Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 5151 - 5175 of 9785
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County will try for yet another broadband expansion project, Iron County Finance Committee approved moving forward with a grant application for the state’s 2018 Broadband Expansion program. Once again, the county’s project will focus on the southern part of Iron County — this time proposing the construction of 150-foot towers on sites near Lake of the Falls and Spider Lake in the town of Mercer. The total project is expected to be $134,451; with the county seeking an approxi...
BESSEMER - An inmate escaped the Gogebic County Jail Monday night. Daniel Ferguson, 26, escaped sometime after 8:45 p.m., according to a Gogebic County Sheriff's Department Facebook post at approximately 9:33 p.m. Ferguson was last seen heading northwest on Moore Street, according to the department, wearing black and white jail striped pants and jail orange shirt but no shoes. Ferguson was in jail on an operating under the influence charge and a probation violation warrant from Wisconsin. D...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission on Monday took care of some Phase 4 sewer-water project business so a loan closing can begin. Meeting in a special session, resolutions and contracts for the summer’s infrastructure project were approved. The commission approved a resolution for a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan of $2,701,000 for the water project and $422,000 for the sewer work. City manager Scott Erickson noted the $422,000 loan will be matched by a $1,263,000 federal gra...
IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - It did not take long Monday for the divergent groups on the Bessemer city council to draw up sides. The council and audience were united in pledging their allegiance to the flag, but it quickly began dissolving after that. In a vote of 3-2, Kathy Whitburn, John Frello, and Al Gaiss voted against moving 17 pieces of public correspondence and the police contract reports for April and May, all filed under the "Consent Agenda," over to the...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — For a second year in a row; the Ironwood Area Schools quiz bowl team competed in a national tournament, taking 12th place in a tournament in Chicago Monday. Ironwood was among the over 200 teams from around the country that competed in the three-day event, coach Steve Boyd said — with all the teams having won local tournaments to earn their place. “The requirements to get into (the tournament) is, you have to finish first in a state or regional tournament,” Boyd said. Each team competed in at least six matches, with a 4-2 r...
HURLEY - Iron County was recently represented at an international conference, as members of the Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension Office and a Hurley student presented on ways the county has involved its youth in community development projects. The Community Development Society and National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals 2017 conference held in Big Sky, Mont., ended Wednesday. "We were there for the project we did in October with the trailhead designs,"...
LANSING - The Michigan House of Representatives passed its version of Senate Bill 76 Thursday, which funds Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund projects across the state, including several in Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. Rep. Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, praised the bill's passage, which would provide funding for 11 projects in his 110th Congressional District. "I am excited to announce these projects, and eager to see this work start in communities throughout House District 110," Dianda said...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Planning Commission approved a special use permit for a new gravel pit following a public hearing Thursday. The pit, which will be operated Angelo Luppino Inc., is located off Black River Road, near Maple Creek, north of Copper Peak. Township zoning administrator LeRoy Johnson said while one party expressed concern about road easements in connection with the pit, the commission’s jurisdiction doesn’t include the roads surrounding gravel pits — leading to the permit’s approval. While there a number of...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — Gogebic County residents who need money to pay their taxes are again offered help through the Step Forward program, according to county treasurer Sue Pertile. She told the county board Wednesday the program is again available to help homeowners by offering interest-free loans of up to $30,000 to cover delinquent property taxes, mortgage payments and condominium association fees. The loans are forgivable at 20 percent each year, as long as the property remains the homeowner’s primary res...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer Historical Society Thursday heard from Dick Steiger of a recent donation the society received. Steiger said Jim Maccani gave the society an old ledger from the Sylvania Club, near Watersmeet. Without digging into the new historical artifact yet, some names leapt off the pages of the tome. A.D. Johnston, the namesake of the school in Bessemer, was one of the initial investors and a frequent guest at the club. Henry Ford also stayed and left his name in the ledger. Looking at t...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - If anyone happened to notice a large number of people wearing purple in Iron County Thursday, it wasn't some strange coincidence, rather the employees of the Iron County Human Services Department and other community partners wore the color to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. In Wisconsin, elder abuse applies to anyone over the age 60 being physically, sexually or emotionally abused, as well as those being neglected or financially...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - The Bessemer Women's Club hosted a "Benefit Coffee Social" in the auditorium of the city hall in Bessemer Wednesday afternoon. The club has been in existence for 98 years, spending that time raising money for scholarships, the library, books, and other donations for local causes, said Sue Abelman. The "Flag Day" social itself has been going on for 25 years, said Barbara Karpus, chairperson. Abelman said they had about 100 people visit the...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] ERWIN TOWNSHIP — The Erwin Township Board of Trustees updated the township fee schedule Wednesday. The board addressed several fees, including introducing a scale for the cost of a special use permit. Whereas permits were previously $600, they will now cost between $250 and $600 depending on the costs the township has for notifying neighbors and holding a hearing as required by the permits. Township Supervisor Larry Grimsby said the goal of the fee should be to cover township costs, while not i...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved an employees’ pay and classification study on a 5-1 vote. The study will be done by the MGT Consulting Group at a cost of up to $26,715. The study will attempt to determine department employee salary structures, including recommendations for raises. The board’s personnel and negotiating committee voted May 31 to begin the study. Jeff Wasley, of Ironwood, who cast the lone no vote Wednesday, said, “I’m not sure this study wil...
PERRYSBURG, Ohio - Kay Burzinski, 81, of Toledo, passed away June 10, 2017, at Heartland of Perrysburg Nursing Home. She was born in Pence, Wis., the oldest of Anton and Catherine Calvi's two daughters. In 1953, Kay graduated from J.E. Murphy High School in Hurley, Wis., and headed to the University of Wisconsin's Madison campus to study music. Four years later, she graduated from the university Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music degree, and started her career teaching elementary music in...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Even though area schools are out for the summer, Ironwood Area Schools' Food Service program is hard at work on the district's summer lunch program. Ironwood Food Service Director Mary Hampston Kusz said over 200 students attended Tuesday's meal at Ironwood's Depot Park, enjoying not only a nutritious lunch but also an activity that gets them out of the house. "During the school year, they have a place to go and a place to meet that has...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] HURLEY — The Hurley City Council on Tuesday approved a parcel purchase for the non-motorized Iron Belle Trail. The deal had been negotiated over many months. The council agreed to pay $5,000 to Canadian National for the small parcel. Mayor Joe Pinardi praised city attorney Ray O’Dea for getting the railroad to come down on its original asking price of $22,000. A grant from the Gogebic Range Health Foundation will cover the $5,000, Pinardi noted. The city will send in $1,000 in advance for the par...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — An Ironwood man was sentenced to prison Tuesday in Gogebic County Circuit Court. Kevin Russell Schuelke, 44, was sentenced to between 29 months and 60 months in prison for the felony charge of arson-preparation to burn. Schuelke was also sentenced to 93 days in jail for domestic violence and between 16 and 24 months for resisting and obstructing officers, however, Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said the sentences all run concurrently — meaning Schuelke will serve the sen...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Michigan Department of Treasury delivered its long-awaited report on the discrepancies with Ironwood Township’s 2015 audit to the township’s Board of Trustees Monday. The department’s investigation — which led to a criminal investigation into former treasurer Jyl Olson-DeRosso’s alleged embezzlement of township funds — included a total of 15 findings regarding the township’s water and sewer, trust and agency and tax collection funds. The state report shed some light into how...
