Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4106 - 4130 of 9883
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — While the supervisors may not have been happy about it, the Iron County Board of Supervisors approved borrowing over $1.2 million Tuesday to cover the county’s 2017 placement costs. This is the second year the board has decided to borrow money to fund the county’s costs for court-ordered placements — a move that allows the county to exceed the state-imposed levy limit and pass at least a portion of the burden onto the county’s taxpayers. The placements occur for a variety of reasons,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - Area bookworms in search of a deal can head over the Mercer Public Library this week for the Friends of the Mercer Library's summer book sale. While it was only the first day, Library Director Teresa Schmidt said Tuesday started with an early rush and the sale had been going well so far. "That (rush is) always nice, people who like to get in right away and get the best selection," Schmidt said. "But we are adding new things every day...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] A must-see destination for tourists is spectacular Bond Falls, just 3 ½ miles east of Paulding. To see the falls in all its glory visitors can take a foot trail from the Bond Falls Outpost or drive to the handicap access walkway. As they walk the foot trail along side the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River, the water flows over stepping stones and begins a slight decent before the river widens to about 80 feet, then takes an abrupt drop into a...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Preparations continued Monday afternoon in Iron County Court for next week’s murder trial, with 110 potential jurors already whittled down to 85. Judge Patrick Madden said some elderly residents in the jury pool had been eliminated for the Aug. 6-15 murder trials of Richard F.A. Allen, 27, and Joseph D. Lussier, 26, both of Lac du Flambeau. They are charged in the shooting death of Wayne M. Valliere Jr., of Lac du Flambeau, whose body was found near Mercer on New Year’s day. Both are charg...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] BRUCE CROSSING - Beginning this week, Bill Waters will have the honor of being the first of many artists specially featured at the Settler's Depot Gallery in Bruce Crossing. When a visitor enters the depot, they will see Waters' birch bark canoes displayed front and center. Waters is a retired Northern Michigan University Criminal Justice professor. He has an abiding passion for the north country with a particular fascination for its Voyageur and The...
BESSEMER — The case against an Ironwood Township man accused of being involved in a standoff with police in May 2017 may be proceeding, after he was recently found to be competent again. While Leonard John Hellier, 48, was recently found competent to stand trial, Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said it still needed to be determined whether he bore criminal responsibility for his actions. Competency and criminal responsibility are the two prongs of an insanity defense, according to Michigan law. Competency determines whether the defendant...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Historic Ironwood Theatre was bustling with talent Saturday when it presented Aurora Nights: An Evening of Vaudeville in celebration of the theatre's 90th birthday. An enthusiastic audience frequently showed its gratitude with claps, yells and whistles as various performers offered comedy, dance and music, along with literal and figurative layers of magic. Several comedians offered an array of fun. Ethan Puisto and Ronnie Nygard were a big...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY - Members of the Hurley Education Foundation celebrated four special alumni or friends in their 17th Annual Induction Ceremony Saturday at the Hurley K-12 School. Honored were David Traczyk, of Hurley, and three late honorees: Joseph H. Masterson Sr., Vern Downey and Dr. Joseph Lalich. Traczyk accepted his own award, while family members accepted for Masterson and Downey. A local representative accepted Lalich's award. David Traczyk Patty Riedl, of...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] HURLEY — St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hurley held their annual summer picnic on the church grounds Sunday. The beautiful weather brought a large crowd to enjoy good food, music, children’s games, bingo and fellowship. Picnic goers relaxed and visited with each other as they were musically entertained by Ray Haapala, former Ironwood resident, now of Hazelhurst, Wis. The church has been inviting Haapala to their picnic for the past four years. A highlight of the day was Gerry Traczyk’s delicio...
HURLEY - The City of Hurley kicked off their 100th year anniversary celebration yesterday with a flag raising ceremony at Hurley City Hall. Mayor Paul Mullard welcomed those gathered before turning things over to retired U.S. Army Major Fred Matusewic who was in charge of the change of flags with the local color guard. While Hurley resident Susan Walesewicz sang the National Anthem, Vietnam Veteran Bob Morzenti and U.S. Navy Veteran Bill Thomas raised a U.S. flag and a Wisconsin state flag that...
IRONWOOD – Local photographer Tom Bergman gave some insights into his process and advice on how to improve one's photos at Thursday's Tech on Tap event at Cold Iron Brewing. Bergman began with a brief discussion on the basics of photography; such as what ISO, shutter speed and aperture mean and the effect they have on a picture. Bergman then focused his talk on landscape and night photography. When taking pictures of the night sky, Bergman said it was important to make sure one had a lense that...
HURLEY - History was very much alive Friday as tours of the Iron County Historical Museum took place in Hurley, while various demonstrations also occurred both inside and outside of the building. Volunteers served as guides in some of the 15 rooms, while living history interpreters brought specific subjects to life, much to the delight of both children and adults. Using the stage name of Anastasie Cadotte, retired teacher Patti Bertagnoli had kids in a state of constant interaction as she...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Those visiting the overlook at Ironwood's Mt. Zion park near Gogebic Community College this summer will notice a new sign at the entrance to the hill. Ironwood City Manager Scott Erickson said the sign was the latest in a series of improvements that have been completed at the overlook park over the past year and a half. These included the construction of a new deck, improved seating and paving the road to the top of the hill. Most of the...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] BRUCE CROSSING - A number of new road signs were installed along U.S. 45 south of Bruce Crossing Thursday. Although the old signs are still readable, MDOT says that while a sign may be very visible during the day, they lose their ability over time to reflect light back to drivers' eyes, making them less visible when the information they contain is most crucial. According to State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudie, "Time, weather, and other...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] Voters in four townships in Gogebic County will be asked on Tuesday, Aug. 7, to renew millages to fund township operations. The Aug. 7 election is a primary election in Michigan for local, state and federal offices, but there are also a number of ballot proposals, including millage renewals for “general township operating purposes” in Erwin Township, Marenisco Township, Wakefield Township and Watersmeet Township. Wakefield Township is asking to renew its 3 mills for four years. One mill tra...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] The 16-day Iron County Heritage Festival begins this weekend - Friday actually - with a passel of activities. The festival is an annual effort by the Iron County Development Zone to market events across the county, said director Kelly Klein. "The whole idea is to be an umbrella for a lot of different things going on and to show people there are things to do," said Klein. "It goes across the county and seems to work really well." The events are popul...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — Those attending Festival Ironwood Saturday may have seen volunteers manning a booth on behalf of Ironwood Area Schools, including superintendent Travis Powell who was there to meet residents and gather feedback on the district. “It was wonderful, I got to meet a lot of folks from the community — a lot of parents, a lot of … alumni — and I heard a lot of great things about Ironwood Area Schools,” Powell said, Saturday. “It was very affirming; knowing there is a lot of strength, (th...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] MARENISCO - When Makayla Mahler, 2017 graduate of Wakefield/Marenisco high school, began powerlifting she "went from a 120 pound college freshman to a 160 pound beast, all muscle!" according to her grandfather Bruce Mahler. "Her transformation has been nothing but spectacular. She has put on 40 pounds of well defined muscle." Mahler has been diligently training since the fall of 2017 to complete in the female middleweight class at the "Twin Ports RAW...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] IRONWOOD - A disc golf course has recently opened at Norrie Park in Ironwood. The city's parks and recreation committee had approved the design for the disc course earlier this month and the donated baskets from Tom Winsce were delivered this past week. City volunteers did the installation and golfers have been utilizing the nine-basket course for the past few days. In disc golf - also called Frisbee Golf or sometimes Frolf - players tee off from a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — Two additional blocks will be getting an infrastructure upgrade, after the Ironwood City Commission approved expanding the city’s Phase 4 water and sewer project Monday. The change adds Francis Street, between Lowell and Lawrence streets; and Lawrence Street, between Francis Street and Coolidge Avenue, to the project. “As noted at the last meeting, the main part of the project is wrapping up. There’s some final costs that are being calculated and final work that is getting done,” City Ma...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — An Ironwood Township man is facing several felonies after he allegedly hit a Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department deputy this weekend at the scene of an accident. Ryan Gregory Alessandroni, 35, was arraigned on felony charges of fleeing a police officer-4th degree, assaulting an officer and failing to use due care when passing a stationary emergency vehicle causing injury. He is also charged with operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said Joshua...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] IRONWOOD - Michigan State Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, met with 25 representatives from local municipalities and area businesses at Gogebic Community College Monday evening to discuss what can be done to sway the Department of Corrections from closing the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco. Thirty prisons remain open in the state after the closure of the West Shoreline Correctional Facility in Muskegon earlier this year, but there is a...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] BESSEMER - A newly installed "Book Trail" along the Iron Belle Trail allows people to enjoy a book while taking a stroll along the trail. There are 16 stops on the trail with a different pages from a book displayed. Other books will be featured throughout the summer with "Hold This" the initial one. "Hold This" is a children's book written by Carloyn Cory Scoppettone and illustrated by Priscilla Alpaugh. The book is about a little girl named Mika who...
