Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4466 - 4490 of 9862
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - Luther L. Wright is hosting the district Solo and Ensemble Festival today. According to choir teacher Lydia Mattson, judges will be on hand to rate the different soloists and ensembles, to include ACCENT!, based on their performances. Judges will award 1-4 stars after each performance, with one star being the highest rating possible. A one-star rating comes with a second reward, a trip to the Wisconsin state competition,May 5. Mattson said...
By JAN TUCKER jamadots.com ONTONAGON — An Iowa man faces seven criminal charges in a bizarre incident in the Village of Ontonagon. Paul Dean Smith, 26, DeMoines, Iowa was arraigned in Ontonagon District Court Wednesday. The story started with an alleged theft of an automobile in Iowa. He then drove to Trout Creek where he got stuck and police arrested him in the stolen vehicle Thursday, March 15. Smith then reportedly gave police a false name and while on the way to the jail had a medical incident and was brought to the Aspirus Ontonagon H...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - Local area businesses and non-profits provided tables with fun and games for kids and their parents Tuesday at the Ironwood Memorial Building. Erin Ross, MSU Extension educator said the tables are free to businesses, but the business must include a fun event for kids with the promotion. Ross said the Family Fun night was ten years old and is held in conjunction with the Parenting Awareness month. Tracie Wittla, Gogebic County chief...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - A Hurley man was sentenced to over three years in prison in Gogebic County Circuit Court on a methamphetamine charge Tuesday. Jakob Wayne Applekamp, 28, was sentenced to at least 40 months in prison for conspiracy to deliver meth. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. "Mr. Applekamp's participation in (an effort to bring drugs into the area) included his living at a camper at the residence where meth transactions were...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley School Board approved the 2018-19 school year calendar at its meeting Monday evening. The first day of school will be Tuesday, Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day. The final day of classes will be Friday, June 7, 2019. The calendar includes three longer breaks, including the week of Nov. 19-23 which includes Thanksgiving; Monday, Dec. 24 through Tuesday, Jan. 1; and the week of March 18-22 for spring break. Additionally, there will be no school on President’s Day, Feb. 18; Goo...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - While there was a fire call earlier that night at the same location, the Ironwood Public Safety Department's investigation into the Feb. 21 fire that claimed the lives of three people and destroyed two downtown buildings has determined the two incidents were unrelated. "The first call, reported at (2:34 a.m.), was a very small cooking related fire that had been completely extinguished," Ironwood Fire Marshal Brandon Snyder said in a news...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] HURLEY - The Hurley School Board received some financial advice Monday about different ways to fund some projects that have been discussed. Administrator Chris Patritto said the school has talked about a number of things, including improving the layout of the tech education area, the addition of a wellness center and accompanying locker room, new signage to help people locate the school, and new tables and other furniture. Lisa Voisin, of Baird...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — Three long time teachers in the Ontonagon Area School District submitted their retirement letters to the Ontonagon School Board Monday. The most senior member of the faculty is Kenneth Raisanen who has 43 years teaching earth sciences in the school. He started his teaching career right out of college and noted in his retirement letter that he has taught many grandchildren and great grandchildren of his former students. His retirement is effective June 30. David Linczeski has had 25 years on the f...
By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] KIMBALL - The Kimball Community Center was a hive of activity on Saturday as Penokee Range 4-H Livestock Club presented their annual 4-H Fun Frolic. Carol Alonen, club leader, stated that the club has been putting on the day for the past 4-5 years as a fundraiser. Among the games were a cake walk, an easter egg hunt, petting zoo and other fun. Participants purchased tickets for playing games and getting refreshments. Those in the club have made the...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - While there is still snow on the ground and more could certainly come, the end of the snowmobiling season is around the corner. This year, the Gogebic Range Trail Authority groomed around 6,500 miles of snowmobile trails so far, which is nearly double last year's total of 3,300, according to club president Steve Hamilton. The members of the GRTA were really tested this year when one of their two grooming machines - their T7-210 New Holland...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Iron and Bayfield counties continue to post the worst employment numbers in Wisconsin. While the state’s unemployment rate for January was 3.1 percent, the rate for Iron County stood at 6 percent, followed by Bayfield County’s 5.6 percent. That ranked the two last among Wisconsin’s 72 counties. The worst job numbers for January were consistently throughout the northern counties. The U.S, jobless rate was 4.1 percent for January, compared to 4.8 percent a year ago, according to the Wisconsin Depar...
BESSEMER — Scott David Salmi, 43, of Bessemer, was arrested during execution of a search warrant at the Black River Valley Pub on Thursday, was arraigned on Friday in Gogebic County Circuit Court. Salmi is charged with two felonies, conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, a maximum 20-year, $10,000 charge, and possession with the intent to deliver meth, with a maximum 25-year, $25,000 fine. Salmi is scheduled for a March 29 probable cause hearing and a preliminary examination is set for April 10. Salmi’s bond is set at $200,000, with 10 percent...
IRONWOOD — Goals for 2018 approved by the Ironwood City Commission on Monday drew heat from a city resident. Paul Grbavcich, of Leonard Street, said he couldn’t believe the commission would list a commercial blight fight as No. 1, when tackling the opioid problem in the city was only rated No. 5. Commissioners assigned the goals with point totals following a recent workshop, with eliminating commercial building blight through possible demolitions scoring 10 points, while increasing drug enforcement efforts only received seven points. “Dr...
SILVER CITY - Back country camping in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park will be a little more restrictive starting this camping season, as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is limiting where people can camp. While back country campsites used to be available on a first-come, first-serve basis and campers could also camp off-trail, the park has become too popular, as the DNR estimates more than 300,000 people a year visit the approximately 60,000-acre park. "In recent...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Michigan State University Gogebic County Extension office still has books left over from a $103,660 gift last year from a nonprofit southern California charity. The Molina Foundation recapped the award this week after most of the books had already been distributed across the Upper Peninsula. Erin Ross, of the MSU-Extension Bessemer office, said her small staff carried out distribution of the books at U.P.-wide events such as the Gogebic...
BESSEMER — The execution of a search warrant on a Bessemer area restaurant Thursday led to the arrest of a Bessemer resident on methamphetamine charges. Members of the Gogebic-Iron Area Narcotics Team searched the Black River Valley Pub around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, according to a GIANT press release. A Bessemer man, 43, was arrested as a result of the search. He will be charged with 20-year felonies for conspiracy to deliver meth and possession with intent to deliver meth. The restaurant came to GIANT’s attention when investigators received infor...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] While students across the country walked out of class Wednesday in a call for action on gun violence and to remember the 17 students killed in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; Gogebic Range students recognized the effort in various ways. In Ironwood, interested students from the district's upper grades gathered in the gym to talk with members of the Ironwood Public Safety Department regarding school...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - A Wednesday workshop of the Wakefield city council opened doors to city employees who were asked to voice their concerns. "We want to fix problems if there are any," said mayor pro tem Amy Tarro, standing in for mayor John Granato, on vacation. A continuing issue is city workers' daily hours, which changed this from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is now 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mike Singleton, a heavy equipment operator with the city's department of public...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The city of Hurley will work to come up with a plan for addressing water system cross connection violations. Mayor Joe Pinardi said the city has until September to assure the Department of Natural Resources the violations have been addressed and corrected. A connection between any part of the public water supply system and a source of contamination or pollution is called a cross connection. The aim is to eliminate cross connections to keep drinking water safe by keeping out contaminants and p...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The city of Ironwood has been underfunding its retirement pension plan and has been cited by the Michigan Department of Treasury to take corrective actions. A new law requires local units of government to report underfunded retirement benefits and Ironwood has been cited for underfunding its pension plan. For the first round of reporting, more than 110 out of 490 local units of government were identified as having underfunded pension plans or retirement health care plans, or both, a...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - A potential splash pad and obstacle course at Eddy Lake Park were the subject of a lively discussion at Monday's meeting of the Wakefield planning commission. Using a photo slideshow to spread enthusiasm, city manager Richard Brackney told the commission that there are "simple" plans available online that could make it possible to set up the proposed features with minimal labor, expense or expertise. In reference to the splash pad, he said,...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - Bessemer resident Shatha Beauchamp formed the Children of the Lord Foundation to conduct mission work in the U.S. and Africa. The charity is currently supporting construction of a health clinic in Ghana that will provide health care for up to 25,000 people in the Ashanti Region. Donna Frello, Bessemer resident and commander of VFW Post 3673 in Bessemer, described how the effort to build the health clinic is really in her heart Sunday...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The fifth suspect in the murder of a Lac du Flambeau, Wis., man late last year near Mercer had a $1 million cash bond set Monday morning in Iron County Court. Curtis A. Wolfe, 26, of Lac du Flambeau, and four other men are charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse in the death of Wayne M. Valliere Jr., of Lac du Flambeau. Wolfe’s attorney, Fred Bourg, appearing by speaker phone, argued Monday that Wolfe is indigent and $1 million bond would be excessive. “One million d...
