Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 3754 - 3778 of 9848
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican-controlled House passed a bill Friday to drop legal protections for gray wolves across the lower 48 states, reopening a lengthy battle over the predator species. Long despised by farmers and ranchers, wolves were shot, trapped and poisoned out of existence in most of the U.S. by the mid-20th century. Since securing protection in the 1970s, wolves have bounced back in the western Great Lakes states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, as well as in the Northern R...
BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners this week went on record as supporting the purchase of land from Pat Steiger for the next phase of the Iron Belle Trail. The non-motorized trail will extend from Bessemer to Ramsay. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources sought the letter of support from the county. The land will be purchased from Steiger Timber Operations. More than $1.1 million has been raised for the $1.4 million trail project and the remaining $300,000 is expected to come through in December from a MDNR Trust F...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — A Watersmeet resident told the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Tuesday that the passage of the ambulance millage “has left a bad taste in people’s mouths” in the eastern end of the county. At a meeting where an an ambulance authority was appointed by county board chair George Peterson, of Watersmeet, the meeting started with a public appearance by Yvonne Clark, of Watersmeet. A three-year millage that will generate $523,000 the first year was approved by a more than 60 percent vote co...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer City Council met Monday evening for a special informational session on progress made on the Stormwater, Asset Management and Wastewater Program through the state Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ engineers Kelly Heidbrier and Ashley Hendricks provided a summary of the SAW program, made possible by a combined $827,350 in grants for which the city applied in 2013. According to Heidbrier, the state’s intent has been to encourage cities “to track assets better” and pl...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — An Ironwood Township man who had a standoff with police officers last year pleaded guilty to two felonies in Gogebic County Circuit Court last week. Leonard John Hellier, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon — or felonious assault — Nov. 6 as part of a plea agreement. The agreement calls for Hellier’s sentence be limited to probation and the time served since his May 16, 2017, arrest. Hellier was taken into custody after a standoff at his Vanderh...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY - The Hurley City Council Tuesday authorized members of the Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts to continue working toward their ultimate goal of expanding a nonmotorized trail from the Montreal River to Cary Park or beyond. So far, said ICORE member Mike Fauerbach, the unnamed, paved trail runs about 300 feet from U.S. 51 to the Montreal River, where a bridge provides access to Ironwood's Iron Belle Trail. Fauerbach said ICORE hopes, at a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — An Ironwood Township man appeared in Gogebic County Circuit Court Wednesday to confess to sexually assaulting a child. Jason Elliot Irvine, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal sexual conduct-first degree, a crime that carries a potential maximum sentence of life in prison. In exchange for pleading guilty to the two counts, three additional first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges are expected to be dismissed at sentencing. Irvine’s plea agreement also stipulates pro...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Tuesday agreed to sign the necessary documents for a $6.6 million project at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport. The project will involve resurfacing the runway and lighting improvements, according to board member Jim Oliver, of Ironwood. Gogebic County’s share of the federally-funded project will be 2.5 percent, or around $116,000. Iron County, Wis., will be responsible for the same amount. The county will again deal with the Mead and Hunt firm for...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Students, teachers, veterans and other local citizens gathered Tuesday for what Mike Rydeski called "a thankful remembrance" in the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School gym. Rydeski, a past commander of Wakefield's VFW Post 9084, was the guest speaker of the formal Veterans Day program. "In the military, the contrast between wartime and peacetime is frequently murky," he said, adding that current service members not only are in Iraq and...
By The Associated Press and Daily Globe staff MADISON, Wis. - A state appeals court isn't letting Donald Rick withdraw his guilty plea in the gruesome Bear Trap homicide in Saxon. Rick, 46, formerly of Hurley, told investigators he decided to rob the Bear Trap Inn in Saxon on March 12, 2016, after he lost all his money at a casino in Lac du Flambeau the night before. After the bar closed, he tackled bartender Lisa Waldros, of Kimball, stabbed her and then burned down the bar with her body...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — Having pledged to support the effort to keep the Ojibway prison in Marenisco from closing, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Tuesday agreed to spend $25,000 to help cover costs of a lawsuit. Marenisco Township Supervisor Richard Bouvette said a judge still has not ruled on the lawsuit that is attempting to block the prison from closing. A letter has been sent requesting the judge make a decision, Bouvette said. Up until now, “They didn’t want to poke the bear,” he said. If the pri...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - A day after Veterans Day, the community gathered in Luther L. Wright's John Krznarich gymnasium Monday as the Ironwood Area Schools held its annual celebration to honor the area's veterans. Following the introduction of colors, national anthem and performance by the middle and high school bands, JROTC Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Hayley Jarocki introduced guest speaker, Staff Sgt. Michael Arneson. A Colorado native, Arneson enlisted in...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY - The Gogebic Range never forgets its veterans. On a snowy Monday morning with poor driving conditions, the Hurley K-12 gymnasium was about three-fourths full with students, teachers and community residents for a salute to veterans. Two members of the senior class plan on enlisting in the armed services and 21 of the students attending the ceremony will likely one day be veterans, if averages hold true, said Maj. Fred Matusewic, of Hurley, U.S....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield city council learned Monday that the Michigan Department of Transportation has scheduled a “rehabilitation” of U.S. 2 in Wakefield within its 2021-22 program. Wakefield City Manager Richard Brackney said the targeted area of the highway runs from Eddy to Pierce streets and said MDOT will be studying curbing and gutter work. “They’re looking to limit the egress to U.S. 2,” said Brackney to the city’s planning commission, which met directly before the council. He added that the aim...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Friday’s blizzard arrived late, but packed even more punch than advertised. The National Weather Service had first predicted up to a foot of snow and then revised the total to 15 inches, but nearly two feet fell in some locations across the Gogebic Range. The 24-hour snowfall total at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Montreal River was 14.6 inches, which was on the low side of area weather stations. Nevertheless, that set a single day Ironwood record for Nov. 9-10, dating to 1901, a...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - The words "Wherever you are, it is your friends who make the world" are framed on a wall in the back dining area of the 906 Café in Wakefield. The quote from William James, an American philosopher and educator who died more than a century ago, aptly represents Charles Picoldi of Wakefield, who said he eats breakfast in the restaurant "every single morning." It's all about the friendship, said Picoldi, who always seems to be surrounded by a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] KIMBALL,Wis. - With the recent storm dumping snow across much of the Gogebic Range, it was a perfect weekend for soup as Little Finland held a Mojakka stew dinner Sunday. Mojakka, or a Finnish fish soup, was offered at the dinner; along with beef stew, bread, rice pudding and other desserts. Organizers were pleased with the turnout. "It was good ... over 40 people (showed up) I think," said Ken Hannula. "And whoever didn't show up really missed out...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — While it hasn’t committed to spending any money yet, the Iron County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to seek bids for rebuilding the Saxon Harbor campground. With the Federal Emergency Management Agency announcing in recent months it would be capping the amount of money the county can be reimbursed for the campground after its destruction in the July 2016 storm, the board decided it was worth seeing the bids for various parts of the project before deciding how to proceed. “Ul...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Forecasts of a snowstorm slowed Friday traffic at a Wakefield Public Library book sale in the municipal building. Nevertheless, Loraine Mussatti said the sale had attracted some brave souls, including one woman who bought a stack of Golden Books from the children's section. Mussatti, supervising the sale Friday afternoon, said prices will drop even lower when the sale continues today from 8 a.m. to noon. She said buyers will be invited to fill...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday will consider a five-year body camera contract for public safety department employees. “We are at the end of our one-year trial period with Axon and are requesting authorization to enter into a five-year agreement to continue those services,” IPSD fire marshal Brandon Snyder wrote in a memo to commissioners. Snyder indicated the implementation of body cameras and data management software has resulted in “increased accountability and citizen trust....
