Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] BESSEMER - Jim Morrison, the deceased lead singer of the Doors sang, "This is the end, beautiful friend. This is the end, my only friend, the end. Of our elaborate plans, the end. Of everything that stands, the end. No safety or surprise, the end. I'll never look into your eyes, again," in their hit song, The End. These lyrics are apropos for the end of the Chamber in Bessemer. Former Bessemer Chamber of Commerce president Kathy Whitburn said, "The...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — More seasonable temperatures have returned to the Ironwood area as the January thaw has come to an end. The slippery conditions produced by temperatures near freezing have been replaced by more frigid air, with lows near zero. There’s more bitter cold temperatures and some sunshine in the forecast. Saturday, with a high of 24 forecast, should be ideal for the snowshoe hike from 1 to 3 p.m. beginning at Schomberg Park in Oma, along U.S. 51. It was a sunny 13 degrees at noon on Wednesday in...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] Gogebic and Ontonagon counties are among the most vulnerable counties in the state to the potential repeal of President Barack Obama’s health care law, according to a Bridge Magazine report published in January. The report, which looked at the correlation between the number of residents using either Medicaid expansion or Obamacare plans and how each county voted in the presidential election, found the two counties were among 27 in Michigan with more than 11 percent of their populations through s...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - While the plan to rebuild Saxon Harbor following its destruction in the rain and flooding during the July 11 storm continues to take shape - with the Iron County Board of Supervisors voting to reroute County A through the old campground Tuesday - several items remain on hold while the county awaits decisions from various parts of the federal government. The county board voted in December to rebuild Saxon Harbor's marina and campground to...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] IRONWOOD - On Tuesday afternoon the GCC board convened to conduct school related business and heard an update on a grant increase they approved last year for the TRiO Mentoring Program operated by Jessica Leinon-Novascone, TRiO Director. The grant increase totaled $7,427 for the 2016-17 academic year. According to Leinon-Novascone, the TRiO program pairs first year students as mentees with a second or third year student as a mentor. The mentor and...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee will consider plans for a playground north of U.S. 2 at its Monday meeting at 5 p.m. at the Memorial Building. Committee members will review a proposed playground design. The city’s comprehensive plan addresses the need for park and playground improvements in the community north of the highway. The playground was addressed when the city commission recently set its goals for 2017. The city is working with Zion Lutheran Church to obtain own...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] CHEBOYGAN - The three people apprehended Thursday following a crime spree across the Upper Peninsula have been charged in Cheboygan County Court with numerous felonies. Their trip across the U.P. began after the trio stole a vehicle in Mellen, Wis., according to authorities. Arraigned Friday were Norman Kastan, 44, and Kensey Kaseno, 28, both of Mellen, and Rachel Greenwood, 21, of Park Falls. A be on the lookout warning was issued by police Wednesday...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — As the yearly flu bug travels around the area, Iron County Health Department officials are advising residents on the different types of flu, specifically the difference between influenza and norovirus. While both are often referred to as the flu, Iron County Health Officer Katie Hampston, said only influenza is technically the flu. “A lot of people will say, ‘I have the flu.’ But you have to clarify the real flu — influenza — is respiratory and the stomach flu is norovirus … and is the vo...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] WATERSMEET — Thirty-one times the Phelps-Land O’Lakes Lion’s Club has hosted the Great Northern Fishing Tourney in Watersmeet and thirty-one times people have come for the fundraiser held on the last weekend in January. Last Saturday the temperatures were above normal, which was nice for the fisherman, but according to Lion, Wally Beversdorf, “the wind was tough on the fisherman and the ice more risky than other years.” Beversdorf said, “The tourney is usually 8 hours and awards 10 different p...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Residents had a chance to get out and enjoy music and a roaring fire at the Norrie Club's eighth annual Light Up the Night Christmas Tree Burn Saturday. "We're very pleased (with how the night is going). We had the fireworks going, we've got people here having fun. The music will probably be going until midnight. It should be a good time," said club president Steve Lehto Jr. "It's just a good time to get out - everybody has cabin fever...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] SAXON - Roast beef and mashed potatoes were on the menu at the Saxon Community Center Sunday as the Saxon-Gurney held its annual Roast Beef Dinner. The dinner is one of the department's primary fundraisers, with this year's money designated to a previous purchase. "We already spent the money," joked Chief Stacy Ofstad. "We've bought $4,500 worth of hose to outfit our engine." The purchase of a total of 1,500 feet of firehose was enough to outfit one...
By JUSTIN LIBERTOSKI [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The SkiMECCA Cabin was filled with warm beverages, snacks, treats and chili for skiers and snowshoers to enjoy during the Candlelite Ski/Snowshoe held Saturday night on the MECCA trails. The event has been held on the last Saturday in January for more than 20 years according to MECCA secretary Kelly Martinko. Between 100 and 130 candles were lit in preparation for the event and placed along a one-mile loop of the trails. Some of the candles were placed in home-made lanterns crafted by...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] ONTONAGON — Ontonagon County Sheriff Dale Rantala is asking Ewen area residents to check their hunting camps after a trio involved in a crime spree broke into a camp Wednesday. Around 12:23 p.m., Dale Kasten, of Ewen, reported a break-in to his camp where guns and other valuables were stolen, according to Rantala. “An investigation revealed that three Ashland County area individuals were involved in a crime spree heading east from Wisconsin. They were arrested in Cheboygan County, in lower Mic...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Sheriff’s Department warns area residents of a potentially new telephone scam being attempted, where the caller claims to be from the federal government. According to an ICSD report, an Iron Belt resident was contacted by callers claiming to be with the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The callers — who used the names James Wright and Jean Spencer — claimed the woman won a $14,500 grant from the department, according to the report, and that her informa...
DAGGETT - There were no injuries when a loaded logging truck with an attached trailer failed to stop at a railroad crossing in Daggett Township Thursday and was struck by a Canadian National Railroad train around noon. Truck driver Perry Robert Erickson, 60, avoided injury when the train engine struck the trailer, detaching it. The train engine was damaged in the Upper Peninsula accident in Menominee County. Erickson was cited by deputies for failing to stop for a train....
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] December unemployment rates in northern Wisconsin counties rose across the board, with most jumping around 1 percent from November. Iron County remained with the second worst figures in the state, at 7.4 percent. That was worse than the 6.3 percent in November, according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. A year ago, the Iron County jobless rate was 8.3 percent. Vilas County went up from 5 percent to 6 percent and neighboring Oneida County worsened from 4.3 percent to 5.2 percent....
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] WATERSMEET — This Saturday the Phelps-Land O’ Lakes Lions Club will host its 31st annual Great Northern Ice Fishing Tournament at the West Shore boat landing on Lac Vieux Desert. The Lions Club expects from 120 to 140 people to compete. The registration briefing begins at 8 a.m. Historically, about half of the participants register the morning of the event, so people should arrive early. Ice conditions range from 12 to 15 inches, so organizers urge caution. If possible, people should use all...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — A psychiatric examination of an Ironwood man accused of setting fire to his house has found him competent, however it remains uncertain whether he will be found criminally responsible enough to stand trial. Kevin Schuelke, 43, is charged with one count of second-degree arson, a 20-year felony; a domestic violence-third offense charge, a five-year felony; and two counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer, with each count a two-year felony. He is accused of starting a fire in t...
ONTONAGON - Twenty-one Ontonagon Area High School students were among those who attended last week's inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington D.C. Besides attending the inauguration, the group also visited many sites around the capital city. Along with two chaperones, the group left Ontonagon Jan. 17 and drove all night, arriving in Arlington, Va., around 1 p.m. the next day. They picked up their tour guide and visited Arlington National Cemetery. "We did not get a chance to tour...
By Ian Minielly [email protected] BESSEMER — On average 27 kids per year in Gogebic county need placement with a relative or foster family. There are currently six Michigan Department of Health and Human Services licensed foster parents and three private agency licensed parents currently shouldering this burden locally, which is significantly lower than the county needs. That makes eight homes in the county able to accept at least one child, if the fostering parameters match the need, leaving a significant number of this areas k...
