Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 3758 - 3782 of 9883
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] BESSEMER - A.D. Johnston High School English and Spanish teacher Micaela Zelinski said she loves a good book and maybe the only thing better is sharing it with others. She's particularly drawn to contemporary young adult literature with the hope that she'll find something she can incorporate in her classroom or with the school's relatively new Book Club. This is Zelinski's second year teaching. Last year, she launched an after-school Book Club....
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - A small crowd gathered in the parking lot of Hurley City Hall Wednesday for the city's inaugural tree lighting. Hurley Mayor Paul Mullard lit the tree next to city hall, and then the Hurley High School's Silver Express choir performed several carols for the gathered crowd. "For the first time, I think we had a wonderful turnout," said Rita Franzoi, the Hurley Chamber of Commerce's marketing director and events coordinator. "And having...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] LANSING - A Court of Claims judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Marenisco Township to block closure of the Ojibway Correctional Facility. Judge Stephen Borrello ruled the plaintiffs failed to "state a cause of action on which relief can be granted." Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said, "We are pleased to see resolution to this question by the court, so the community and our employees have certainty and can plan a...
More people were employed and more workers joined the workforce in Gogebic County in October, according to the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information. Total unemployment remained the same as it was in September at 250. Although the unemployment rate ticked up from 4 percent in September to 4.2 percent in October, the number of jobless remained at 250 over the month. The reason for the slight two-tenth of a percent hike is because the labor market rose by 50 to 6,075. One year ago in October, the Gogebic unemployment rate was 5.1 percent....
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission will consider marijuana matters again in two weeks after a Monday work session addressed the issue. The five commissioners and city department heads watched a Michigan Municipal League presentation on the marijuana laws and the effects of the recent election, but took no action, nor public comment. It will be an agenda item at the next city commission meeting, however. Recreational marijuana use was approved in Michigan in the mid-term election. Previously, o...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Northwoods residents will be able to send a little slice of home around the country next year, as the U.S. Postal Service recently announced the Ontonagon River will be featured on a forever stamp in 2019. The river is one of 12 featured in the Postal Service's Wild and Scenic Rivers series, according to a Postal Service spokesman. A stamp shows Tim Palmer's photo of what appears to be Kakabika Falls on the Cisco Branch of the river in Gogebic...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER - Weather warnings did not deter numerous people from sharing firm and varied opinions during a Monday evening public hearing on proposed U.S. 2 lane changes in Bessemer. Bessemer city council members offered the hearing in the city hall auditorium in hopes of gathering as much input as possible before they vote on the matter in coming weeks. Council member Terry Kryshak, who started the session, said the city's initial concern had been to replace...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - A Bessemer woman was sentenced to at least three years in prison in Gogebic County Circuit Court Monday for abusing her child. Kayla Marie Brown, 27, was sentenced to between 36 months and 10 years in prison on one count of second degree child abuse. "Without question Ms. Brown's actions in this case were destructive, catastrophic, life-changing and severely traumatic events to (the victim); for which only the future will tell us whether...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — City manager Scott Erickson told city commissioners Monday an additional $220,000 grant has been approved for Ironwood’s blight fight. The funds will again come through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Erickson said it’s hoped 10 to 12 houses will be demolished in 2019 in continuation of the Hardest Hit grant program that has resulted in dozens of eyesores being eliminated throughout the city. Bids are sought for area firms to tear down the structures. In other busin...
ONTONAGON — Christmas in Ontonagon starts Thursday with a Christmas Concert at the Christian Center at 6 p.m. On Friday, two youth dances are slated, one for grades 6-7-8, and another for the high school students. Judging of the business and residential lighting contest has started, but business and home owners have until Thursday to register. On Saturday, the activity gets in full swing with a grand opening of the U.P. North Café and open houses at several businesses. A Christmas craft fair will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ontonagon Ar...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - It was fitting that the Warren Miller tribute movie "The Face of Winter" on Saturday kicked off a week of Jack Frost Festival events, as sticky snow was falling across the Gogebic Range. The tribute to the man who made winter magic on film was released in October, directed by Chris Patterson. It premiered Saturday night on the big screen at the Historic Ironwood Theatre. Miller, using a movie formula of skiers riding big mountains on plenty...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - Supporters of the effort to develop non-motorized trails in Iron County are looking to raise the money needed to continue their efforts, with a fundraiser planned in early December. Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts will hold a fundraising dinner Dec. 2 at Sharon's Coffee Company in Hurley. ICORE treasurer Bob Traczyk said the event, from 3:30 to 6 p.m., will feature a menu of salad, pizza, pasta and dessert. There will also be a...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe ODANAH, Wis. — The National Traffic Safety Board has released a preliminary report of the Oct. 29 helicopter crash that killed the pilot, who was on pipeline patrol for Enbridge Energy near Odanah. Dean Bass, 64, of Ontario, Canada, died in the crash. The flight departed that day from the Gogebic-Iron County Airport around 1 p.m. for routine pipeline patrol, en route to Superior, Wis. The helicopter struck trees and terrain before coming to rest in an upright position. A post-crash fire then consumed m...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] While many larger stores started offering their bargains Thursday night, several local retailers reported successful Black Friday sales. “We were slammed starting at 8 a.m., and this is probably the first time it’s let up,” Hobby Wheel owner Eric Fitting said at around 3 p.m. Fitting said it was probably the best Black Friday the store has seen in 15 years, which he attributed to not only a healthy economy, but also the recent snowstorms. “Anytime we have snow, it seems like business picks up,” Fi...
The Iron County Fire Association will host its annual Christmas for Kids toy drive on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 8 a.m. to noon. All fire stations in Iron County will be open that day to receive donations for Iron County kids in need, said Iron County Emergency Services Director Stacey Ofstad. “We want to help out area kids in need and see that every kid has a great Christmas,” said Ofstad. “We don’t want any kid waking up on Christmas morning without a present.” Officials aren’t just collecting unwrapped toys, but other items for kids, as we...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Iron County’s unemployment rate improved to 4.2 percent in October from 4.6 percent in September. That wasn’t enough to pull the county out of the second worst job numbers in Wisconsin, however. Only Menominee County, at 4.4 percent, posted higher jobless numbers of the 72 counties in the state. A year ago, Iron County was also at 4.2 percent. Ashland County continues to make real strides, improving from 3.1 percent in September to 2.8 percent in October, according to the Wisconsin Department of Wor...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - The 4-year-olds in Ironwood's Great Start Readiness Program will have a new home next week when they return to classes Monday as the program completes its transition from the George N. Sleight School to Luther L. Wright K-12 School. "We have green lights from the state, this is a go. Monday is for real," Superintendent Travis Powell said Wednesday. "The children will be dropped off in our bus lane like the rest of our students." Those...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Donors reported longer wait times than past events Wednesday as the community turned out to the Ironwood Memorial Building to participate in the American Red Cross blood drive. "(It went) fantastic," blood drive coordinator Betsy Slabaugh said. "We didn't expect (the turnout.) We had a full list (of appointments) but still people walked in a lot." The drive - sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of the Ironwood Area - had a goal of collecting 58...
HURLEY — Voters in the Hurley School District will decide on April 2 whether the Midget mascot will remain. The school board Monday approved wording for a referendum that will ask: “Should the Hurley School District’s mascot symbol and name be changed?” School board president Joe Simonich, of Kimball, originally asked if it’s time for a name change. The board this week voted unanimously to proceed with the binding referendum on April 2. If a majority of yes votes are received, the board will begin a process to come up with a new name. Two...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The 4.5-inch snowfall that fell for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Tuesday in Ironwood has been typical for the month. With more than a week left in November, Ironwood has received 31 inches of snow this month and there was 14 inches on the ground Tuesday at the National Weather Service station site at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Montreal River. Typical monthly snowfall through Nov. 20 is 13.3 inches. Snow continued to...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Even though it's not Thanksgiving yet, some Ironwood students got a head start on the holiday festivities as they made several pumpkin pies Tuesday. Rebecca Sim, who is filling in for Carolyn Warren while she's on maternity leave, had her class of first graders work together to make the pumpkin pie filling. The students took turns adding the flour, sugar, eggs and other ingredients before the filling was poured into four pie crusts...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Members of the Wakefield-Marenisco board of education learned at Monday how the district supports students classified as homeless. According to superintendent Jason Gustafson, the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School has 11 such students. He said they fit the definition simply because they live with relatives or friends, rather than with immediate family. Gustafson said if children were living with parents in the Eddy Park Campground, they also would be classified as homeless, as would kids a...
