Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4337 - 4361 of 9797
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Wakefield City Council members began parsing details of the city's 2018-'19 budget at a Thursday workshop in which they also discussed how to evaluate city manager Richard Brackney. Mayor John Granato said the formal evaluation of Brackney will be at an as yet unscheduled public session, but stressed the importance of choosing a "consistent" means of considering criteria in advance. "In the past, we've handed out a questionnaire to each...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER — The Downtown Development Authority in Bessemer on Thursday supported Pop-Up shops for Brandon Saari and Bridget O’Sullivan. The two made pitches for the new businesses to open in May. The authority voted unanimously to support both new businesses. O’Sullivan is opening “The Yellow Umbrella,” a thrift and vintage store at 306 S. Sophie St. in “the other” Couch Potato location. She said between her and her husband, they have 50 years of experience in artifacts and antiquing and expect to...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County Sheriff Tony Furyk has decided to retire at the end of his current term, with Lt. Paul Samardich recently taking the first steps necessary to run for the office. Furyk has been with the Iron County Sheriff’s Department since 1983, serving the last eight years as sheriff. He said while he loves the job, he felt it’s time to let someone else do it. Since starting with the department, he said he has seen a lot of changes — most notably the technology the department uses. While t...
By JAN TUCKER jamadots.com ONTONAGON - The announcement of a $300 million biofuel plant to be located in Ontonagon is "imminent," the Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation was told Wednesday. Pat Tucker, a member of the EDC, President of Lost Bowl, who owns the land on which the former Smurfit-Stone Paper mill was located, said SynSel Energy of Elmhurst Ill. has the firm commitment of all the funds for the project and has closed on most of them and is now in the process of the final...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The water mixer that was installed in the city of Hurley’s tank on Germania Hill is not working. The Hurley City Council learned Tuesday that a detached wire is apparently the cause of the problem. The mixer was installed as part of a city infrastructure project to ensure that the water stays fresh. Jeff Seamandel, of MSA Professional Services, the city’s’ engineering company, said the mixer is under warranty for one year after the project is “substantially complete” and that point has n...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - In back-to-back Monday meetings, the Wakefield City Council and planning commission both voted to "file" a request for support from Superior Cannabis Solutions, LLC, in Bessemer. The request came from a March 28 letter from Kathleen Whitburn, director of market and business development for the company. "As business owners and investors in the medical marijuana industry and in the U.P. of Michigan, we are actively reaching out to you to...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Beacon Ambulance is looking for an 800 percent increase in its contract with the city of Hurley. Mayor Joseph Pinardi told the city council Tuesday there’s no way the city has money in its budget for a proposed increase from $5,231 to $46,710, or more than $41,000, retroactive to March 1. “This is just a shock,” Pinardi said, adding that the $41,000 is basically the cost of a city employee. Pinardi said the city could negotiate next year’s contract with Beacon, but doesn’t have the funds f...
HURLEY - Iron County Emergency Management hosted Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College at the Oma Fire Hall for ice rescue training on Saturday, April 7. Twenty-three firefighters representing five local fire departments and the Wisconsin DNR were in attendance. "With the growth in winter outdoor recreation, including snowmobiles, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing, I recognized the need for formal ice rescue training for the firefighters," said Stacy Ofstad, Iron County Emergen...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — April continues to seem more like February on the Gogebic Range as continued cold temperatures and snow are in the forecast the weekend. “April showers may bring snow plowers,” a Facebook post on Monday proclaimed. There’s an 80 percent chance of snow for Thursday and Friday, although with highs of around 44 degrees, there could be rain in the mix, too. Saturday calls for a 70 percent chance of precipitation, with up to 8.7 inches of snow possible, according to the National Weather Service...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - Students and former students from Gogebic Community College and Luther L. Wright High School joined eight members of the community to take a service learning trip March 10-18 to Guatemala. It was in conjunction with Pure Vida Ministries, which works to promote health and education in the Quiche department of Guatemala, according to its website, purevida.org. The trip cost $2,000 per person and over $7,500 in grants and scholarships were...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — While there were jokes about snow still being on the ground, the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees confirmed Monday the township’s spring cleanup is set for June 9. While the township will be receiving grant funding for a tire disposal event, tires won’t be accepted at the spring cleanup. “There will be a separate cleanup date for that, which will be announced soon,” Supervisor Steve Boyd said after the meeting. The cleanup will run from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. that day. In other...
IRONWOOD - While vendor turnout may have been down a little from past years, people seemed to leave the Pat O'Donnell Civic Center happy Saturday for the annual Cabin Fever Craft Show. "It was a good crowd. People were happy, vendors were happy with the traffic of people," Civic Center General Manager Brian Roehm said. Now in its 18th year, Roehm said the craft show featured 48 vendors. While this is down from the 60 to 65 vendors he usually has, Roehm said the vendors that did show up were gene...
IRONWOOD — With the growing season approaching, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, Gogebic County Conservation District and Range Master Gardeners held a tree pruning workshop at Gogebic Community College Saturday. Darrin Kimbler, a horticulture educator with Iron County’s UW-Extension office, gave a presentation on pruning and why it is important. There are multiple reasons to prune a shrub or tree, according to Kimbler. He explained pruning involves the strategic shaping of a plant for a variety of reasons; including improving its strengt...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] LANSING — UPX Minerals, a subsidiary of Highland Copper, has requested direct metallic mineral leases from the state of Michigan for almost 4,000 acres of land in Iron and Marquette counties. The Department of Natural Resources announced the request to lease the mineral rights for approximately 3,965 acres Friday. Roughly 3,845 acres of the land UPX is seeking to lease the mineral rights for is in Marquette County’s Champion, Michigamme, Negaunee, Ishpeming and Marquette townships. The other app...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday will consider awarding a $76,050 bid for a private company to mow the Riverside Cemetery grass in the summer. The bid from Saari’s Lawn Service, of Montreal, Wis., is for a three-year contract. The only other bid received was from Harma Lawn and Property, of Hurley, for $101,250 for three years. At their last meeting, commissioners balked at a plan by city manager Scott Erickson to have three part-time summer city workers cut the grass at the cem...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — An Ironwood man was sentenced to prison on drug charges in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday. David Wayne Opsahl, 45, was sentenced to between 28 and 126 months in prison for possession with intent to deliver amphetamine and 23 to 120 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine. The two sentences will be served concurrently as stipulated by a plea agreement in the case. Opsahl pleaded guilty to the two charges in December as part of an agreement to have three other charges — po...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD — Outgoing Gogebic Community College President James Lorenson discussed his retirement Thursday, saying, “This was an unplanned career. I came to GCC as an opportunity to get back home and stayed 31 years.” The Lorenson family roots run deep in the area and Lorenson said he has no intention of leaving Ironwood. His parents and his wife’s family are here, they have children here and grandkids, only now he will have the time to spend with his family that he has not had as college preside...
IRONWOOD - The Downtown Art Place invites people to celebrate the Upper Peninsula at its photography exhibition. The exhibition opens on April 20. A reception and award ceremony, open to the public, is scheduled for April 21 from 5 to 7 p.m. Some of the photographers will be present and available to meet with the public. DAP officials are pleased with the "great response" received from photographers across the UP, as well as, the Lower Peninsula, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Tennessee....
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] SAXON, Wis. — Slowly, but surely, there are a few signs that spring is arriving on Lake Superior. On Wednesday, the ice blew out of Saxon Harbor, ending a bang-up winter of ice fishing on the lake. It was mostly blue water out of the harbor as far as the eye could see, punctuated by numerous floating ice chunks, as of Thursday afternoon. During the height of the winter fishing season, it was not uncommon to see 30 or 40 trucks and trailers parked in the north lot at harbor, as anglers enjoyed p...
