Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4058 - 4082 of 9883
State Rep. Scott Dianda said he has sent a letter to Gov. Rick Snyder asking that the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco remain open. The state this week said it would close Ojibway on Dec. 1. On Friday Dianda, D-Calumet, sent a letter to Snyder asking him to stay his decision and reconsider the future of the facility because of the hardship the closure will cause for communities, workers and their families. Dianda issued the following statement: “My western U.P. communities and constituents directly affected by the closure of O...
IRONWOOD - Marlene Zaleski of Bessemer was named the Homemaker of the Year at the Gogebic County Fair last weekend. Zaleski entered 98 exhibits in baking, canning, flowers, sewing, knitting, garden vegetables, photography and antiques, according to Bonnie Maki, coordinator of the annual award. Of those exhibits, Zaleski earned 61 first and second ribbons, and she received a grand championship ribbon for her canned beets. "They were just beautiful," said Maki. Zaleski said she was thrilled with...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - Matthew James LaPlant, 37, of Bessemer, took the stand Thursday to defend himself during his child abuse trial in Gogebic County Circuit Court. LaPlant is charged with one count of first-degree child abuse, two counts of second-degree child abuse and one count of unlawful imprisonment. All four counts are felonies, with first-degree child abuse carrying a potential maximum sentence of up to life in prison. The prosecution has alleged...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] GILE, Wis. - The eighth annual Danny B Suicide Awareness Jack and Jill Softball tournament is slated for Aug. 25-26 at Gotta's field in Gile. The tournament originated as a tribute to the memory of Danny Baross, who lost his battle with depression and committed suicide in 2009. This year the tournament committee expects to top the $20,000 total that they have raised for Range Suicide Prevention Council over the past seven years of holding the Danny B....
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] MARENISCO — State Sen. Tom Casperson said he was not informed ahead of time by the Michigan Department of Corrections of its decision to close the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco before the DOC’s public announcement Tuesday morning. Ojibway was on a short list of possible closings and while the public was waiting to hear the DOC’s decision many, including Casperson, thought the decision would be made in September. He was part of a group lobbying against the closure. Meanwhile, hundreds of p...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - Jurors heard from the alleged victim Wednesday in the trial of a Bessemer man accused of child abuse as the prosecution wrapped up its case in Gogebic County Circuit Court. Matthew James LaPlant, 31, is charged with one count of first degree child abuse, two counts of second degree child abuse and one count of unlawful imprisonment. All four counts are felonies, with first degree child abuse carrying a potential maximum sentence of up to...
BESSEMER - Bessemer's parks and recreation committee, along with the Bessemer library board, worked with Bessemer Housing Authority to install "The Book Book," a little library for people to grab or leave a book. City manager Charly Loper's father, Bruce, crafted the "Book" and it is located at the Housing Authority, 709 Iron St., Bessemer, in front of the office. "Feel free to use the little library that has books for all ages, such as 'Presidential Courage' by Michael Beschloss for adult...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources figures the city of Hurley’s wastewater system should be able to handle 8 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period, according to city officials. Street superintendent Mark Bluse and department employee Gary Laguna on Wednesday discussed a meeting they had last week with the DNR on sewer overflows. They appeared before the Hurley City Council. Laguna said the DNR indicated the city’s wastewater treatment process had been bypassed nine times since...
MARENISCO - The Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco Township will close Dec. 1, the Michigan Department of Corrections said Tuesday. The facility has 203 employees and is one of the biggest employers in Gogebic County. Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Chair George Peterson, of Watersmeet, said Tuesday the news came as quite a blow. "It's devastating to our county to lose those jobs - 200 jobs plus the related service industry. It's going to trickle out to our school districts." He sa...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - Allegations of being locked in a dog cage, being physically beaten and made to taste soiled underwear were the focus of testimony as the prosecution began its case in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday against a Bessemer man facing child abuse charges. Matthew James LaPlant, 31, is charged with one count of first degree child abuse, two counts of second degree child abuse and one count of unlawful imprisonment. All four counts are...
HURLEY — An 81-year-old Kimball, Wis., man who is charged with making a terroristic threat appeared in Iron County Court Monday morning. Robert “Barrel Bob” Gollubske was advised to contact the public defender’s office for legal representation. Bond was continued at $10,000, with a few new conditions added, according to automated court records. Gollubske is alleged to have told the clerk in the waiting area at the Marshfield Clinic in Mercer, “I can blow this place up and get away with it,” causing fear among employees at the clinic. He...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Two men who were convicted Monday afternoon of the execution-style killing of Lac du Flambeau tribal member Wayne Valliere Jr. were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A 12-person Iron County jury deliberated for about an hour and a half before finding Joseph Lussier, 27, and Richard Allen, 28, guilty of murder with the use of a gun and hiding a corpse in the Dec. 22 shooting death in a remote area on Swamp Creek Road near Mercer. Iron County Judge Patrick Madden t...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Shortly after 8:00 a.m. Monday a truck traveling through the intersection of U.S. 2 and M-28 in Wakefield destroyed one of the traffic signals. The lowboy's boom was too high and as the driver proceeded through the crossroad his boom smashed the light to pieces. Wakefield city worker Dave Semenak, who happened to be in the vicinity, quickly sprang into action picking up pieces of debris. He also immediately got a hold of the Michigan...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — Ironwood Township voters will be asked to renew a millage used to fund road repairs in the next election, after the township board of trustees approved putting the measure on the November ballot Monday. The measure — which was originally passed four years ago — seeks to continuing using one mill township voters pay, “solely for the purpose of maintaining township roads,” according to the resolution the board passed. “No one’s taxes would go up, they would just stay the same...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] SHERMAN, Wis. - The 39th annual corn roast of the Sherman-Springstead Volunteer Fire Department had amazing community support Saturday, with a family-friendly crowd packing the Sherman Town Hall pavilion, as well as a large tent behind it and several other umbrella tables. Springstead (rhymes with "head") is an unincorporated community in the town of Sherman in Iron County's deep south. The 2000 census listed 336 residents in Sherman, and they all...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] KIMBALL - News of the good life on the Penokee Iron Range brought Finnish immigrants here as early as 1887. By 1900, native born Finns were the largest ethnic group seeking a new life on the Range. Not only were there many Finns in the area but a smaller group of Italians as well. Descendants of those early settlers gathered together on Sunday when the National Finnish American Festival invited the Gogebic and Iron County Paisano Club to their annual...
BESSEMER — The Marenisco man who led officers on a high-speed chase on a motorcycle was arraigned in Gogebic County Court Friday. John Wesley Gunderman Jr., 52, is charged with operating while intoxicated, attempted fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, refusal of a breath test, expired registration, no insurance and three counts of resisting and obstructing officers. His Gogebic County District Court preliminary exam is scheduled for Aug. 29. Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department deputies estimated his motorcycle hit speeds up to 161 mph Thu...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — Jurors in the Iron County murder trial of Richard Allen and Joseph Lussier will return Monday morning to receive instructions and listen to closing statements before issuing a final verdict. After five days of the trial, Iron County Judge Patrick Madden excused the 14-person jury for the weekend at 2 p.m. Friday after the defense called only one witness. Madden said he wouldn’t hold the jury through a late Friday night session. The state’s case against the two men charged with the execu...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] PAULDING - An estimated 250-300 youngsters 8 and older have taken advantage of a youth shooting program at the Sucker Creek Range in Paulding over the past 21 years. Although this year's class has concluded, it's never too late to think ahead for next year. In 1997, a group of NRA member volunteers had the idea to teach area youth firearms safety and build a shooting range. The range is located at 18860 Sleepy Hollow Road, 6 miles west of US 45, in...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] With Michigan’s primary completed, attention now shifts across the Montreal River to Iron County, where voters will get their chance to vote in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary. While several parties are holding their primaries on the same day, Wisconsin voters can only participate in a single party’s primary election. This means voters must choose between the Republican or Democratic contests, or vote in a third-party primary. On the Republican ballot, Gov. Scott Walker is facing a primary chall...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - The rides were lit up, the food stands were open and the fairgrounds were filled with visitors Thursday as the Gogebic County Fair kicked off for another year. By the evening the exposition building and animals barns had begun to fill up as people dropped off their exhibits and animal entries for the weekend. Everything from cows and horses to vegetables and flowers are on display and competing in their respective categories over the...
By JEAN NORDINE [email protected] BESSEMER - At Thursday's meeting of the Bessemer Downtown Development Authority, the group discussed ways to dress up the downtown area for winter. Suggestions included creating a canopy of lights across Sophie Street, putting up ground displays in the Ethnic Commons, and holding a Christmas decorating light contest. Also under discussion was putting a dark border on the Welcome signs entering town to make them pop out from the white background....
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The fourth day of the murder trial against two Lac du Flambeau, Wis., tribal members ended with emotional testimony of the brother of one of the defendants. When James Lussier, 19, of Woodruff, took the stand Thursday, he and many of the people in the packed courtroom audience began weeping. Lussier gave his account of what happened on Dec. 22, the day Wayne Valliere Jr., 25, of Lac du Flambeau, was murdered in a remote area near Mercer. Joseph Lussier, 26, and Richard F.A. Allen, 27, are o...
