Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Gogebic-Iron County Airport board has hired a new airport manager after a long search. Jeremy Busch, a Wakefield resident and aviation enthusiast, began training at the airport on Monday to replace Todd Richter as manager. “Jeremy will be training for about a year, receiving certifications and learning different aspects of the airport,” said airport board member and county board chairman Jim Lorenson. Lorenson told The Globe Tuesday morning that Busch has a background as a pilot, and has a...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — In a special meeting on Monday evening, members of the Bessemer City Council voted to offer the position of city manager to Christopher Frazer of downstate Imlay. The vote was unanimous with Terry Kryshak absent. City Clerk/Treasurer Mandy Lake reported the news by phone on Tuesday. Regarding Frazer, she said, “He had already looked at the contract and approved everything on it, and his tentative start date is Nov. 6.” Regarding the prospective hiree, Lake added, “We’re excited.” According t...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted last week to approve a resolution of support for Highland Copper Company. The resolution notes the company’s pending Copperwood project in Wakefield and Ironwood townships. Mike Foley of Ironwood, who is the newly appointed project manager of the Copperwood site, was present during the meeting. “Nice to have you on board,” said Commissioner Joseph Bonovetz. “I look forward to pushing this past the finish line,” said Foley regarding t...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — In a busy meeting Monday evening, the Ironwood City Commission designated more than $500,000 in ARPA funds to purchasing a fire truck and electrical upgrades to the Curry Park campground, hired a new Department of Public Works supervisor and heard “exciting” news from city manager Paul Anderson about a pair of more than $10 million grants to fund infrastructure projects. Anderson said the city needed to designate its $511,782 in ARPA funds by the end of the year to qualify for an additio...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Shouting was encouraged last week at the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School. That's because, on Oct. 20, kindness guru Brian Williams was in the gym, leading elementary students in repeated series of chants that likely echoed throughout the school. Williams is the founder of Think Kindness, based in Reno, Nevada, and he is on a mission to spread kindness to schools throughout the nation and beyond. As a 4th-degree black belt, he even applies...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer City Council voted on Monday evening to refuse a request from a Bessemer resident to be relieved of a water bill that ballooned after a water pipe broke. City Secretary Samantha Dorr said the city had changed the water meter at that location on June 28 and that the resident believed the break had occurred due to faulty installation. She said that Fred Trevarthen had noticed a change in water pressure directly after the installation, but that changes in water pressure w...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield City Council voted on Monday evening to approve action in relation to securing $3.5 million in low-interest revenue bonds to fund the first phase of a major water project. City Manager Robert Brown Jr. explained the details in a Tuesday evening phone call. “We’re all signed up and ready to roll,” he said cheerily, noting that councilmen voted to approve Resolution No. 246, which accepts a related project bid of $2,994,958 from Ruotsala Construction of Ironwood. UPEA Engineers and...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER - The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted last week to cancel the 2024 Gogebic County Fair - 10 months in advance. The action followed a Sept. 26 fire that destroyed three structures directly after two additional buildings had been demolished. In addition, the exhibition building has been closed due to structural issues for the past two years, and three remaining barns have been declared unsuitable for use due to electrical damage that...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The recent death of John Sendra of Mercer has resulted in an empty seat on the Iron County Board of Supervisors, but it is not expected to be filled until an election next spring. Sendra died on Sept. 28 at the age of 78. For the past several years, he had represented Mercer Ward No. 11 on the Iron County Board. “John was a very smart man,” said Board Chairman Joseph Pinardi. “We’re all going to miss him, no doubt about it.” Pinardi said that Sendra chaired the county’s Board of Health Com...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Friends of the Ironwood Carnegie Library held its semi-annual book sale this past weekend, drawing people to come and pick up books to read through the cold winter months. Friends President Carol Erickson spoke to the Globe on Friday about the book sale. She explained that the book sales have been going on since the 1980s, with the Friends of the Ironwood Carnegie Library being officially recognized as a 501c3 since 2003. “This year we have had a real outbreak of volunteers,” said Erickson....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — At a special meeting on Monday evening, members of the Bessemer City Council voted to offer the position of city manager to Ian Lewis, a U.P. candidate with a history in Ironwood. The motion included an annual salary offer of $78,000 in addition to three weeks of vacation for the first two years, plus other holidays, personal days and benefits commensurate with the city’s overall union-negotiated terms. The contract also would allow the council to terminate the city manager with cause at any...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County Clerk Michael Saari was all smiles on Thursday of last week. It was his final day on the job, and coworkers were about to send him off with a farewell party. Saari had a 25-year career with the county, having started in January 1999. Over the quarter-century of his tenure, he worked closely with the public and the Iron County Board of Supervisors and its committees. Saari once served on the board himself, representing Hurley from 1982-1984 before he moved to Oma. At that time, he s...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — The Bessemer City Council voted on Monday evening to approve a resolution supporting efforts of Highland Copper Company to construct and operate a mine in Wakefield Township. Mayor Adam Zak announced that the resolution was prepared in response to the Canadian company’s direct request from Bessemer and surrounding communities. “They were able to get fully permitted for the mine in Wakefield,” said Zak, who added that the company compiled much of the needed funding by selling shares of the Whi...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - Ironwood celebrated Plaidurday on Friday, with a crowd gathering at the intersection of Lowell and Aurora streets in downtown Ironwood for the annual photo and celebration of all things plaid. As rain threatened to spill over, some participants wandered into local businesses to take advantage of the First Friday hours that many local businesses offer. The crowd this year totaled approximately 650 people, according to an announcement on Facebook...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — At a Monday special meeting of the Hurley City Council, members voted to raise wages of several select staff members relating to pending 2024 budgets from various departments. They also approved the purchase of a new squad car for the Hurley Police Department. The action included increasing hourly wages to $19 for two of the city’s administrative assistants and to $20 for firefighters. Seasonal student workers also will rise from $11 to $12 per hour next summer. “In my opinion, they’re both gr...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] BESSEMER - Bessemer celebrated the 43rd year of Pumpkinfest this past week, with members of the community and across the region coming out to celebrate the start of the fall season with games, live music, a craft fair and food. While events ranged from Thursday through Sunday, a majority of them were held on Saturday, as much of the downtown was decorated for the festivities as crowds gathered. With events such as the pumpkin decorating contest, scarecrow...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — In unanimous action last week, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the county’s 2023-24 budget, totaling $8,746,009. The vote followed a public hearing that drew no comment. Chairman James Lorenson, under questioning of Commissioner Joseph Bonovetz, added that the county also had not received any written queries from the public. “This budget is the result of two committee meetings that were open to the public,” said Lorenson. Public safety is a large component of the bud...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — Residents of Hurley soon will face a change in how garbage is collected and charged. As of November, all city residents will transition to a system in which garbage will be picked up from designated containers rather than from orange bags, as is now the case. The containers, which have been referred to as bins or carts, also will result in a new manner of billing. As a result of a Sept. 12 vote by the Hurley City Council, the new system will require an added fee of $18 on each household’s qua...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Last year, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners declared that safety concerns at the county fairgrounds would make it impractical to host the annual Ironwood Snowmobile Olympus. Hence, it was cancelled. Now, because of a Sept. 26 fire that destroyed the fairground grandstands, commissioners have conceded that the Olympus — once again — does not look likely for the second year running. “I would think, at this time, we really can’t foresee that,” said Commissioner James Byrns at the board’s...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - Swiftly moving fire on Tuesday morning destroyed three structures at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds in Ironwood. The grandstands, the 4-H horse barn and a hay barn all burned to the ground in little more than an hour, with only rubble left flickering. "On Sept. 26, 2023, at approximately 9:58 a.m., on-duty Ironwood Public Safety Officers received a report of a fire at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds," said a news release from the Ironwood Public...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD – Globe Publisher Sue Mizell is retiring this week, ending 34 years in the newspaper industry. She's stepping down on Friday after 11 years with the newspaper in Ironwood. "We have enjoyed our long-lasting relationship with Sue and wish her the best in her retirement," said Gary Stevenson, of Stevenson Newspapers, the Sheridan, Wyoming-based owner of The Globe. "We are happy to announce we are keeping the paper in capable local hands with t...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The 11th annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes rally at the Wakefield VFW was held last week, as area students and people from local health systems area mental health awareness groups gathered to spread awareness of the importance of mental health and combatting the stigma of seeking help. The program began at 11 a.m. as guest speakers spoke about their personal experiences with mental health. Philip Hefner-Gardiepy from Northpoint Behavioral Health was a returning speaker to the event. He said he w...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — After a closed session on Monday evening, members of the Bessemer City Council voted to offer interviews to three persons who are among 26 applicants for the position of city manager. Afterward, Mayor Adam Zak told The Globe that the city will not be sure which of them will be interviewed until it is clear which ones accept the offer. “None of them are from Gogebic County,” said Zak, who explained that two of them are from Michigan and one is from the eastern United States. Interviews are e...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Gogebic-Iron County Airport hosted its triennial crash simulation on Saturday morning. With more than 19 organizations participating, the event drew a crowd to the airfield as organizers and volunteers worked together to get safety personnel practice in the event of an accident. The simulation kicked off in the morning as volunteers boarded the "airplane," a bus from the Ironwood Area School District that had been parked at the end of the r...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Gogebic County officials are striving to move forward with progress at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds, and some measure of it arrived on Tuesday with a delivery of demolition equipment and demolition was under way Wednesday morning. County Administrator Juliane Giackino told Gogebic County commissioners last week that a representative of the company that was hired to conduct the demolition met with several county officials on Sept. 12. “I took him to the fairgrounds,” she said. “He toured...
