transition from a position of some influence to obscurity as a cranky old man." After serving as the superintendent...
HURLEY — With its shipment of flu vaccines now delivered, the Iron County Health Department announced it is planning four flu vaccine clinics this month — including a pair of events in southern Iron County today. Health department officials are encouraging people to get their flu shots as the department works to prevent a flu outbreak from complicating the effort to stop the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “We don’t want to confuse the flu season with COVID-19,” said Zona Wick, a registered nurse and retired county health officer who returned...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Union Station food pantry has teamed up with Feeding America to offer Michigan residents a drive-thru food distribution at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The distribution is expected to include meat, produce, dairy and groceries, according to organizers. “This is a different arrangement than what we had before. What we did is we partnered with Feeding America from downstate, and we offered to administer and distribute food to the local people here,” said Roger Kolehmainen, a representative with...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Monday's return to in-person learning in several local school districts will be short-lived for some students as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order closing high schools across the state is set to take effect Wednesday. The state order, which was announced Sunday, targets indoor social gatherings and other group activities as state officials look to curb rapidly raising COVID-19 infection rates. "In the spring, we listened to public health...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] Four years after helping prevent the loss of quality ambulance services in Gogebic County, a special committee continues to explore ways to address increasing costs, cross-border regulations and rural response times. The county had considered running its own ambulance service but it makes more sense to contract, financially speaking, said Jim Lorenson, chair of the county ambulance committee. The committee formed to find immediate and long-term solutions when Beacon Ambulance could not keep up...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Members of the American Legion Post 11 in Wakefield honored Franklin "Porky" Raymond, 88, at a Wednesday afternoon event in the Legion building. Commander Russ Korpi presented the "Recognition Award," along with Finance Officer Rudy Krznarich. "Your contribution was critical to our success," read a plaque that Raymond received. Korpi recalled that Raymond was on the Honor Guard for many years and also used his woodworking skills to make tables...
HURLEY — A pair of men are facing charges related to a number of burglaries in the region, including two in southern Iron County, the Iron County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday. Larry J. Rush, 65, of Park Falls is charged with two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and two misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property in connection to alleged burglaries in the Mercer and Springstead areas. Steven G. Martin, 28, of Success, Arkansas, is charged with felony counts of burglary and theft, as well as a misdemeanor count of cri...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors passed the county’s 2021 budget in a special meeting at the Iron County Memorial Building Tuesday, including a 50-cent-per-hour raise for county employees. The budget had originally included a 25-cent raise, however, the board voted 10-2 to raise that amount to 50 cents. Board members Opal Roberts and Ken Saari voted against the measure. Supervisors Karl Krall, Scott Erickson and Bill Thomas weren’t at the meeting. The decision to increase the raise...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] ERWIN TOWNSHIP - The East End School, a turn of the century one-room school house built in 1915, will soon be the new home of the Erwin Township Historical Society's artifact museum, genealogy research center and community meeting place. Historical society president Tom Pelissero said they are looking not only to create a museum, but to make an asset for the community. "If we are going to tell future generations about the history we should have a home i...
BESSEMER — A Wakefield man is in custody after being accused of being involved in a home invasion and several car break-ins in the city of Bessemer last week. Troopers from the Michigan State Police’s Wakefield Post were dispatched to the scene of an alleged home invasion in Bessemer on Nov. 6. A home and a car had both been entered, according to a MSP news release, where two purses and roughly $245 were allegedly stolen. The Gogebic County Sheriff’s Office had received reports of four other car break-ins in Bessemer around this time, accor...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an administrative agreement with the Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Agency to manage a Michigan Community Development Block Grant. The purpose of the agreement is to facilitate the administration and implementation of the Gogebic County Housing Rehabilitation program and income collected under the program. The Michigan Economic Housing Development Corporation is the authorizing agency, the county is the local unit of g...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER - A declared write-in candidate won a trustee seat in Bessemer Township following the Gogebic County Board of Canvassing certification of the general election results on Tuesday. There were two trustee seats on the ballot in the township, and while incumbent Beverly Ikola retained hers without opposition, there was no second candidate. The canvassers awarded 30 write-in ballots to Sue Roberts, who was a declared write-in candidate for...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley K-12 School created a virtual commemoration for Veterans Day on Wednesday with an online video of music, speeches and art that was focused on honoring the men and women who have served in the armed forces. The annual Veterans Day programs at area high schools are big events with color guards, speeches, music and fanfare before an assembly of the entire school and area veterans organizations. An assembly was not possible with the pandemic and so staff and students contributed s...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — After a month of preparation, the city of Ironwood will open the application period for adult-use marijuana establishments on the city’s website starting at 4 p.m. today. The Ironwood City Commission on Monday 4-1 approved revisions to the marijuana establishments ordinance. Commissioner Joseph Cayer did not support the revision and has opposed the adult-use marijuana ordinance all along. A public hearing on the marijuana establishments ordinance prior to the city commission was req...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HANCOCK — As the number of regional COVID-19 cases continues to jump, the Western Upper Peninsula Heath Department announced Monday that it has begun prioritizing its case investigations and not everyone may be contacted by the health department. The region of Gogebic, Ontonagon, Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties the health department serves has had over 750 cases in the last three weeks, according to department officials, straining the department’s resources. “Even with assistance from partn...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER - Visitors to Bessemer will temporarily be welcomed into the city by not one but two signs, sitting next to each other announcing the entrance into the city along U.S. 2 at the east and west ends of town. New "Be Bessemer" signs were put into place earlier this week alongside the old welcome signs, which will be removed at some point. "We are looking for a fresh look that captures our (railroad) history. The signs are in the style of some of...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Old file cabinets might seem trivial but the appropriate storage for aging documents will help ensure that Ironwood’s map and plat archives will be in good condition for generations to come, according to members of the Ironwood Area Historical Society. The city of Ironwood recently approved the $1 sale of two metal map drawers to the historical society. The map drawers were in the Memorial Building for decades and were recently pla...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Wednesday, a group of 20 veterans will tandem skydive onto the front lawn of the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the museum’s commemoration of Veterans Day. One of the jumpers is expected to be local veteran, Tom DeCarlo. The “legacy jump” will kick of the museum’s Veterans Day activities and will feature veterans from the ages of 28 to 92, representing World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf, the wars in Afghanist...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HANCOCK — The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reported Keweenaw County had its first COVID-19 death last week, meaning every county in the region has now lost someone related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The resident was a patient at a local hospital at the time of their death, the health department said Thursday in the announcement. The death comes less than a week after Ontonagon County had its first death since the pandemic began in late March. “Our heartfelt sympathies and...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The same day the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District announced its six member districts were extending their period of remote learning in response to rising COVID-19 numbers in the area, the Ironwood Area Schools board of education met Thursday to discuss whether that was the right decision for the district — ultimately deciding to follow the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department’s recommendation and continue for at least the next week. The vote means the district will...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The Iron County Board of Canvass performed the canvass of the county's results in Tuesday's general election Friday morning, formalizing the unofficial numbers reported on election night. Although the canvass resulted in some changed vote totals, the outcomes of all the races remained the same. One of the biggest changes to the results reported on election night was that the Libertarian presidential ticket of Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy Spike...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Planning Commission is going about the process of prioritizing projects as it expects to be involved with the wave of marijuana establishment licensure applications for the first half of 2021, according to discussion during a virtual meeting on Thursday. The city’s priority of the moment is completing work on the zoning ordinance and involving the planning commission in that process, along with the downtown development plan, wayfinding master plan and the master arts plan, s...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area Historical Society is following up on the success of its first calendar last year with a 2021 version that serves as the organization’s only fundraiser this year. “It’s something that people look at every day and it reminds them of Ironwood’s history,” said Sandy Sharp, historical society president. “I think that it’s important for our area to remember our history because it’s what made Ironwood what it is today.” Sharp and the archivists and volunteers of the h...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP- A light agenda at a Wednesday evening meeting of the Wakefield Township Board of Trustees allowed newly-elected members to show appreciation to two members who are retiring and a third member who is changing posts. It was the last meeting that retiring Supervisor John Cox will chair. "It's been a real joy to work with all of you on the board," said incoming Supervisor Mandy Lake, who is leaving her role of clerk to take over Cox's job....
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Economic Development Corporation will be looking to update goals over the next few months, according to discussion at their virtual meeting on Wednesday. The meeting started with the renomination of EDC Chair John Wyssling, who was reelected 5-0 as chair for another year. Dave Ramme was also reelected as vice chair. EDC members Mark Ruppe and Velda Sclafani were not present. Sclafani’s term has expired and her seat is now vacant. The EDC approved an initial list of goa...
