Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4411 - 4435 of 9747
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The pothole-filled East Ayer Street is in line for a summer resurfacing project. The Ironwood City Commission on Monday agreed to seek bids from local contractors for resurfacing the East Ayer roadway from Lake to Southwest Streets as part of the 2018-'19 local street plan. City manager Scott Erickson said the summer work will also include pulverizing and resurfacing Easy Street in the industrial park, from Ayer to U.S. 2, as part of the...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — Democrat Dana Nessel stopped in Ironwood Tuesday during a tour through the Upper Peninsula in her campaign to win the party’s nomination for Michigan attorney general. Having practiced law for nearly 25 years, one of Nessel’s most famous cases was in 2012 when she challenged Michigan’s ban on adoptions and marriage for same-sex couples in DeBoer v. Snyder. The case would eventually be combined with several others and lead to the U.S. Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - As of Monday, the Wakefield city council now has a "top three" list of priorities in relation to proposed remodeling of the municipal building. John Larson, the Gwinn-based architect whose "dreamscape" vision has been mulled over by council members in recent months, was on hand to discuss related issues, along with city manager Richard Brackney. The first three priorities are, in order: -Creating a fireproof storage room, which will be made...
IRONWOOD — Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Greg Klecker told the city commission Monday last Wednesday’s fatal downtown fire shows the need for mutual aid agreements. Ironwood firefighters were assisted by the Hurley Fire Depar-tment and so many first responding agencies that Klecker said he is in the process of trying to compile a list of all that helped out. “I’m proud of the way the fire was handled very proficiently and professionally, and proud of the other agencies, too,” Klecker said. “Lives were saved.” He added the peo...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Party-goers stepped back in time Saturday night at the Ironwood Memorial Building as they celebrated at the '20s-themed Historic Ironwood Theatre's Wine and Beer Fest. "We had an amazing turnout," said Chris Luxton, one of the co-chairs for the fundraiser. "And I am totally thrilled to see how into it everyone got with the (theme). These people look amazing." She explained the 1920s theme was chosen in recognition of the theatre's 90th...
By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Julie DeRosie and her service and therapy dog, Remington, came to the Wakefield Public Library Saturday to listen to kids read. Remington is an enthusiastic 2-year old mixed-breed dog who has been trained by DeRosie to provide therapy for children and adults. DeRosie, a Bessemer resident, trained Remington, and they have been tested and certified by Pet Partners; a nationwide organization that seeks to improve human health and well-being throug...
The Michigan Department of Transportation and local agencies are today enacting annual spring weight restrictions to protect roads. Effective 6 a.m., weight restrictions were imposed and will be enforced on all state trunkline highways from the Michigan-Indiana and Michigan-Ohio state lines north to, and including, the Mackinac Bridge. State routes typically carry M, I or US designations. In the restricted areas, the following will apply: —On routes designated as “all-season” (designated in green and gold on the MDOT Truck Operators Map), there...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The three victims who died in Wednesday’s fire in downtown Ironwood have been identified. Mark Arnold Verrete, 57; Patrick James Somerville, 51, and Levi Dean Watkins, 27, all of Ironwood, lost their lives in the fire, Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Gregory Klecker said in a news release Friday afternoon. “The Ironwood Public Safety Department extends our sincere condolences and sympathies to the surviving family members for their losses in this tragic incident,” Klecker said... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Gogebic Range is a place where neighbors often help each other, once again demonstrated in the aftermath of Wednesday's fire that left two buildings destroyed, three dead and others homeless. The fire started in the building at 102 E. Aurora St. in downtown Ironwood - which housed Chelsi's Corner boutique and nine apartment units - and now the building's neighbors are gathering to lead the effort helping those trying to rebuild. "We... Full story
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - An Ironwood City Commission candidate in the last election was one of the residents of 102 E. Aurora St. who escaped the Wednesday fire that left at least two people dead. David Kinnunen told KBJR-TV 6 that fire crews rescued him from his second story window with the Ironwood Public Safety Department ladder truck. "I remember the smoke. I remember smelling it and I went in the hallway and that was full of smoke and I knew I had to get out,"...
IRONWOOD — Another body has been found in the aftermath of Wednesday's fire in downtown Ironwood, bringing the total number of fatalities to three. The body was the second recovered Thursday, according to Ironwood Public Safety Director Gregory Klecker. “There are no more remaining persons unaccounted for that we know of,” Klecker said in a press release Friday. The fire began in 102 E. Aurora St. — the home of Chelsi’s Corner boutique and a number of apartments on the upper floors — early W...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD — City barricades continued to block traffic on Aurora Street Thursday after Wednesday’s fire and police tape is keeping people out of the destroyed and adjacent properties. Business owners on the block are parking on adjoining streets, leaving Aurora empty and filling Suffolk Street. Jan Miskovich, an owner of The Pines restaurant, a block away from the fire, on the corner of Aurora and Suffolk streets, said she ran water for a couple of hours Wednesday night to try and clear the muddy wat...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - A downtown Ironwood fire that destroyed two buildings Wednesday is also responsible for a loss of life. Ironwood Public Safety Director Gregory Klecker confirmed a single fatality as the result of the early morning fire that destroyed 102 E. Aurora St. - the home of Chelsi's Corner boutique and apartments above it - and an adjoining building to the east. "All that we have right now is one confirmed fatality. That's all we know at this...
IRONWOOD — The city of Ironwood experienced diminished water quality Wednesday because of firefighting operations on East Aurora Street and the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department issued tips to affected city customers. High velocity water flows from fire hydrants necessary to extinguish the fire resulted in brown or cloudy water conditions due to sediments from cast iron water pipes. Residents and businesses, including food establishments, were affected. “Whenever tap water is less than clear in appearance, precautionary measures are...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - The early Wednesday morning fire at 102 E. Aurora St. in downtown Ironwood that resulted in one death and other injuries wasn't the first fatal fire in the building. On Dec. 15, 2006, the body of Greg Pecotte, 25, was found after a third-floor apartment in the building near the corner of Lowell and Aurora streets burned. The Daily Globe reported Pecotte's body was found by firefighters after the blaze was extinguished. At that time, the...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - It didn't matter who took first, just as long as they didn't finish last Tuesday in Wisconsin's State Supreme Court primary. The race featured three candidates - Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Dallet, Madison attorney Tim Burns and Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock - with Screnock and Dallet being the top two vote-getters statewide and easily advancing to face off in the April 3 general election. Iron County's...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - The Eat Smart Knapsacks program, sponsored by the Great Start Collaborative and Michigan State University Extension office in Bessemer, is gathering healthy food and snacks in preparation of providing "knapsacks" to kids in all four Gogebic county public schools -from Watersmeet to Ironwood. Some kids rely on school meals to provide much of their healthy caloric intake, and on breaks may be left without equally nutritious options. The...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood was spared the brunt of the winter blast that socked much of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula Monday. The weather station at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant off U.S. 2 received just 3 inches of snow for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Tuesday. Elsewhere, winter storm warnings and advisories remained in effect until noon Tuesday, as some areas had previously received more than a foot of snow. The National Weather Service office in Duluth said a w...
Firefighters battled an early morning blaze at 102 E. Aurora Street in Ironwood for several hours early Tuesday morning. Flames and heavy smoke were visible as they fought to keep the fire from spreading beyond two buildings. Additional details are expected once the fire is put out and the scene is cleared.... Full story
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area Schools will continue to operate its own busing service, after the district’s board of education voted against privatization Monday. Dave Martinson, who spoke on behalf of the support staff’s union, made the case for keeping the district’s drivers. Martinson argued the move would not only cost the district more than it now spends on transportation, it would also take money out of the area as he said it was unlikely all the district’s employees would be hired and the c...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Looking at some small numbers for some small students, the Hurley School Board on Monday decided to extend the district’s pre-kindergarten program to five days a week for the next school year. Board members were shocked when elementary principal Kevin Genisot presented them with projected pre-K enrollments for the next four years. The 2018-’19 class will potentially be 20 students, with the following three years fluctuating between 19 and 23 students. That compares with the current fourth grad...
