Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 2990 - 3014 of 9971
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County has signed onto an effort to raise Wisconsin’s smoking age to 21 as the Iron County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution advocating for the change Tuesday. The resolution was passed at the recommendation of the county’s board of health, county board chairman Joe Pinardi said Wednesday. He said one of the reasons he supports the proposal is because it will help keep tobacco products out of the school system. “It will eliminate a lot of the school-age kids being able to buy...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - The arts has a larger economic impact than most people realize, according a Business Bites presentation Wednesday at the Mercer Community Center. "The arts has a $9.7 billion annual impact on Wisconsin," said Lynn Ritchie, president of Land O' Lakes Arts Board (LOLA) and a member of the Wisconsin Arts Board. Yet, Wisconsin ranks 48th in state funding for the arts, she said. Artists are drawn to Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper...
By KIM E. STROM [email protected] IRONWOOD - We are all storytellers as human beings, according to narrative consultant Jenifer Strauss. And if we can tell a story out loud, we can certainly write it. "That is what this whole program is about," said Strauss who spent the morning working with children in the second, fourth and fifth grades at the Luther L. Wright K-12 School. "Many fear the writing process. They think they don't have good ideas and they do," she said. "I let them know that...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Those who attended Monday evening's Wakefield city council meeting learned a lot regarding what the Wakefield Public Library has to offer. Joel Laessig, who became the library director when Denise Engel retired from the role earlier this year, gave a slide presentation that featured the libraries' many assets and activities, as well as an explanation of its management and financing. "When I started in February, I really didn't know what to...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area Schools has applied for several U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants, hoping to use the federal dollars to maximize its purchasing power for several district projects. The district has submitted four grants, according to Superintendent Travis Powell, prioritizing the applications based on importance to the district’s goals. Gogebic County is one of three counties in Michigan where municipal entities and other qualifying organizations are eligible to...
By KIM E. STROM [email protected] IRONWOOD — A free snowmobile safety education/certification course is being offered Saturday Oct. 12 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Gogebic Community College in Ironwood. In Michigan, snowmobile safety training is recommended for all riders, but is required for those ages 12 to 16. In Wisconsin, those born on or after Jan.1, 1985 and at least 12 years of age need to take the course, said Department of Natural Resources safety instructor Deborah Fergus. Once a certificate is obtained, it can be r...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — A severe storm system that prompted weather warnings late Tuesday, but no tornadoes, will give way to more rain into next week, according to the National Weather Service. National Weather Service offices in Duluth and Marquette issued thunderstorm warnings into the late evening along with tornado and flood watches for Ashland, Iron, Sawyer and the south eastern Upper Peninsula. The system included a cluster of storms, and produced pingpong size hail as it moved through Sawyer County, s...
By KIM E. STROM [email protected] BESSEMER - A lot is happening in the city of Bessemer these days. City Manager Charly Loper gave the Daily Globe an update Tuesday on local projects and their projected end dates. "Our infrastructure is over 100 years old," said Loper. "It's time." Currently the city is working on a $7 million water and sewer plan with repairs scattered around town, said Loper. "Theoretically, they should be done before snow," she said. The $21 million water and sewer...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A defense motion seeking to dismiss the charges against a Kimball, Wisconsin man accused of bombing an asphalt plant in 2015 was denied Monday in Iron County court. Matthew Allen Gollubske, 39, is charged with two counts of being a party to the crime of using explosives to damage property in connection to several explosions between 4:15 and 6 a.m. on the morning of July 4, 2015 at Mathy Construction’s asphalt plant off U.S. 2 in the town of Kimball. Gollubske’s attorney, William Apple...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday unanimously approved a resolution to support the proposed Downtown City Square project prior to applying for $1.67 million in grant funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The project at West Aurora and South Lowell streets will include an amphitheater and splash pad for summer events, and an ice skating rink and outdoor gas fire place for winter events including the finnish line of the SISU Ski Fest. The space would also p...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — It may soon become harder to pass on Lake Road after the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees decided Monday to send a letter to the Gogebic County Road Commission seeking to prohibit passing south of Sunset Road. The board’s letter seeks to remove the passing zones between Margaret Street and Sunset Road and requests a traffic study to determine whether the speed limit can be reduced as well. The board based its decision on the fact the section of road is both fairly hea...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield City Council on Monday approved an Oct. 14 public hearing to consider a tax-exempt status request for the former town memorial building site. The property has been vacant since the memorial building was razed in 2010. Forward Wakefield Development Corporation, the nonprofit owner of the three-acre plot at 500 Lakeshore Drive, received the land from Marvin Suomi, who donated it in 2018 after his own tax-exempt status expired....
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Historic Ironwood Theatre was roaring with laughter Saturday night as comedian Tim Harmston took the stage. Harmston is a Minneapolis based comedian who travels the country doing shows. But before he took the stage, the crowd was warmed up by opening act, Vivian Meradeth and Tim Mesun. Meradeth and Mesun are both local performers who returned to Ironwood after seeking their degrees. Meradeth pursued her love of the stage at The American...
By Megan Hughes [email protected] WAKEFIELD - This past Saturday the Wakefield VFW was bustling with activity as organizer Lynnea Laessig and the Gogebic-Ontonagon Great Start Collaborative welcomed attendees to their inaugural Family Wellness Fair. The fair started at 10 a.m. on Saturday with local healthcare groups and businesses setting up tables to spread the message of personal health. "Our goal is to inspire and educate people to make healthy choices and promote self-care." Laessig...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — A special hearing prior to the Ironwood City Commission meeting tonight will be to consider a grant application to build a Downtown City Square next year. The $1.67 million grant application to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the project, said Tom Bergman, the community development director for the city of Ironwood. The city’s share is $191,000, which is an agreement to complete the downtown lighting project on Wes...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Members of the Ironwood Township Fire Department attended a training on Tuesday to familiarize the firefighters with a new fire truck at Gogebic-Iron County Airport. Michael Harma, airport manager, along with other staff, walked the firefighters through the features of the Oshkosh brand Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) vehicle, which is designed for an airport ground emergency involving fires and even possible rescues of passengers and flight crews. The 2019 model...
IRONWOOD - Just how fast can nine people pull a semi truck and trailer a distance of 20 feet? In what may have looked like a physics experiment or a Friday training for the Commercial Motor Vehicle Licensing (CDL) program at Gogebic Community College, was actually nine teams competing in the third annual "18 legs versus 18 wheels" competition and fundraiser for the GCC service learning program trip to Guatemala from May 16-24, 2020. "We put the fun back into fundraising," said Janie Williams,...
MERCER, Wis. — The Town of Mercer Board of Supervisors is one step away from finalizing a new fireworks ordinance that will include a permitting process. The board held a hearing prior to its regular meeting on Thursday, where the supervisors reviewed ordinances of seven other Wisconsin cities and towns. The board directed Fritz Schellgell, legal counsel for the township, to draft the ordinance for consideration at the next regular meeting. Schellgell said the ordinances are not complicated but clearly state what is permissible under W...
IRONWOOD - Nearly 1,000 people were impacted Thursday by the story of Daniel Olson. Daniel of Marquette was 19-years-old when he took his life by suicide. "Do It For Daniel" is a documentary of his struggle with depression and mental illness and a message of hope. The movie was shown at the Historic Ironwood Theatre to students in grades 7 through 12 from Hurley, Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco through the day. The day ended with a final evening showing to the general public. Jeff...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY, Wisc. — The results of the Wisconsin Student Assessment System exams released Monday showed slight decreases in English language arts and mathematics, but not across the board, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. The assessment from the 2018-19 school year includes the Forward Exam for grades three through eight, the ACT Aspire for grades nine and 10, the ACT with writing in grade 11, and the Dynamic Learning Maps given across all tested grades to students with the m...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON - The former Wagars restaurant and bar is going down. Crews and big equipment from the Pesta Construction Company started the demolition of the building Monday. The restaurant and bar were originally two buildings but a door was created between them and remodeled to look like one structure. The village now owns the property and obtained a Michigan Land Bank Authority Rural Demolition Grant to tear it down. The $50,000 grant will not pay for the...
