Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 5657 - 5681 of 9883
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday acted on appointments to the Gogebic County Transit and Gogebic County Road Commission boards. David Pawlak, who has served as chairman of the GCT board since 2012, was reappointed to an at-large seat. GCT Director Jim Mildren, in a letter to the county board, said Pawlak has been “an exceptional” transit board member. The term of Leroy Kangas, of Ironwood Township, former Gogebic County Board member who retired at the end of 2016,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - An Ironwood Township man pleaded guilty to two drug charges in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday. Franklin Leroy Raymond III, 40, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and possession of meth as part of a plea agreement. The charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and/or $25,000 in fines and 10 years in prison and/or $15,000 in fines respectively. The deal calls for three other...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - For the past 12 years, Tracy Rowe's Algebra II class has begun each school year with a homework project to capture the "state of algebra." This project takes the kids about three hours of their own time and brightens the hallway outside of Rowe's class and near the library for the rest of the school year. The students are expected to come up with a slogan to build their project around. They used to do this on their own, but with the interne...
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission plans to get a closer look at the businesses that operate within the industrial park. City commissioners agreed Monday to set up tours of the businesses. The first tour will be a two-hour excursion. Xcel Energy has built new facilities in the industrial park, moving its offices from the Norrie Park area. Commissioners previously indicated a tour of the new facilities should be a priority. City commissioner Rick Semo noted Monday the industrial park, which has 23 tenants, provides 450 jobs to area resident...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] WASHINGTON D.C. - Among the crowd on hand to witness Donald Trump's presidential inauguration Friday were a group of Ironwood Area School students who traveled to the nation's capital to witness the historic occasion. "(The trip) was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we probably won't get the chance to do again," Senior Kacie Lundin said. Lundin was one of 26 Ironwood students in grades nine through 12 to go with social studies teacher...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission and city employees learned about Michigan’s new medical marijuana law at a work session before Monday’s commission meeting. It was the first meeting by the commission to discuss implications of the new law and no action was taken. “This is the first step to get educated about the law,” said City Manager Scott Erickson. Planning commission members and department heads also attended the session, in addition to a half-dozen members of the public. They learned that a...
By ISABELLE KLEINSCHMIDT [email protected] WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield City Council heard from the City’s auditor, Karl Ahonen, on the 2015-16 year audit, Monday night. Ahonen highlighted some of the city’s financial deficits and fund balances. The Governmental Activities Fund had a deficit of $77,472. This is the first year that the city was required to record its net pension liability, which is what the deficit reflects. The General Unassigned Fund balance was at $413,570 which is an improvement from the deficit of previous years. The G...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - On Saturday from noon to 8 pm the Aurora Club hosted a fundraiser to offset the medical costs of local Ironwood football coach and business owner, Ryan Niemi. About five weeks ago Niemi went to the doctor feeling unwell; the doctor sent him to Wausau immediately and the verdict was in. Niemi had developed IgA Nephropathy, or Berger's Disease. According to the Kidney Cares Community, Berger's Disease is characterized by the deposition of IgA...
The Ironwood area is not alone in experiencing an increase in fake currency. The Ironwood Public Safety Department received a recent report of a McDonald's restaurant employee accepting a $100 bill that had the writing, "For Motion Picture Use Only"' on it. Since then, the Duluth-Superior area has experienced an increase in counterfeit money being passed. On Wednesday, Duluth police issued a warning to the public that they, too, had received reports of fake bills with "Motion Picture Use Only"...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — The future of the Ontonagon Habitat for Humanity depends on finding volunteers to step up and assume volunteer roles. According to officials, the Ontonagon unit has been inactive. Money was embezzled from the organization between 2012-2013 placing it “not in good standing” with Habitat for Humanity International. Over the last year the board tried to create a new organization to aid area housing needs with the Habitat assets. “This avenue was met with hurdles that could not be overcome with re...
IRONWOOD — After narrowly missing a record high the day before, a new daily high temperature was set for Ironwood on Friday. For the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. on Friday, the high was a balmy 50 degrees, which broke the old mark of 48 set in 1981. Temperatures in the low 50s were unofficially recorded in other areas of the Gogebic Range. For the 24-hour period to 7 a.m. on Thursday, the high was 46, but that fell short of the 116-year Ironwood record of 47 set in 1981, according to the National Weather Service office in Marquette. Steady r...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — Township residents had the opportunity Thursday evening to ask questions about the new water line that will be installed next summer by the city of Ironwood north of Sunset Road to the city’s pump station in the township. Township board member Steve Boyd and three township residents asked questions of Mike Foley, of Coleman Engineering, and city officials who attended the hearing at the township hall. Foley noted the city’s wells on Pump Station Road and at Spring Creek supply water...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - The Bessemer Historical Society met Thursday afternoon to discuss Bessemer historical business. The society noted State Rep. Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, sponsored a resolution to make January Finnish-American Heritage Month in Michigan. It passed the House on Jan. 12. The historical society is up to 135 members from all over, based on ties to Bessemer. A yearly single membership is $12 and a family membership is $18. In administrative news,...
With the seemingly never-ending Presidential election cycle in the rear-view mirror, Iron County voters will again head to the polls in February and April for a number of races. There are no local races on the Feb. 21 ballot, however three candidates are running in the state superintendent of public instruction primary. Incumbent Tony Evers, of Madison; Lowell Holtz, of Beloit, and John Humphries, of Mount Horeb, are all running, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election. The April 4 election will feature candidates running...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - The Ironwood and Bessemer Chambers of Commerce came together for a united awards ceremony for local volunteers, businesses, organizations, and people that make a difference and matter at the Bessemer VFW Post 3673. Michael Meyer, Executive Director for Ironwood's chamber and Kathy Whitburn, President for Bessemer's chamber acted as hosts and presenters to the assembled crowd. Following a catered meal by the Pit Stop in Bessemer, Jerald...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] Although it has been a relatively mild winter and this week's thaw is taking a bite out of the snow cover, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is issuing deer feeding permits across the entire Upper Peninsula. The MDNR said Wednesday it is extending the permits from the north to the southern section of the U.P. The permits allow private citizens and sportsmen's groups in the U.P. to provide supplemental feed and are issued by local DNR...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County District Attorney has charged a Montreal, Wis., man with seven felony counts stemming from a Jan. 6 domestic dispute. Phillip L. Laguna III, 32, is charged with first degree recklessly endangering safety, intentionally subjecting an individual at risk to abuse that causes great bodily harm, two counts of causing mental harm to a child, strangulation and suffocation, substantial battery and mistreatment of animals resulting in death. The first four counts each carry p...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] The Department of Defense announced a shift in policy regarding honorably discharged veterans that will go into effect on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2017. On veteran’s Day, all honorably discharged veterans will gain limited online military exchange shopping privileges. The online shopping excludes the purchase of uniforms, alcohol, and tobacco. Peter Levine, acting for the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness said, “We are excited to provide these benefits to honorably disch...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - The Mercer Public Library offered residents a chance to learn how use their iPads and iPhones Tuesday, part of a recent effort by library director Teresa Schmidt to help people become familiar with newer technology. The larger effort, known as "Tech Tuesdays," stemmed from the increase in questions Schmidt was getting from residents about their devices. "Tech Tuesdays, we do almost every Tuesday," Schmidt said. "... It's from 1 to 3...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON – David Nykanen, brother to chairmen Carl Nykanen and the newest member of the Ontonagon County Board of Commissioners, took his seat Tuesday after being sworn in before the meeting. The board previously appointed members to a land bank committee with intentions of joining the land bank project. Treasurer Jeanne Pollard explained that the process is more complicated than just naming a committee. She said she learned the board must have intergovernmental agreements, pass a resolution and agreements w...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - Ironwood Aspirus Hospital staff greeted Andrew Lawson into this world as the first locally born baby of the new year on Jan. 7 at 7:16 p.m. Andrew is the first-born son Matt and Bobbi Jo Lawson and came into this world with a fighting weight of 6 pounds, 1.5 ounces. Staff members at the hospital were going to induce labor on Monday, Jan. 9. Andrew was not waiting around though. Another family was also scheduled for an inducement Jan. 9,...