Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4609 - 4633 of 9816
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer Area Sno-goers’ grooming barn was more crowded than usual Saturday as the snowmobile club held its annual Winter Blast Festival. The event is the club’s largest fundraiser of the year, according to club president Andy Smith, who said the money raised will go to towards maintaining the 220 miles of trails in southern Iron County the group is responsible for. Due in large part to the member’s efforts, Smith said all the tra...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] ONTONAGON - The Superior Loop at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is a broad, winding trail, full of white winter quiet; but when nearly 80 kerosene lanterns illuminate the way, it becomes a romantic Victorian experience. Such was the case Saturday evening when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources offered a lantern-lit event for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in Ontonagon County. "It's a great venue for this," said Keith Snyder of...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — Marlene Broemer has returned to the Ontonagon area from travels around the country and world. Broemer was born in Ontonagon and grew up in White Pine, graduating from the White Pine High School and Michigan State University. She received her Master’s Degree from San Francisco State and doctorate from Helsinki University where she also taught. Broemer returned to the area and is presently teaching at Finlandia University in Hancock. Club president Jan Wolfe said the O-WP Rotary is pleased to rec...
With the recent warm-up and subsequent cold spell, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is warning people to be cautious when out on the ice. "Don't assume the ice is safe just because a lake or stream looks frozen," Lt. Tom Wanless said in a DNR press release. "There are several factors that can determine the strength off the ice. Understanding and recognizing these factors, as well as using common sense and caution, will allow you to have a more enjoyable outdoor experience and to...
An upside to the cold and snow that has arrived on the Gogebic Range is it has brought backyard bird feeders to life. As the snow piles up and temperatures again plummet, the birds have not been bashful in seeking food sources. Pine siskins have been plentiful in many regions, mixed with some common redpolls, according to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist Ryan Brady, in Ashland. "Pine grosbeaks have been showing fairly well across the Northwoods. Snowy owls remain widespread, w...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — Gogebic County needs a new drain commissioner. James Loeper resigned from the elected position Wednesday, indicating he needs to cut back on the many “hats” that he is wearing in the county. He is the county’s emergency management director and will continue to work in that capacity. Loeper wrote, “It has been a pleasure and learning experience being drain commissioner.” He resigned effective Feb. 1. While it’s not a full-time job, a few years ago Loeper was spending more time as drain comm...
ROCKLAND - Motorized and non-motorized trail users will continue to be able to use an old rail grade in Ontonagon County after a failing culvert was replaced. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Trails and Recreation Alliance of Land and the Environment partnered to complete the project, which involved replacing a culvert over Davy Creek, off Cemetery Road, on the trail between Rockland and Ontonagon. "The 12-mile Ontonagon to Rockland multi-use designated route is...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] HURLEY — Michigan leads the nation in FIRST Robotics teams, and $2.5 million in state grants will help even more students benefit from the experiences of working with professionals and being inspired by seeing real-world applications of technology subjects, said Roger Curtis, director of the Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development. Michigan has invested $12 million helping schools start and strengthen FIRST teams since 2014. For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Wednesday adopted a resolution in support of the Gogebic Range Bank’s plans to develop the former Body Shop property in the Bessemer Industrial Park into office space. The Gogebic County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority received an application to develop the parcel that is considered “functionally obsolete.” Rudy Grbavcich, chairman of the GCBRA, and Neil Beckman, representing the bank, discussed the plans with the county board on Wednesday. Beckma...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON - A public announcement of the construction and development of a $300 million advanced biofuels plant at the site of the closed paper mill in Ontonagon is "expected shortly," Pat Tucker told the Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation Wednesday. He indicated SynSel Energy's closing on the funds - which are already secured - is in the process now of being transferred into the appropriate accounts. He said the process has been "moving slowly...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — On Tuesday morning, just before 7 a.m., an automobile driven by 64-year-old Kim Wright, of Bessemer, was struck on U.S. 2 while pulling out from Grandview Lane, near Aspirus Hospital. The car was pushed on top of a snowbank on its roof, with the driver’s side taking the brunt of the damage. The vehicle was struck by a van driven by a 34-year-old female, Deztany Breese, from Wakefield, heading west on the highway. A witness to the accident, who was trailing the van heading west on...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Wednesday discussed a letter from Watersmeet Supervisor Mike Rogers requesting the road commission locate its operations in Marenisco. Rogers said a central location in the county would be better than building new facilities in the Ironwood Industrial Park, as has been proposed. “The idea that a new building would be built on the far western part of the county doesn’t make a lot of sense in terms of logistics,” Rogers wrote. He said Marenis...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - At its first meeting of the year Monday, the Wakefield City Council received good and bad financial news, based on an audit of the 2016-17 fiscal year. Certified Public Accountant Karl "Gus" Ahonen said that the city has a total net pension liability of $2,379,511, a situation that many other cities and counties also face in varying degrees. In addition, he said the council should hire an actuary to update the city's "other post-employment...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County is looking for a company to clear sections of Oronto and Parker creeks at Saxon Harbor this spring, after the Iron County Forestry and Parks Committee approved going out for bids on the project Tuesday. The project will involve removing debris and sediment from Oronto Creek between the marina’s boat lift and Parker Creek, as well as Parker Creek from the confluence with Oronto to Lake Superior. The work is necessary to restore the flow of the creeks to their condition before th...
A winter storm watch for northern Wisconsin and the Gogebic Range is in effect from late this afternoon through Thursday. The National Weather Service predicts the storm could dump from 3 to 5 inches of snow tonight and another 8 to 12 inches on Thursday. There could be a period of freezing rain and sleet when the snow begins. Ice accumulations are possible. The band of snow was expected to produce accumulations of 4 to 7 inches for portions of east central Minnesota and areas of northwest Wisconsin, according to the NWS office in Duluth....
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — Two Wakefield residents were arrested on felony drug charges Monday, following a Gogebic Iron Area Narcotics Team investigation. Paul Robert Rooni is charged with conspiracy to deliver a Schedule 2 narcotic and maintaining a drug house, according to a GIANT press release Monday. Jessica Ann Boggetto is charged with possession with intent to deliver a Schedule 2 controlled substance, possession of a Schedule 2 controlled substance and maintaining a drug house, according to the release. Ac...
IRONWOOD - Enjoy it while it lasts. After a brutal first week of January, warmer than normal temperatures returned over the weekend to the Gogebic Range. No one was complaining about the bright Monday sunshine and upper 20s temperatures. The high of 25 degrees for the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. Monday at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Montreal River was 5 degrees above the normal long-term high. The low of 12 for the period was well above the daily average of 4 degrees over...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] RAMSAY - In a turn of bad news for the new year, the Bessemer Township board passed a resolution to buy a transfer switch, costing $8,500, to operate the pumps in Anvil. The 600 amp, 480 volt, 3 phase transfer switch recently stopped working and a temporary bypass is currently running while the new switch is procured and installed. The township did receive some sugar with their spice though, as the state cut the township a check for $17,708 in...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — While Iron County District Attorney Matt Tingstad said he expects to file a criminal complaint with formal charges sometime next week, a bond hearing was held Friday for one of the suspects authorities say was involved in the death of a missing Lac du Flambeau man. Iron County Judge Patrick Madden granted the prosecution’s request and ordered bond set at $1 million for Richard F. A. Allen, 27. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Allen is suspected of first degree int...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - The eighth annual Sisu Ski Fest started 90 minutes late to accommodate cold weather and heavy wintry conditions, but for Ellen Weber, who has raced every Sisu except the year it was cancelled, the delayed start resulted in a much better race because it was not so brutally cold, like last years race. Weber said she races and works the registration desk, despite making the trek to Ironwood from the suburbs of Chicago. For Bridget Wendt, art...
MERCER, Wis. — An Iowa man was killed in a snowmobile accident in the town of Mercer Friday. The Iron County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a snowmobile accident on Trail 9 in Mercer at 1:55 p.m., according to a department news release. The 56-year-old snowmobiler was unresponsive when first responders arrived on the scene, Sheriff Tony Furyk said in the release, and was later pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation showed the man’s snowmobile left the trail and hit a tree, according to the release. While Wisconsin Depar...
