Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4206 - 4230 of 9883
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD - A couple dozen children and half again as many parents and care givers gathered in the lawn of the Ironwood Carnegie Library Monday afternoon to learn about nature. Enter Bart Kotarba, director of education at the Northwoods Wildlife Center in Minocqua, Wis. He talked to the kids about frogs - their habits, their diet, their lifecycle and needed ecosystem. He also played recordings of frogs and had the kids create their own chorus of...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield city council voted Monday to appoint mayor pro tempore Amy Tarro as a representative to attend meetings of a regional committee that will work to keep Marenisco’s Ojibway Correctional Institute open under a new threat of state closure. The action occurred at the end of a slide presentation by Jean Graham, dean of students at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood. Graham said Ojibway once again is among possible candidates for closure by the Michigan Dept. of Corrections. She sai...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — While the numbers will change as the year goes on, the board of education for the Ironwood Area Schools voted 5-2 to approve the initial budget for the 2018-19 school year. Board members Amanda Sprague and Marilyn Carey voted no, arguing they hadn’t had adequate time to review the document before the vote. Superintendent Tim Kolesar said the numbers in the budget were just projections, in part due to the way the state finances education. “The state makes us have our projected budge...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] KIMBALL, Wis. - The 2018 summer solstice was Thursday, with Little Finland celebrating the occasion Saturday with its annual Juhannus celebration. The day featured a dinner and bonfire; while Gary Schlais, of Mercer, performed polka hits on the accordion. "What could be better than (this)," Little Finland president Ken Hannula said. "We had a nice turn out today, beautiful weather." Juhannus, which Hannula said translates roughly to St. John's Day,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Santa needed his shorts and T-shirt Sunday at Cold Iron Brewing, as the Gogebic Range Health Foundation held its Christmas in June annual fundraiser. Featuring food, music, raffles and games; the health foundation's event raised funds for a variety of local causes. "(Things) are phenomenal, it's great," foundation executive director Candy Pogliano said. The money will goes toward the Iron County Cares program, Santa's Headquarters and...
HURLEY — When the Iron County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday, it is expected to approve a disaster declaration for the storms earlier this month. The disaster declaration is for the “extensive road damage and some trees on roadways throughout the county,” caused by the flooding and winds on the morning of June 15, according to a copy of the declaration. The declaration cites the extent of the damage and county’s budgetary restraints as to why the declaration is needed. Iron County was included in Gov. Scott Walker’s state of emergency...
WAKEFIELD - The beach at Sunday Lake is closed until further notice because of potentially high levels of E.coli bacteria. "Please be aware that the Beach at Sunday Lake is closed until further notice," reads a short post on the city of Wakefield's Facebook page. "We received notification from the Western U.P. Health Department stating NO swimming, fishing, or kayaking at this time." An accompanying picture references E.coli and warns against ingesting lake water. According to information on...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday will consider advertising for bids for demolition of a house at 150 Southland Ave. There have been many complaints about the structure in recent years. A neighbor, Gene Henning, told commissioners at a recent meeting that the house should be checked out closely because he suspects past drug involvement there, including possible methamphetamine cooking. City manager Scott Erickson said an environmental assessment of the structure would be necessary before it could be torn down. In the past, c...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] LANSING — While it may not have sustained as much damage as some of the other counties, Gogebic County will also be able to use additional resources when rebuilding after Gov. Rick Snyder directed it be added to the state of disaster declaration from this weekend’s storms. Snyder directed Michigan State Police to add the county to the original disaster declaration issued Monday for Houghton and Menominee counties. “The residents of these three counties have experienced significant hardship since...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - Described by some participants as "trick-or-treating for seniors," the Iron County Human Services Department held the inaugural Across the Borders Senior Informational and Awareness walk Thursday. The event - which was organized by the Iron County Human Services Department and the Aging and Disability Resource Center - ran from the Hurley Trailhead off Second Avenue to Depot Park in Ironwood on the non-motorized trail. Participants were...
HURLEY - The Hurley School Board decided Monday there will be no long search to replace district administrator Chris Patritto, who will retire a year from now. Coming out of a closed session, the board announced it had agreed to hire Kevin Genisot as district administrator, effective June 30, 2019. Genisot is currently employed as elementary principal at the K-12 school. He started off as an elementary teacher at Hurley and became principal in 2012. Genisot, who graduated in 1997 from Hurley...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County residents still, cleaning up from the weekends flooding can get kits from the Iron County Health Department to assist in their efforts. “The Iron County Health Department urges residents who live or work near flooded areas to use caution during and after the flood event. Flood waters may be contaminated with raw sewage and debris not be visible on the surface,” Iron County Health Officer Katie Hampston said. “Once cleanup begins, be aware of food and water that may have be...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Even though he said he doesn't necessarily make it to all the chapter meetings anymore, the Ni-Miikanaake chapter of the the North Country Trail Association honored long-time volunteer Gerald Anderson at its meeting Tuesday. Anderson, a former pastor of Sharon Lutheran Church in Bessemer, now lives in Rhinelander, Wis. However, even while living in Wisconsin, he still maintains a section of the North Country National Scenic Trail near...
IRONWOOD — A June precipitation record might be broken in Ironwood following nearly 8 inches of rain over the weekend. Ironwood’s rain total for the month stood at 8.73 inches as of Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette. The record through June 20 stands at 9.05 inches set in 1939. For June of 1939, Ironwood ended up with 11.32 inches of rain, according to the NWS, which keeps weather records that date to 1901. Ironwood’s normal monthly precipitation through June 20 is 2.17 inches. In a 1907 drought, there...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY - The after-effects of the weekend's violent storms are evident in many areas of the Gogebic Range, including along County Trunk C near Hurley. Only about a mile from downtown Hurley as the crow flies, there are stretches of trees that were downed Sunday along County C, near the Gile Flowage dikes. Had the storm front taken a slightly different path, Hurley homeowners could have suffered even more of the brunt of the storm. Strong winds downed...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — New medical marijuana caregivers setting up shop in Bessemer may soon have to get a business license from the city after the city council had the first reading of a proposed ordinance Monday. The council passed the measure to have caregivers register as a home business 3-2, with council members Linda Nelson and Allen Archie voting no. The ordinance wouldn’t impact anyone growing their own medical marijuana or any caregivers already growing marijuana for others. “This only applies to me...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — Ontonagon County Airport Manager Margo Anderson updated the Ontonagon County Board Monday on the airport projects underway and those planned for the future. She explained the next phase of an expanded runway clearing project is an environmental assessment. She noted any project which receives federal money, or requires federal permits, must comply with the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. “Since MDOT-Aeronautics money is being used, and a lot of those funds are federal, the project req...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency for five northern Wisconsin counties, including Iron County, Monday in response to the recent heaven rains and flooding in the region. "Beginning on June 16, 2018, widespread and continuing severe thunderstorms producing torrential rain, damaging wind and large hail caused evacuation of persons, downed trees and powerlines, mudslides and flash flooding," reads Walker's executive order declari...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Damage assessments were under way Monday after as much as a foot of rain fell over the weekend in parts of northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula. For the weekend, Ironwood streets flooded both Friday and Sunday as the storms caused untold damage. According to the National Weather Service, Ironwood received nearly 8 inches of rain over the weekend. The The heaviest total was 3.64 inches for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Saturday at the wastewater treatment plant off Cloverland Drive, but there was...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - As the outgoing superintendent of the Wakefield-Marenisco School District, Catherine Shamion attended her final board of education meeting on Monday evening. She was feted in the school's board chambers with a beautiful cake and showered with appreciation from all attending board members. "It has been my pleasure to be your board president for the total time you've been here," said Brad Dalbec, who also passed on thanks from an unidentified...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Development Zone has two weeks of festival fun scheduled for Iron county, to celebrate the county’s rich heritage. Bewteen July 27 and July 31, a wide array of activities are planned between Hurley and Mercer. Running July 27–29, the Northwoods Art Tour will feature many on-site artist demonstrations, while also making local art available for purchase. Many home studios will be open throughout the Mercer area. July 27 The Heritage Festival kicks off with an open house at the H...
