Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Following a recommendation by the city’s new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Wakefield City Council voted Monday evening to authorize the city manager to develop and release a Request for Proposal for preliminary costs of two regulation sand volleyball courts in Eddy Park. Funds received by the city from the American Rescue Plan Act are expected to cover the expense. In a related agenda report, City Manager Robert Brown Jr. said that a regulation volleyball court is 52 feet, 6 inc...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area School Board discussed the amended budget for the 2023-2024 school year, and heard an update from Superintendent Travis Powell about the status of the Josephson’s property at its meeting Monday. The former Josephson’s Nursing Home property was purchased by the school and the district would like to use the land for an addition to the school for young elementary students, but that plan still remains for the future, according to Powell. “I was informed this week that the Land Ba...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER - A Bessemer housing project that has been years in the making is inching toward the possible start of construction this summer. Although not on the agenda, the pending project was discussed during the public comment session of Monday's Bessemer City Council meeting. Project Developer Chad Bucknell specifically informed the city that he is requesting a tax-exempt status for the pending complex south of the Iron Belle Trail, between South Moore...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer City Council voted Monday evening to approve qualifications for the position of code enforcement officer. The role is sometimes referred to, colloquially, as a blight officer. The vote included two contingencies requested by Councilman Adam Zak: 1. Allow, but do not require, the officer to use his or her laptop on the job, and 2. Reduce the expected weekly hours from 20 to 15, with the added freedom to adjust hours to suit the officer’s schedule. The code officer’s calen...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - High-velocity nostalgia filled the Historic Ironwood Theatre on Saturday night as a Grateful Dead tribute band performed to the delight of the audience. Another One, a 6-member Milwaukee band, offered more than 3 hours of some of the band's greatest hits. Patrick Van Bibber and Isaac Young led the pack as singers and guitarists, and drummers Matt Liban and Jack Reed formed the rhythm section. Keyboardist Dan Buda and bass player Jordan Kroeger...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] MARENISCO TOWNSHIP — The Marenisco Township Board of Trustees is getting close to approving its new budget for the 2024-2025 year. Supervisor Bruce Mahler said Tuesday that trustees also are working toward creating a new Facebook page and hiring someone to update the township website. He added that the pending budget will include a new patrol car for Police Chief James Webber and a new lawn mower for the Department of Public Works. The township’s new budget year starts April 1. Mahler said the big...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] BESSEMER - Tuesday is Election Day in Michigan as voters statewide will head to the polls to cast a ballot in the Presidential Primary. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early voting was is full swing on this past Tuesday at the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer. A new Michigan law provides for nine days of early voting before all state and federal elections. The nine city and township clerks in the county worked with County Clerk Ramona...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] EWEN — The Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District, based in Ewen, has a new way of informing the public. Its podcast, called “The Chalkboard,” is part of what Alan Tulppo calls the district’s “multifaceted means of sharing news.” As superintendent of GOISD, Tulppo explained the approach in a Feb. 16 interview with The Globe. “We, as the ISD, felt that we’re providing a lot of services and classes that we wanted to raise awareness of with parents and the public,” he said. “We’re using it t...
WAUSAU, Wis. — Aspirus Health announced Tuesday that major changes are coming to two of its locations in the Upper Peninsula, including transitioning Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital into a rural health clinic and a $30 million renovation and expansion of Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital in Laurium. The transitioning of the Ontonagon hospital into a rural health clinic “will provide services that better match local needs in a community that has changed dramatically in recent years,” said a release from Aspirus. Changes in Ontonagon will be effective April...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — A Saturday Family Fun Day in Wakefield was heavy on the fun as hundreds of people gathered in VFW Post 9084. The event was in lieu of the annual fishing tournament held by the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department. A mild winter made that activity impossible. Nevertheless, high spirits prevailed at an event that included lots of activities for kids, such as an outdoor trout pond, indoor minnow races, duck picks, a scavenger hunt, face-painting and balloon animals. Door prizes and raffles also r...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission continued Monday taking steps to improve the city’s utility infrastructure, approving a $11.4 million grant to fully fund Phase 2 of the ongoing water treatment plant project. City Manager Paul Anderson said the grant funds from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy amount to 100% grant. “We remain extremely thankful to EGLE for coming up with this amazing funding and opportunity for us,” said Anderson. Phase 2 will add water treatme...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library is in the middle of renovations, adding a main floor restroom, according to Library Director Lynne Wiercinski. "We are working on staying open as long as we can during construction. We have had to close for a couple days when it wouldn't be safe for patrons to be in the library while they were working," said Wiercinski. She said the project is running well, and the restroom is something that the library officials had been wanting to do for many years. The funds...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Several hundred people gathered last weekend for the 34th annual Midwest Telefest at Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Ironwood Township. The three-day event normally takes place at the Porcupine Mountains Ski Area in Ontonagon, but it was moved this year due to inadequate snow at that site, which relies only on Mother Nature. Race Director Peter Werts of Madison, Wisconsin, said he expects the event to return to Ontonagon next year....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER— The Bessemer Parks and Recreation Commission now has a full board, thanks to action taken at Monday’s meeting of the Bessemer City Council. The council voted to approve Mayor Peter Tacconelli’s appointment of Dominic Fabbri as a parks commissioner. Fabbri previously served on the city’s Planning Commission and wrote in his application that, as a father, he believes the parks commission “is more aligned with my short-term goals and time commitments.” He added that his engineering degree and...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The Cat Clowder, a gathering of sno-cats and similar vehicles built to move through and on deep snow, celebrated it's 10th year gathering at Powderhorn this past weekend. More than 30 vehicles made the trip up to Big Powderhorn Resort for the celebration of all things sno-cat. Big Powderhorn general manager Bruce Noren said the clowder is a highly anticipated event each year, as it draws people from across the country. "We had some come...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] A lack of snow has inspired officials in the tri-county area to allow ORV riding in February. The unusual action has been inspired by fewer than 3 feet of snow during this season — a measly allotment that has allowed trail bases to melt in the face of extended warm spells. Iron and Ontonagon counties have issued formal statements in the past week. “We’re doing the same here,” said Jerry Nezworski, president and trail boss of the Gogebic Range Snowmobile Authority. “Unfortunately, there’s no script for...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - From the moment the public arrived at the annual La Rosa spaghetti dinner this past weekend at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, they encountered enticing aromas, welcoming signs and friendly faces. The major fundraiser took place Saturday and Sunday, bringing dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hungry folks together. "It was a very good success," said Alison Schlag later. "It was a beautiful day. We were very happy with the...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer Parks and Recreation Commission voted last week to dedicate their next monthly meeting to working toward a new five-year parks and recreation plan. The motion followed City Manager Christopher Frazer’s recommendation that such a discussion should occur before the commission makes recommendations on the city’s new Capital Improvement Plan, which also is pending. However, commissioners already agreed that several items on their wish list should be included in the new C...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — A written proposal regarding how to manage a streamlined version of the 2024 Gogebic County Fair met with a dead end at last week’s meeting of the county Board of Commissioners. The county board requested the proposal of its Fair Board because of five buildings that were lost at the Ironwood fairgrounds due to a Sept. 26, 2023, fire and prior demolition. Fair Board member Linda Nelson presented the proposal, which included reduced fair times, confined locations of events, a list of repairs to b...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - Hearts, minds and bodies of a steady crowd of people were warmed Saturday night as the Norrie Amateur Sports Club offered its 15th annual "'Light Up the Night"' bonfire in Ironwood. The event, which closed out the 2023-2024 Jack Frost Festival, was made possible by the discarding of Christmas trees by local residents. "'I think there were just under 300,"' said Steve Lehto Jr., club president, who added that stacks of unneeded pallets also helpe...
WAKEFIELD — Work to develop and launch a new copper mine north of Wakefield drew Highland Copper Interim CEO Barry O’Shea to the Gogebic Range this week. His message regarding the Copperwood Project wasn’t momentous, but it was positive. Highland officials appeared at a meeting of the Michigan Strategic Fund held at Gogebic Community College, advancing their case for state support for the mine. “They’re considering giving us a grant of $50 million,” said O’Shea. The funds would be used to develop infrastructure for the mine. “We are excit...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer School Board met for its January meeting on Jan. 22, where the members held their annual reorganization and heard updates regarding the main school sign. During the reorganizational meeting, the board elected officers, including James Partanen as president, Brady Halvorson as vice president, Beth Steiger as secretary, and Tara Graham as treasurer. January is board appreciation month, said superintendent Richard Matrella. The members were presented a certificate thanking them and t...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission approved payment Monday for an invoice of $4,536 to Gogebic County 911 for cellphones provided to the Ironwood Public Safety Department. IPSD Sgt. Brandon Snyder, who is also the IPSD fire marshal and on the county’s 911 Committee, told the commission how the state had determined the county’s 911 Committee was wrong when it bought the phones for the department. He said they appealed that decision, but lost at first by one vote and appealed again to the full...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] UPSON, Wis. - The snow season started stirring nearly three months ago at Whitecap Mountains Resort, but skiing did not open at the Upson ski hill until Jan. 13, the day that a winter storm hit this region. "We started making snow on Oct. 30," said resort owner David Dziuban of the staff's efforts toward the end of 2023. The early snowmaking, of course, was foiled by a prolonged warm spell - including rain - that ruined any prospects of opening hills for t...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Individuals or businesses who donated to the cost of a new trailhead behind the Bessemer City Hall will receive a letter from the city in the near future. City Council members agreed Monday night that the outreach should be made in case any donors may wish to retract their offer after the city failed for the second year in a row to qualify for a Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Officials will apply for the grant again this year, in hopes o...
