Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 4718 - 4742 of 9747
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - The former high school principal at the A.D. Johnston school in Bessemer, Dan VanderVelden, nominated Jamie Stiffarm, special education and peer-to-peer mentor teacher for LifeChanger of the Year before his departure last spring. The LifeChanger of the Year program annually recognizes K-12 educators and school employees across the country who make a difference in the lives of students by, "exemplifying excellence, positive influence, and...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners Wednesday approved a county indigent defense system plan that requests a grant of $112,254. The total indigent defense system cost is pegged at $214,386, with the local contribution set at $102,132. The county board approved the public defender plan without much comment. Commissioners were told the deadline for the application for funding for the program is Nov. 20. Gogebic County Circuit Court Judge Michael Pope earlier this year formed a c...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD - If 25 years as a police officer in the downstate communities of Holland and Wyoming; and 14 more as an officer in nearby Wayland Schools taught Harry Werkema anything, it's how much the world has changed, and not always for the better. As part of a talk about preventing violence, Werkema told an assembly of Luther L. Wright middle and high school students they need to speak up - and further more, change the way they "think, talk and pay...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] WAKEFIELD - It's been another banner year for the Wakefield Michigan State Police Post's annual food drive. The post - with the help of volunteers from around Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota who contacted the post about a community service opportunity - distributed 21,760 pounds of food to food banks across the Gogebic Range Tuesday, including in Ironwood and Bessemer. The post also collected 2,000 pounds of food in Ontonagon for food banks in...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners approved two appointments Wednesday. Sara Ribble, of Ironwood, was appointed court magistrate and John Matonich, of Lake Gogebic, was named to the Peer Review Group for the Gogebic County Remonumentation Program. Gogebic County District Court Judge Joel Massie joked about the revolving seats in the county when the Ribble appointment was approved. She takes the position of former magistrate Lisa Hewitt, who was named county treasurer upon the r...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The engineering team designing the reconstruction of Saxon Harbor now has a direction to move in after the Iron County Board of Supervisors approved a general design plan for the harbor Tuesday. The board voted 12 to 2 to follow the recommendations of the design team and the county's forestry and parks committee on the general design of the campground and marina. "I think you're giving us our best product right now. Somewhere down the line...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — For the second time in a little more than a month, the Wakefield Planning Commission voted Monday to increase 2018 rates at the city’s Eddy Park Campground. On Oct. 2, the commission already had proposed a series of fee hikes, and the Wakefield City Council voted on that recommendation at its Oct. 9 meeting. At the same Oct. 9 meeting, however, council members also voted to form a committee to consider the interests of the campground. The campground committee consists of one city council membe...
ODANAH, Wis. — The Bad River Tribal Council has declared a public health emergency because of the heroin and opiate problem on the Bad River Reservation. The tribal council, on a 4-0 vote, last week declared the public health emergency to address the drug problem and is seeking outside assistance to address what id calls a “life-threatening issue.” Chairperson Robert Blanchard said the decision to designate a state of emergency is a positive step in the battle to address the growing problem of drug addiction. “Our communities need the resourc...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] It's Election Day in Michigan cities - including Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield - as voters will head to the polls to choose their city representatives. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In Ironwood, there are seven people running for all five open seats on the city commission. Incumbents on the ballot include Annette Burchell, who is mayor; Kim Corcoran, Jim Mildren and Rick Semo. Also on the ballot are Joseph J. Cayer, Dave Kinnunen and Bill...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — A small group met in the Ironwood Memorial Building Monday to continue their effort to form a youth ski and biking team in the area. One of the driving forces behind the creation of the team was to get kids more active on the area’s trail system year-round. “(The hope) is to get kids out and involved in the things that are available to them in Iron and Gogebic counties,” said Neil Klemme, one of the organizers. “We didn’t have a (cross-country) ski program here, and we’re in the snow b...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - A five-year project has preserved a great deal of Ironwood history for the Gogebic Range Genealogical Society. A family book of photos and stories featuring Ironwood's Rigoni and Malmberg families has been donated to the society and is available to be viewed at the Ironwood Depot Museum. Over the past several years, Diane Rigoni Oliphant has battled ALS, a debilitating disease. She currently resides in a Mellen Wis., care facility, while her...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Trail supporters gathered at the East Wing in Hurley for the Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiast’s trailhead fundraiser Sunday, within view of the planned trailhead’s location. “We had a really good turnout,” said Mike Fauerbach, one of the organizers. “There were a lot of people from Ironwood, we had lots of people from Mercer.” The planned trailhead will be located between the motorized and non-motorized trails on the 500 feet of land between the Montreal River and Second Avenue...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - Hundreds of people filled the Historic Ironwood Theatre Saturday as finalists of this year's HIT Idol competition entertained the crowd before and after learning who the six winners were. Adding to the fun was the participation of Lee DeWyze, Season 9 winner of "American Idol," who performed with the contestants and also gave a concert of his own. Winners of the 2017 event were as follows: -Young Adult Category: Veronica Bolton and Kristine...
BESSEMER TOWNSHIP — Two hunters have received medical attention after their hunt went awry. The Gogebic County Sheriff’s Department received a report of two hunters being unable to move in a swamp at approximately 6:36 p.m. Saturday. The father and son had become “stuck waist deep in a swamp and unable to move,” while tracking a deer in Bessemer Township, according to a GCSD press release. The pair were rescued from the cold water with assistance from the Gogebic County Search and Rescue, Bessemer Township Fire Department and Beacon Ambulan...
MARQUETTE — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder declared Nov. 5-11 Winter Hazards Awareness Week more than a week after the snow began falling throughout much of the Upper Peninsula. While 15.2 inches of snow had fallen at Ironwood through Friday and the November temperatures have been unseasonably cold, it’s too early to say the area will be in for a brutal winter. As of Friday, the average reading for the month in Ironwood of 27.6 degrees compared to the 116-year average of 36.7 degrees. The 5 inc...
HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the county’s budget for the 2018 fiscal year Tuesday, which — unless the board changes the figures — will include a millage increase. The expected rate will be .0056 mill, according to documents given to the board, which translates to $5.63 for every $1,000 of taxable value. That is an 87-cent increase from the previous year’s $4.76 per $1,000 of value. While the county-wide rate is increasing, the impact on individual properties will depend on what town taxpayers live in a...
GILE, Wis. - More than 400 pounds of trash were removed from the Gile Flowage during the Friends of the Gile Flowage's recent fall clean-up. "With more people coming to Iron County to discover the beautiful resource we have in the Gile Flowage, it's important to keep it clean and pristine," said FOG president Cathy Techtmann. The clean-up has taken place in the last month, according to Techtmann, and was capped off with a pontoon boat visit to several of the flowage's islands to collect the...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER — The Michigan State University Extension office in Bessemer is still gathering food for the “Eat Smart Knapsack” program. According to Ashley Dennis, the program is designed to provide in-need students in Gogebic County with a bag of nutritious and easy-to-prepare food over the winter and spring break. The plan is to supplement their home-cooked meals with healthy food as if they were still in school, only without the homework. Dennis said the Extension office is filling each bag with...
Preliminary data from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation shows 58 people were killed in traffic-related crashes in October, compared to 46 a year ago. Through the first 10 months of this year, Wisconsin recorded 506 traffic fatalities, higher than the 485 deaths at this time last year, and also above the five-year average of 467. “We’re approaching that time of year when weather and travel conditions can change quickly,” said David Pabst, Director of WDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Safety. “Motorists should be prepared for potential...
BESSEMER — The Gogebic Range Trail Authority is seeking volunteers to assist in trail clean-up efforts. The more than a foot of heavy snow that has fallen was accompanied by strong winds that downed many trees, making most of the trails impassable, according to GRTA trail boss Deb Fergus. The club is asking people to volunteer to help clear the downed tree limbs, with 95 miles of impassable trails that need to be cleared about a month away from the traditional opener for snowmobiling. People are being asked to go out on their own on the u...
