Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 2141 - 2165 of 9883
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] MARENISCO - The Marenisco Volunteer Fire Department is looking to grow its ranks and is aiming at getting young people interested in firefighting by sponsoring a Junior Cadet program. The department is holding a series of firefighting training demonstrations for its cadets, ages 14 to 18. The next session is set for Aug. 5 at 5 p.m., and will feature a demonstration of firefighting techniques as well as a question and answer session. Cadets meet once a...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley school board will decide the start of the school year and the fate of the fall sports season at its regular meeting in August. The unanimous decision on Monday came after school administrator Kevin Genisot recommended the regular meeting date of Aug. 17, as opposed to an Aug. 5 special meeting that was proposed in June. This would give the 12-member special committee that includes the Iron County health officer opportunity to assess all available information to determine if a...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The Gogebic-Iron County Airport officially opened again Saturday evening after more than a month of runway reconstruction. The runway rehabilitation and runway lighting reconstruction project required the airport closure on June 1. The $5.19 million project was to be completed on July 15, but weather and scheduling issues delayed the project until July 18. "We're going back to work," said Michael Harma, airport manager. There were engineers on the field who were overseeing... Full story
HURLEY — As the number of local COVID-19 cases continues to rise, the Iron County Health Department announced it is partnering with the Wisconsin National Guard to increase the availability of COVID-19 testing in Iron County later this week. There are a pair of testing events planned, with one scheduled in Hurley and a second in Mercer. The Hurley event will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Hurley K-12 School and the Mercer event will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the Department of Natural Resources Ranger Station at 5...
MARENISCO - Renewal of a U.S. 2 bridge over the Presque Isle River continues directly east of the M-64 turn-off to the unincorporated area of Marenisco. The project funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation began on June 1, along with a concurrent road project on M-64, south of Marenisco's "downtown" region. Hebert Construction Company, of Iron River, is in charge of the bridge project. "The old one was all broken up," said John Donati, an Hebert employee, on Friday. "The water was... Full story
MERCER, Wis. — COVID-19 topics took up most of the Mercer Town Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, including concerns about thousands of people attending the annual Loon Day event in August. In his COVID-19 update, Town Chairman John Sendra said the Iron County Health Department will conduct a drive-thru COVID-19 testing event from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, July 24 at the Wisconsin DNR Mercer Ranger Station on U.S. 51. There are 400 tests that will be first-come, first-served. Sendra said he attended a recent Iron County meeting that include... Full story
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Board of Trustees moved to restrict cash payments at the township hall Monday as part of the township’s ongoing efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Along with closing the office to walk-in traffic, township officials expressed concern that the need to handle cash increased the risk of catching the coronavirus. The number of cash payments had decreased at the beginning of the pandemic, according to township officials, but had been increasing in recent weeks. “Right now, people want to pay their...
IRONWOOD — The Gogebic Community College Foundation is creating retention scholarships for students enrolled in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, from grant monies received from the Xcel Energy Foundation. “The Xcel grant offers an occasion to foster both student and faculty growth, so I am excited to challenge and be challenged by some of the brightest students on campus,” said Serena Mershon-Lohkamp, GCC chemistry instructor. The college foundation received $4,000 and is one of only 63 nonprofits that were invited to apply...
WAKEFIELD - COVID-19 testing was conducted by the Upper Great Lakes Family Health Center in conjunction with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department at the Wakefield Post of the Michigan State Police on Thursday. "One of our goals is to bring COVID-19 testing to areas where it wouldn't ordinarily be easy to access, or it allows more easy access to it, and we also want to identify cases in counties where testing has historically been low; so we know if there is COVID-19 in those... Full story
IRONWOOD — An Ironwood City Commission workshop fell short on time with a proposed adult-use marijuana manufacturing ordinance on Monday and will schedule another before considering the ordinance. The proposed ordinance failed three separate city commission votes at its March meeting and was directed back to the planning commission. The city commission had issues with buffer zones restricting marijuana establishments, micro-licenses regarding product testing and certification of edible marijuana products, and the number of retail growers and p...
IRONWOOD — The leaders of the Ironwood Area Schools are looking for members of the community interested in joining a foundation being created later this summer that will be affiliated with the district, with an informational meeting about the effort set for July 30. The foundation would be similar to the Hurley Education Foundation and provide a way for alumni and families to make donations to help the district purchase items that aren’t feasible to include in Ironwood’s annual budget. “This would supplement (the district’s annual budget),...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iron County has now doubled in less than a week, as Iron County health department officials announced three new cases linked to the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday. The three cases bring the county's total to 20, with six cases considered recovered. The county health department's announcement Friday of one new case brought the county's total up to 10. Since then, the health department announced seven new cases Monday and three new cases Tuesday.... Full story
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley City Council on Tuesday approved a setback variance request that would allow construction of a non-conforming garage that is being planned by a city council member. The 4-0 approval follows recommendations from the city assessor Daniel Soine and the city planning and zoning committee to approve a conditional use permit for a homeowner to construct a second garage at 610 Oak St. The variance was necessary to allow a setback leeway that places the garage 6 feet from the alley a...
Charity Smith/Daily Globe Traffic is backed up onto U.S. 2 on Country Club Road on Wednesday morning, as a crew works to repave Country Club Road from U.S. 2 to Bonnie Road in Ironwood....
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer Public School Board approved contracts for the superintendent and special education director on Monday. Sheri Kopka, who has served as the interim school superintendent since June 2019, accepted a two-year contract offered from the board that is effective July 1 through June 30, 2022. The decision follows the resignation of former district administrator Erik Torkelson in June after a year on long-term medical leave. The board reached an agreement on a contract with K...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Members of the Wakefield City Council voted on Monday evening to approve a newly created policy for the disposition of city-owned surplus property. City Manager Rob Brown, who developed the new policy after studying similar plans by other municipalities, said the city has roughly 89 such properties on its roster. He added that many of them should be kept, but also assured that some of them could be sold. "We know our charter allows us to... Full story
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The body of a missing Wisconsin woman has been recovered, ending a multi-day search after local authorities received reports she went over Rainbow Falls near Black River Harbor. Deputies with the Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department recovered the body of Stephanie Narvaez, 22, of Watertown, at approximately 4:40 a.m. at the base of Rainbow Falls, Gogebic County Sheriff Pete Matonich said in a Tuesday news release. Narvaez had attempted to cross the Black River above the falls while hiking with Karl Nelson, 22, of Mil...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — Andrew DiGiorgio, the director of Ironwood Public Safety Department, announced Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. The announcement came during the regular meeting of the Ironwood City Commission that DiGiorgio attended virtually. He let the commissioners know of his status during his COVID-19 report. “I will let you know that I’m positive with the coronavirus so I’m quarantined for 14 days,” DiGiorgio said during the meeting. DiGiorgio said in his discussions with the Weste...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The search continued on Monday for a missing Wisconsin visitor who reportedly fell into the Black River and was swept over Rainbow Falls on Saturday, according to a press release from Gogebic County Sheriff's Office. Stephanie Narvaez, 22, of Watertown, Wisconsin, and her companion, Karl Nelson, 22, of Milwaukee, were hiking in the area of Rainbow Falls on Saturday evening, according to the press release. Narvaez was attempting to cross the Black River just above the waterfall when she lost her footing, slipped into the r... Full story
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER - The A.D. Johnston High School class of 2020 may have lost out on many traditional senior rites of passage, but on Friday not only did they have a graduation ceremony, with all the pomp and circumstance allowed by COVID times, but became the first graduating class to have its ceremony outside on Massie Field. "We are the first class to graduate on Massie Field, this right now is history," said one of the class valedictorians, Eliza Stone, in...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - High school graduates of Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School had to wait until Friday evening for their graduation ceremony, but they were rewarded for their patience with perfect weather in an outdoor setting overlooking Sunday Lake. The ceremony - which normally would have taken place in the school gym in late May - was delayed due to COVID-19. Because of related concerns about enclosed spaces, this year's event was held on the north side of the...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has upheld the sentences of one of the men convicted of killing a Lac du Flambeau man in Iron County two-and-a-half years ago. Following a six-day trial in August 2018, a jury found Joseph Lussier guilty of being one of the two shooters in the December 2017 murder of Wayne Valliere Jr., in a remote part of Iron County north of Mercer, convicting him of being a party to the crimes of first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon and hid... Full story
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Wakefield postmaster Drew Tikkanen has been named the "2019 Engagement Leader of the Year," for the Greater Michigan District of the U.S. Postal Service. "I was very shocked when this happened," Tikkanen said. "I was not expecting it. Especially one out of our whole district. I didn't know they had this kind of thing until they presented me with it." Tikkanen said she was presented the award Thursday via a surprise Zoom presentation from...
