Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4519 - 4543 of 9816
LANSING - Secretary of State Ruth Johnson made the following statement regarding the announced deal to eliminate Driver Responsibility Fees: "This announced deal to address and fully eliminate Driver Responsibility Fees is great news for Michigan motorists. The automatic fees collected by the Department of Treasury were a terrible mistake during the dark days of Michigan's lost decade. They're a double-penalty that hit hard-working Michigan families and unlike the underlying traffic ticket,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - An Ironwood man was sentenced to between 15 and 30 years in prison on drug charges in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday, in recognition of what Judge Michael Pope said was his leading role in bringing methamphetamine to the Gogebic Range. "From that record it is very apparent to this court that the only way to deal with Mr. Schmiege is to incarcerate him for the protection of society," Pope said, referring to Jeffrey Elton Schmiege's...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY - A statewide search continues for one of five men charged with conspiring to kill a Lac du Flambeau tribal member in southern Iron County. A Crime Alert notice from the Wisconsin Department of Justice notes James Lussier, 19, of Woodruff, is wanted in connection with the Dec. 22 death of Wayne Valliere Jr. Valliere's body wasn't found until New Year's Day. He had been shot eight times. Lussier is 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 263 pounds, has...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — At the Monday meeting of the Wakefield planning commission, city manager Richard Brackney gave members an assignment of sorts. As a means of spurring a brainstorm, he asked members to ponder the following three questions: Why would you have a house in Wakefield? Why would you have a business in Wakefield? What do you like about Wakefield’s recreational options? Specifically, he asked, what are the pros and cons of each category? Brackney pointed out that commission member Jim Anderson has sai...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A second defendant in the murder of a Lac du Flambeau man appeared in Iron County Court Monday for a hearing where his bond was set at $1 million cash. Joseph Lussier, 26, appeared in court after being transferred to the Iron County Jail from Vilas County Friday. He is one of five defendants facing charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime while armed with a dangerous weapon and hiding a corpse in connection to the death of Wayne Valliere J...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission voted 3-1 Monday to approve a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development pay package for the Phase 4 water project. Commissioners approved a $26,654 water payment, with Rick Semo absent and Joe Cayer Jr. opposed. Cayer said after the meeting he is opposed to up to $164,000 being added to the transmission line project for matting that he said should have been included in the original specifications. At a special city commission meeting on Jan. 29, the need f...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] HURLEY — During a meeting at the Historic Ironwood Theatre last fall with the Gogebic Community College Foundation, Aspirus Ironwood Health Foundation and local attorneys, an effort was decided to promote the three nonprofits and their charitable work by following a model used in England, according to attorney Paul Sturgul in Hurley. The borrowed idea involves willing attorneys providing free simple and free mirror wills, which are for married couples, while inviting people to make a donation to t...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] GILE, Wis. - Vintage snowmobile enthusiasts came together for a good cause Saturday, taking part in the sixth annual Dan Tomlanovich Memorial Vintage Ride. Organized by the North Country Relic Riders, the roughly 30-mile ride started in Gile and included stops at bars in Oma and Iron Belt before returning to Gile. There was also a brief stop on the Gile Flowage near the County C boat landing where the group took a break from the ride to hold a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] LAKE GOGEBIC - While it may have been the prize money on the line Saturday at Lake Gogebic that drew a crowd to the radar run at Gogebic Lodge, it was everyone who uses the local snowmobile trails that benefits as the organizers donated close to $11,000 to the Gogebic Area Grooming group. Jeff Brauer, one of the Moonshine Riders group that put on the fundraiser for the local trail system, said he and his brothers have been coming up to the area to s...
REPUBLIC — A 69-year-old woman who took a wrong turn and became stuck in the snow walked nine miles before finding help, according to Michigan State Police. Troopers from the Negaunee Post said the search for the woman began after she was reported to be in distress around 3:35 p.m. Thursday in zero-degree weather. The Marquette County dispatch center had received a call from a Republic resident who said her sister from Menominee was traveling to Republic and had become lost. The sister took a wrong turn and got stuck in snowbank in a remote are...
RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - Those riding snowmobile trails in Iron County may have seen bright signs along some of the trails encouraging riders to be safe. The signs are the effort of the newly formed Iron County Trail Safety Committee. The committee consists of representatives from a variety of groups, including the Hurley Chamber of Commerce, Iron County Forestry Department, Iron County Sheriff's Department, Aspirus Ironwood Hospital, Iron County Health Department... Full story
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Although no formal action has been taken yet, Wakefield City Council members decided at a special meeting Wednesday to consider what employee roles will best serve the city, particularly in relation to linemen and electrical needs. Mayor John Granato said the city is paying extra money to hire contractors to fix electrical matters because current city employees lack the skills to do such work. "They were never trained to be electricians," said... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — A Milwaukee man faces felony charges in connection with an alleged assault this summer at an Iron County, Wis., summer camp. Daniel Aguirre, 19, is charged with first-degree child sexual assault-sexual contact with a child under the age of 13 and exposing a child to harmful material. The assault charge is a Class B felony, with a maximum potential sentence of 60 years in prison, while the other charge is a Class I felony, with a potential maximum sentence of a $10,000 fine and/or up to t...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — The western Upper Peninsula will have an opportunity to compare Republican candidates for Governor when they appear in a town hall session in Ontonagon next Saturday, Feb. 17. Dr. Jim Hines, Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Sen. Patrick Colbeck will take questions at the gathering at the Ontonagon High School cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Ontonagon County Republican Party. Skip Schulz, chairman of the party, said, “It is the only location that I know of in the Upp...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] One of the suspects in the Iron County murder of a Lac du Flambeau tribal member is being sought on a fugitive warrant. A Vilas County bench warrant for the arrest of James Lussier, 19, of Woodruff, was issued by Vilas County Judge Neal Nielsen on Jan. 23, according to automated court records. The records show Lussier is scheduled to be sentenced in Vilas County Court for felony possession of narcotic drugs on Monday. He also faces other lesser charges in two other Vilas County cases. Lussier was...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] KIMBALL, Wis. - Even if the temperatures seemed bitterly cold Thursday morning, the sun came out in the afternoon and it warmed up a little for the snowshoe hike to Interstate Falls in Kimball - which may have helped with the good turnout. Local naturalist John Bates led the hike, which the The Northwest Land Trust and Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts sponsored. Around 30 people attended the event, filling the small parking lot at the...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP — Wakefield Township’s 30-year franchise agreement with Xcel Energy was about to expire, so the township board renewed it with Michael BeBeau from Xcel in attendance Tuesday. Township chairman John Cox said he has lived in many places over the years and is pleased with the energy provision by Xcel in the township. The board discussed which roads are scheduled for chip sealing and blacktopping when the weather turns warmer. The portion of Old U.S. 2 that goes through the tow...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - Gogebic County and Hurley School District 11th graders quizzed area business and governmental agency representatives about possible employment opportunities at a job fair at Gogebic Community College Wednesday. While half of the students toured the GCC campus, others strolled through the gymnasium in the Lindquist Center to talk with company representatives and read pamphlets on job openings. Dan Adrian, of Ironwood, stopped at the Porcupine...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Criminal charges were filed Wednesday against five people in the death of a Lac du Flambeau, Wis., man whose body was found on New Year’s Day in the Mercer area. Wayne M. Valliere Jr., 25, was last seen alive Dec. 22 and was the subject of a missing person investigation led by the Department of Justice’s Department of Criminal Investigation. Assistant Attorney General Richard Dufour, lead special prosecutor, on Wednesday filed charges in Iron County Circuit Court against Richard F.A. Allen...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER — A public hearing next Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Gogebic County District Courtroom in Bessemer will address a five-year recreation plan. According to Jerald Wuorenmaa, executive director of the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Regional Commission, most communities keep them up to date so they stay eligible for Department of Natural Resources grants. Gogebic County Forestry Director Greg Ryskey oversees Little Girl’s Point, the Lake Gogebic campground, McDonald Dam Lake and...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Another item on the to-do list for rebuilding Saxon Harbor was accomplished Tuesday as the Iron County Board of Supervisors awarded the county’s dredging contract to M. Jolma Inc. The Ashland-based company was the lowest of six bidders vying for the project, submitting a bid of $220,542. “We had three bids below the engineers’ estimate (of $253,909), and three that were substantially above,” Iron County Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson said. He told the board the county’s...
