Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 2116 - 2140 of 9883
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Historical Society is celebrating its 50th anniversary and, although the pandemic shutdown has not provided much opportunity for fanfare, it has given the board and volunteers a chance to revitalize the museum and add new exhibits. "Yes, unfortunately the Depot Museum is closed, but our volunteer staff have been very busy behind the scenes," said Sandy Sharp, president of the historical society. "We have been paying close att...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] EWEN — The Ewen-Trout Creek School Board agreed to send a letter to the Ontonagon County Board requesting that the school district receive 33% of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) that the county receives each year. According to Superintendent Dave Radovich, the action was taken because of the impending state reductions resulting from COVID-19. The 33% would be about $180,000, Radovich said. The action is a win for Pat Kitzman who for years has claimed that PILT funds were to be distributed 33% to schools, 3...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BERGLAND — The six members of the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District will be receiving funds for supplies to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 this fall after the GOISD board voted Wednesday to provide $172,000 in financial assistance. “The members of the GOISD Board of Education recognize that each of our local districts will be facing additional costs related to the requirements of reopening under the Michigan Return to School Roadmap. As a result, the GOISD Board of Education met...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - A new press box is nearing completion on the south side of the athletic field next to Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School. "It's looking pretty nice," said Superintendent Jason Gustafson at last week's meeting of the Board of Education. He urged board members to check out the progress. Gustafson informed the Daily Globe this week that he expects the project to be done before the new school year starts on Aug. 25. That will be just in time for the...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] LANSING — As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in their states, the governors in Michigan and Wisconsin have brought back measures from earlier this year designed to halt the spread of the coronavirus. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a pair of executive orders Wednesday that again limits the size of gatherings to 10 people and closes bars to indoor service — including in the Upper Peninsula and other parts of the state’s Region 8. The order takes effect starting today. “As w...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday held its second workshop to try and address details that led to a proposed adult-use marijuana manufacturing ordinance failing a split vote in March. Tom Bergman, director of community development, updated the commission from the previous workshop with a map that reflected concerns with more detailed restrictions with commercial marijuana within zoning commercial, industrial and light industrial that border with residential areas. He also addressed...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] SAXON HARBOR, Wis. - Iron County is getting a seven-figure payday after the Iron County Board of Supervisors approved an easement agreement with Enbridge Inc. for use of the land the company needs for a potential reroute of its Line 5 pipeline Tuesday. The deal will have the company pay Iron County $1.5 million for the easement on the property, along with a $51,790 road-access fee, for a total of $1,551,790. "That money would be paid up front to...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD — Gogebic Community College is preparing for in-person and online classes to resume this fall, with safety measures to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus for those returning to campus. “We’re doing a great job in putting things in place right now as far as risk,” said GCC president George McNulty during the board meeting, held via Zoom on Tuesday. “As we speak today, we are preparing for classes to begin in person on Aug. 24.” McNulty said that while they do have a virtual opt...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday approved a resolution to support a grant application that would help renovate Norrie Park and embark on a Montreal River water trail project. The board 5-0 approved Resolution No. 020-011, a Trust Fund grant application with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The meeting followed a public hearing on the topic that had been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic impact on the MDNR grant process. “I am excited about the opportunity to deve...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] IRONWOOD - Bigger is better when it comes to maps, according to officials who want to promote area highlights for visitors. The Ironwood Tourism Council (Travel Ironwood) in collaboration with area businesses and nonprofit organizations embarked on a visitor information map project that is designed to showcase area attractions with a large, comprehensive design. The project is starting with four maps over the next few months with the ability to...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield City Council voted Monday evening to adopt a final water project plan in relation to an area of Wakefield Township that is served by the city water system. "The area affectionately known as 'Bingoville' comprises five properties in the immediate area of the former Bingo Motel and Gas Station," wrote Brown in a related report to the council. Brown explained that the "substandard" connection had been installed privately years ago,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] As the number of local cases of COVID-19 continues to climb, local health officials continue to warn residents about the need to contain the spread of the virus. The Iron County Health Department announced additional possible exposure sites, while the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department joined with the other five health departments across the U.P. to warn residents of rising infection rates across the region. “In the past few weeks, the Upper Peninsula has seen a dramatic increase in p...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER - The Gogebic County 4-H Club, a division of the Michigan State University-Extension program, will be hosting a virtual livestock showcase and auction on Aug. 6-8. "We decided to go on with it because we didn't have any other option, to have a way for the kids to sell them other than selling them personally," said Ashley Dennis, 4-H program coordinator. "We thought this way, they would still be able to take part in an auction and sell their ani...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer Area School District has announced that it is “anticipating” a return to in-person learning this fall, but officials are also preparing for an exclusively online method of learning, as well as a method that will combine both. “There are so many questions that all the superintendents have, we just want some sort of direction on what is going to happen, so we are making these three plans up for any direction the state says we have to follow,” said Dan Niemi, superintendent of Bess...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County District Attorney Matt Tingstad recently learned he won’t be facing criminal charges after a special prosecutor appointed to review his handling of a subpoena in a case found Tingstad didn’t violate Wisconsin law. At issue was a September 2019 subpoena Tingstad issued in former Hurley Fire Chief Darrell Petrusha’s case related to Petrusha’s alleged improper use of a department credit card for personal expenses. Tingstad was accused of attempting to leverage someone into sign...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The Iron County Health Department released two additional locations in Iron County Thursday where someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was present while positive. "(The announcement) is not intended to lay blame on anyone who tests positive (people may not have symptoms during their period of communicability and may not know they are sick), any local businesses, or other locations identified," a health department spokesperson said in...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer Pumkinfest committee has canceled the 42nd annual fall festival. “It would just be too risky to try and schedule our events,” said committee chair Donna Frello. The longstanding festival usually involves an indoor craft fair, a carnival, a pet costume contest, a car show and many other events that would involve large groups in both indoor and outdoor settings. Frello said that cordoning off all the people would be “really just impossible unless a miracle happens.” Many of t...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] HURLEY - Dozens of automobiles were already in line Thursday morning when an all-day COVID-19 testing event started at the Hurley K-12 school parking lots. The event was organized by Team 22, Detachment Delta of the Wisconsin Army National Guard's special COVID-19 testing support unit that went into effect under a federal order after Gov. Tony Evers declared a public health emergency on March 12, according to a spokesperson for the 24-member team...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County hunters will be able to continue disposing their deer carcasses in special dumpsters designed to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease after the Iron County Board of Supervisors’ Finance Committee recently approved funding three dumpsters for the upcoming hunting season. Last year, there were dumpsters located in the towns of Oma, Mercer and Saxon. “It sounded like Oma and the Mercer ones were pretty well used,” Iron County Clerk Mike Saari said. “It sounded like those two...
By TOM LAVENTURE [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved several administrative actions for various departments. In the finance, budgeting and auditing committee meeting prior to the regular meeting, the members approved a sheriff’s office request to apply for a hazardous pay grant from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money available through the state of Michigan. The grant would allow all sheriff’s office employees up to $1,000 in reimbursement for C...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — In a series of meetings with staff, the school board and the public, officials with the Ironwood Area Schools has begun laying out the district’s tentative plans for the return to school in fall as the state continues to grapple with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “Our current effort is to provide as much choice as possible for our parents and our community members, while maintaining safety for our students and teachers,” Superintendent Travis Powell told the Ironwood board of educ...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] BESSEMER — Visitors to Massie Field will soon have a full view of the bluff, as the Bessemer city council voted Monday to allow the Bessemer Area Schools to cut down a large portion of the trees behind the field. According to city manager Charly Loper, the request to remove the trees came from Bill Steiger, who noticed from old school photographs that the bluff used to be viewable from anywhere in the stands, but now that view is limited because of the trees. Loper said that there are some concerns wit...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — Many of those who live in, or visit, Iron County agree it’s a great place. That popularity seems to extend to the animal kingdom, as the county once again claimed the state’s top spot for moose sightings in 2019. Eight of the 36 probable or confirmed moose sightings in Wisconsin last year were in Iron County, according to data from the Department of Natural Resources. Three of those sightings were in Mercer, two were listed as in Hurley, two were from Springstead and one came from...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Health Department reported eight new positive COVID-19 cases in Iron County Tuesday as the number of local cases linked to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to increase. Tuesday’s eight new positives bring Iron County’s total to 37 — 20 more cases than the county had a little over one week ago when health officials reported seven new cases had brought Iron County’s total to 17 on July 13. At the beginning of July, the health department had reported a total of...
