Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 6204 - 6228 of 9826
HURLEY - A Saxon, Wis., man has been charged with murder and arson in the March 12 fire that destroyed the Bear Trap Inn in Saxon, resulting in the death of Lisa Waldros. Donald Rick, 44, who resided on Church Street at the time of the fire, is scheduled to appear in Iron County Court on the charges next Monday at 1:45 p.m. He told investigators that he stabbed Waldros in burglarizing the tavern, then burned the building in an attempt to make it look like she had died in the fire. According to t...
BESSEMER - After offering Daniel Wendt, of Monroeville, Ohio, the city manager position in May, the Bessemer City Council announced Monday the candidate has rejected their offer. After interviewing eight of 28 applicants, the council agreed to offer him the job during a May 23 meeting. The council agreed offer him a first-year salary of $50,000 and a list of benefits. On Monday, Mayor Kathy Whitburn said Wendt contacted her on May 26 and said he had accepted another position in a neighboring...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — The effort to launch a Boys and Girls Club of America chapter in the area continues as a group of residents met Monday at the Ironwood Public Safety Department to discuss moving forward. The group touted surveys filled out by parents of local students indicating their interest in participating in the club. “Our community actually thought we lost contact with the Boys and Girls Club, that (forming a local chapter) was a dead issue, because of events leading up to this point. So then I t...
BESSEMER - Bessemer's Class of 2016 members are now alumni after the district celebrated its commencement ceremony Sunday at A.D. Johnston High School. The ceremony featured performances of "Pomp and Circumstance," and "The Star Spangled Banner," before principal Dan VanderVelden delivered opening remarks. He urged the graduates to reflect on lessons learned from the valuable people in their lives, sharing some lessons he learned from his parents. One of the lessons his father taught him, when...
SAXON, Wis. - Fishermen participating in the 25th annual Saxon Harbor Spring Classic fishing contest sailed into the harbor on Sunday just before yet another lightning storm struck the area. The coolers of fish were quickly measured and weighed under a tent near the boat landing by 2 p.m. Then the competitors from 32 boats and spectators scrambled to get out of the rain from the storm, while the results were being tabulated. Skin Deep, skippered by Dan (Jumbo) Talkowski, Ironwood, won first...
IRONWOOD - With dark storm clouds looming, bike riders from across the area took part in the seventh annual Go Ride R Range Ride Sunday. Organizers estimate 87 riders participated in the event, which began at Ironwood's Depot Park and went to the Erwin Township Hall before returning to Depot Park. "One of the cool things was ... the fine people out there at the Erwin Township Hall had lemonade and cookies for us," said organizer Jim Mildren. The route began on the constructed section of the...
La CROSSE, Wis. - Nobody was seeded within three feet of Mercer's Sydney Thompson going into Friday's WIAA Division 3 state track-and-field meet. That didn't matter when Ozaukee's Emma Richards landed her second shot put attempt at 41 feet, 7.5 inches. But Thompson responded. Big time. Thompson's next four throws were the top four of the competition as the Mercer junior won the state championship; her best mark was 44 feet, 1 inch. Mercer coach Bob Schenk jumped in the air as her throws got...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON - Ontonagon Area High School graduation speaker Jim LaBine told graduates Friday that "when you leave here you can be anything you want to be and I spent all my life figuring this out." He then demonstrated the statement with his own life experiences. LaBine, an Ontonagon native, graduated from the Ontonagon Area High School in 1986. He told graduates that he "flunked algebra" in high school and entered the Army, where he performed maintenance a...
MERCER, Wis. - Mercer eighth graders got the opportunity to visit three floating loon nest platforms Thursday as part of an Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department project. The students canoed out to nesting platforms located on three lakes - Fox, Deer and Grand Portage - in the Mercer area as part of the Loon and Lake project. In addition to observing the nests, some students took measurements of the lake's clarity, pH value, amount of oxygen and types of invertebrates. While loons h...
SAXON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' brown trout stocking program shifted to Saxon Harbor on Thursday. Trucks from the DNR's Brule Fish Hatchery arrived around noon with 25,000 browns that were released into the harbor and Lake Superior. That was good news because some area fishermen feared the brown trout stocking effort would be suspended at the harbor. Bill Gobin and Gervase Thompson stocked 6-inch fish from a truck with a tube near the main boat landing, while other...
HURLEY - Hurley's Silver Street looks a bit nicer after the area master gardeners and Hurley third graders planted flowers in the planting barrels along the street Wednesday. The annual event has become a Hurley tradition that has been going on for roughly 16 years. In fact, a number of interns with Iron County's University of Wisconsin Extension office are participating in their second Silver Street planting. "Our summer interns remember doing this (when they were in third grade), so it's...
HURLEY — Motorized trail enthusiasts were in Iron County Memorial Day weekend to participate in the county’s 31st annual ATV/UTV weekend rally. While there wasn’t an official count, Hurley Chamber of Commerce marketing and events coordinator Rita Franzoi estimates anywhere from 425 to 450 all-terrain vehicles and utility-task vehicles participated in Friday’s parade. “Businesses were very pleased (with the turnout),” Franzoi said. “(There was) lots of activity.” The parade turnout was down from last year’s numbers, which Franzoi said feat...
ONTONAGON - Fifth grade students from Ontonagon and Ewen-Trout Creek schools, along with most of the law enforcement and emergency services representatives were at 911 Camp in Ontonagon Wednesday. The camp was the brain-child of Sheriff Dale Rantala when he was undersheriff eleven years ago, and brings together fire and law officials teaching the children about the importance of those resources in their lives. The Ontonagon Fire Department, Upper Peninsula Power Company, Greenland Fire...
BESSEMER - The Gogebic Conservation District is gathering landowner information on an effort to eradicate knotweed, an invasive plant species that can penetrate house walls and floors. Jim Finley, district administrator, said the GCD was awarded a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to fight knotweed in the western Upper Peninsula. In seeking information for the effort, Finley has mailed letters to those who may have knotweed infestations. The GSD and U.S. Forest Service spen...
HURLEY - With the arrival of June, Iron County Youth Development Agent Neil Klemme is gearing up for a summer of 4-H activities. One of the primary events is the annual summer camp for Iron County's third through fifth graders. In its 16th year, the camp will be held at the North Lakeland Discovery Center in Manitowish Waters, running from July 12 to 15. "It's a super popular camp, we fill up every year. Parents who come in late and don't get their kids in then get yelled at by their kids," he...
HURLEY — Among the items reported on by committee chairs during Tuesday’s Iron County Board of Supervisors meeting was Supervisor Paul Mullard’s announcement Air Choice One would begin flights to Minneapolis today. Mullard, who represents the county on the airport board, said the flights would be offered once a day at an introductory rate of $19 (before taxes) for a one-way ticket. “So if you want to fly to Minneapolis, (now’s the time),” Mullard said. Mullard also said the airport board was recommending Air Choice One’s contract be extended f...
IRONWOOD - Beginning in the Ironwood Memorial Building and ending in Riverside Cemetery, Ironwood residents gathered to honor members of the military who have died, Monday, as part of the city's Memorial Day Service. The day's events began in the Memorial Building with renditions of "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Gods of our Fathers," by the memorial chorus, as well as solo performances by Robert Burchell, Sue Pallin and Alyssa Schwab. The ceremony ended with the entire group singing "God...
IRONWOOD - Proud families and teachers gathered in Luther L. Wright's John Krznarich Gym Sunday to see Ironwood's Class of 2016 graduate. The 126th class to graduate from the district, the ceremony featured 56 graduating seniors receiving their diplomas during the ceremony. After a performance of "I'll Always Remember You," by Ironwood's high school choir, retiring teacher Helen Fashbaugh gave the graduation's commencement address. As part of her speech, Fashbaugh advised the graduating seniors...
HURLEY — A crowd of spectators gathered Sunday afternoon to watch the annual Iron County Mud Pit races put on by the Hurley Fire Department. The races took place in a large pit along the Iron Horse Trail just west of downtown. The event was part of the 31st annual Memorial Day Weekend ATV Rally. With local businesses and the Hurley Area Chamber of Commerce also helping support the event, it draws in a crowd each year. Cash prizes were awarded to the top racers in various divisions, with $100 going to the first place rider. With intermittent r...
IRONWOOD — Democrat candidate Lon Johnson visited Ironwood Thursday during a tour of the western Upper Peninsula as part of his campaign to replace Dan Benishek, R-Crystal Falls, representing Michigan’s First Congressional District in Congress. “I think that we’ve got a real shot here, this is an open seat … it’s a rare occurrence in politics,” Johnson said. The district — which encompasses 32 counties and 40 percent of the land mass of the state — is 24,000 square miles and is one of the largest congressional districts east of the Mississippi....
HURLEY - Hurley kicked off its Memorial Day Weekend All-Terrain Vehicle Rally with a 45-minute parade of hundreds of machines in light rain Friday evening. It didn't matter much to the ATV and side-by-side riders, many of whom were soaked in mud from trail riding earlier in the day. Hurley Police Chief Dan Erspamer led the parade down Silver Street for the final time, as he's retiring this summer. The covered side-by-side vehicles probably outnumbered the traditional ATVs on the parade route, wh...
Students aboard a bus from Rhinelander, Wis., waited out rainfall and heavy fog Thursday morning in a visit to Saxon Harbor as the Gogebic Range continued to get battered by thunderstorms. The students were treated to lightning flashes through the fog and a muddy Lake Superior as they got a lesson in northern Wisconsin weather. The sky brightened later in the day, but not before dumping additional rainfall across the area. The Ironwood weather station off Cloverland Drive recorded 1.6 inches of...
BESSEMER — Judge Michael Pope heard testimony and arguments regarding whether a search and the eventual arrest of Adam Lee Stone was legal during an all-purpose motion hearing in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday. Stone, 35, of Hurley, is facing charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, a five-year felony; felonious assault, a four-year felony; possession of heroin, a four-year felony; felony firearm, a two-year felony, and a habitual offender-fourth offense notice. The charges stem from an incident in Ironwood Township where M...
