Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 2031 - 2055 of 9836
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HANCOCK — A pair of Michigan National Guard COVID-19 testing events in Gogebic County earlier this month resulted in a total of nine new positive cases, according to information from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department Monday. The Aug. 8 event at the Lac Vieux Desert Casino in Watersmeet had 341 people tested, with five new positive cases and three confirmations of existing positives. There were 319 negative tests at the event, along with one pending or inconclusive test. There were a t... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY - Students of the Hurley Public School District will start the fall semester in the classroom, with virtual attendance available as an option, following a unanimous decision of the school board on Monday. The school reopening committee plan is able to shift study from in-class to virtual as needed throughout the school year based on area COVID-19 cases and at the school in particular. The plan allows for in-classroom learning to start the...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The city of Bessemer adopted a policy on Monday night to specify the requirements for the restoration of grass and property damaged by snow plows during the winter months. “We are not obligated by any means to repair grass, this is something that we have just done; most communities do not do it,” said Charly Loper, city manager, of her talks with city attorney Ray O’Dea. “It was getting a little out of hand and we were repairing all these little things. People were calling to complain...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP - A Wisconsin man died Friday night after going over a waterfall on the Presque Isle River in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in northern Gogebic County. Michigan State Police troopers were dispatched at 8:30 p.m. to the Presque Isle Campground, off of County Road 519, after a 911 caller reported seeing someone go over the falls, according to a MSP news release. The man - later identified as Ryan Kohnhorst, 39, of... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Health Department has reported two new possible COVID-19 exposure sites. The health department confirmed there were positive cases identified at a sand volleyball tournament in Mercer from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 11 and at the Liberty Way Tap House in Mercer on Aug. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. “This is not intended to lay blame on any local businesses, anyone who tested positive … or other locations identified,” a department spokesperson said in the announcement Friday, adding that pe...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — A Bessemer man was sentenced to prison last week for an April shooting in the city. Timothy James Wigman, 26, was sentenced to between 3 and 10 years in prison for assault with intent to commit great bodily harm. Gogebic Circuit Judge Michael Pope warned Wigman in court Aug. 11 that he came close to facing a much longer prison sentence. “That was a very serious offense. As the doctor acknowledged, a little bit down and a little bit more in center and this would be a totally dif...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] RAMSAY — The Gogebic Range Water Authority board received some good news Thursday regarding highway construction that will require moving of water mains. The water authority engineer, Darren Pionk of C2AE, updated the board on the U.S. 2 reconstruction through Bessemer that will require the water authority to adjust the depth and placement of some water mains in the Marshalek Road area. A virtual meeting with Michigan Department of Transportation engineers addressed major concerns over the l... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] SAXON, Wis. - Saxon Harbor played host to a larger vessel than it usually sees over the past few days as a tall ship, Schooner Huron Jewel, docked in the harbor Thursday. "We're sailing around the Great Lakes this summer to put smiles on people's faces by bringing a tall ship to their backyard," said Julie Covert, who owns the ship with her husband, Hugh. The 60-foot schooner - which means the vessel has more than one mast and has its biggest sail...
IRONWOOD — The Historic Ironwood Theatre announced Wednesday it was awarded a COVID-19 Emergency Relief grant of $3,000 from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs (MCACA), according to a Thursday announcement from the theatre. The funding is available from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The act made a total of $502,400 in one-time grants from MCACA to eligible nonprofit arts and cultural organizations that are negatively impacted by the pandemic. ...
BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday heard a request for an allocation increase from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department. Kate Beer, the health officer for WUPHD, attended the county board meeting to discuss the fiscal year 2021 county allocation request and said the department is losing approximately $150,000 annually due mostly to a loss in Medicare reimbursements following federal adjustments and to the unfunded pension liability. “Right now we are paying over $800,000 annually, about 50% of the pay... Full story
SAXON, Wis. - For the first time since the former location was flooded in the July 2016 storm, people will be able to camp at Saxon Harbor's campground today. Although the campground is only scheduled to open for the weekend before closing to allow for some final work to be done, the plan is to reopen for the season Thursday. "It will be nice to see a full facility again," said Eric Peterson, Iron County's forestry and parks administrator. The campground opens today at 4 p.m., on a first-come,...
HURLEY - The Downtown Art Place completed its outdoor art and science classes for children on Thursday with a study of trees at Riccelli Park in Hurley. The series of classes was coordinated by Sue Spaete, a retired Wakefield kindergarten teacher. She said she wanted to do a series of outdoor classes which integrated both art and science for children. Each class in the series had a different theme - insects, birds, shoreline and trees - and the classes - taught by local artists and naturalists...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The November ballot is continuing to take shape in Wisconsin as Tuesday's primary formalized several of this fall's contests. There were no contested races in Tuesday's election, however, voters decided who would represent their respective parties in a variety of federal, state and local elections in the Nov. 3 general election. The only unknown Tuesday, whether write-in candidate Doug Muskett would receive enough votes in the Democratic... Full story
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — A Return-to-Learn plan was approved by the Bessemer Area School Board during a special meeting held over Zoom on Tuesday. The plan offers parents the option of enrolling their students in one of two ways — virtual or in-person, this fall as long as Gogebic County remains in Phase 5 of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Safe Start plan. If the county’s status should drop back to Phase 4, the in-person students will be put into a blended learning plan. “We want to keep it flexible, it’s a fluid-type...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Thanks to progress now being made toward new standards in property maintenance, residents of Wakefield soon will face stricter rules and penalties if they do not comply. At a Tuesday evening meeting of the city’s planning commission, members strongly expressed their desire to create a new ordinance that will allow them to address persistent problems with blight and related issues. “Our city looks terrible,” said commission member Marsha Vestich. “There are so many buildings that should be...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Gogebic-Iron County Airport will need to close for a few days to wrap up the summer runway project, according to reports at the airport board meeting Monday. The airport will close again from Thursday to Aug. 20 to allow workers to paint permanent lines and to cut 2-inch drainage gaps across the surface of the runway, said Michael Harma, airport manager. The work follows the runway reconstruction that occurred over 45 days through June and until mid July. It takes about 3... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood’s department heads will soon start the process of updating the city’s comprehensive plan, according to reports at the city commission meeting on Monday. The commission 5-0 approved the Ironwood Comprehensive Plan and Planning Commission report and review. Approval is required by the Redevelopment Ready Communities Program of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The 10-year plan needs an annual review for insight on how much of the plan is completed or in proce...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield City Council voted Monday evening to approve a curbside brush pick-up during the fall season. No date has yet been set, but City Manager Rob Brown provided a list of strict guidelines with agenda materials. “We’re not going to be picking up their junk or garbage,” said Mayor Dale White,” but we will pick up their brush.” White said the action will be in lieu of the city’s annual spring clean-up, which was postponed in the spring and now canceled. “I think, with the COVID, it’s go...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - It is a year to the day since a fire destroyed The Pines Cafe in downtown Ironwood, and owners Susan Craumann and Janice Miskovich re-opened the renovated restaurant a day earlier on Monday. "It's been a very long year," Craumann said. "Reconstructing the place was a long process." It was the pride in their business that helped them to navigate the "devastating path" resulting from the fire, she said. They wish it never happened but... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — People in the Ironwood area will be able to be tested for COVID-19 Wednesday during a testing event at the Ironwood Public Safety Department. The no-cost event is scheduled to run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to a flier, and is available to everyone. No pre-registration, insurance, prescription or doctor’s order is needed, the flier reads. The event comes as the number of local cases linked to the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise. The number of cases in Gogebic County ros...
HURLEY — Iron County voters head to the polls today to participate in Wisconsin’s August primary. Those participating in the election can choose between participating in the Democratic, Republican and U.S. Constitution parties’ primaries. Although there are no contested races on the local ballots, voters will cast their votes in federal, state and local elections. Voters will decide who will represent their respective parties in the November general election for the 7th Congressional District and 74th State Assembly District; as well as Iron...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] RAMSAY — Although the segment won’t formally open for another month or so, work extending the non-motorized Iron Belle Trail into Ramsay is nearing completion as the trail’s blacktop has now been poured. “The week after Labor Day is what we’re shooting for officially (for the opening),” said Paul Anderson, a project manager with Coleman Engineering who is overseeing the project. He said some shoulder restoration work still needs to be done, as well as the installation of fencing on the Ramsay side... Full story
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Members of the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department made short work of a controlled burn of brush on Wednesday evening. According to Fire Chief Lou Boetto and Assistant Chief Mike Singleton, the brush dates back to a severe storm that hit the region in the summer of 2016. According to reports at that time, straight-line winds of about 90 mph destroyed countless trees and power lines and ripped the roof from the former ice rink on M-28 next to S...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Economic Development Corporation had an employment specialist attend the regular meeting on Wednesday. The meeting started with Steve Lehto, Jr., the new employer specialist for Gogebic and Ontonagon counties with MichiganWorks! Association. He is now in his fifth week on the job and available by appointment from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at 100 South Mill St., in Bessemer. Lehto said he will assist people who are seeking employment along with helping e...
