Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 6743 - 6767 of 9804
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Gogebic County officials are preparing for another project next year at the Gogebic-Iron County Airport. The county board last week approved a contract with Mead & Hunt, Inc., for professional design services for a terminal apron rehabilitation project. Airport manager Mike Harma said Wednesday Mead & Hunt will draw up blueprints for the project, which has an estimated cost of around $500,000. Mead & Hunt, which has Upper Peninsula offices in Marquette and Norway, has been working on G...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BLACK RIVER HARBOR - Stephanie Swartzendruber was walking her dog at Rainbow Falls near Black River Harbor Tuesday when she got the photo opportunity of a lifetime. A kayaker was plummeting over the 30-foot high waterfalls, about 16 miles north of Bessemer. "It was a nice guy from Brazil in the kayak," she said. She was able to contact Marcelo Marcondes Galizio, of Brazil, who was appreciative of the five photos sent by Swartzendruber of various stages...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] WAKEFIELD - It took approximately an hour for the student volunteers to load all the donations into vehicles Wednesday as the Michigan State Police Wakefield Post distributed 13,771 pounds of donated goods area food banks. The post had been accepting both cash and non-perishable goods donations for the past several weeks, said Post Commander F/Lt. Don Horn - including two donation events at Super One in Ironwood - as part of the state police's...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] BESSEMER — The public defender contract between Gogebic County and the McKenzie and Talaska law firm has been extended for three years. The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners granted the extension last week after the matter was discussed at a finance committee meeting. James McKenzie noted in an Oct. 6 letter to the county that his firm had an original contract for 2008-’13 that was renewed for two years through the end of this year. McKenzie said he and his Bessemer firm law partner, Anna Tal...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD - Participants for the fifth season of HIT Idol are in the final stages of rehearsing for the big day on Friday. Beginning in October, following auditions, 34 performers have been rehearsing "quite well." This week, co-producer Annette Burchell said rehearsals have been "very intense." "Tomorrow, we have a tech rehearsal and on Thursday, we have a full dress run," she said. For the show on Friday, Burchell said the performers will perform in...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] BESSEMER - Bessemer School District voters rejected a special five-year millage for new buses and telephone improvements Tuesday. The millage failed 324-385. The school district sought to borrow $290,000 to upgrade the phone system and purchase new school buses. The proposed bonds in 2016 would result in a 22-mill levy, or 22 cents on each $1,000 of taxable valuation. The estimated average annual millage rate to retire teh bond debt would have been...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER — Former Erwin Township Clerk Prisilla Gerovac was arraigned on two felony embezzlement charges Oct. 27 in Gogebic County District Court in Bessemer. Gerovac is charged with one count of embezzlement by a public official and one count of embezzlement by an agent or trustee. The first count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison or $5,000. The second count carries a punishment of up to 5 years in prison and/or $10,000 or three times the amount embezzled, whichever amount is greater. T...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - Representatives from Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort were at Luther L. Wright Friday with a surprise for Ironwood's sixth graders, telling the students that they would all be able to ski for free this winter as part of the resort's decision to give away ski passes to all sixth graders at four area schools. Sixth grade students in the Hurley, Ironwood, Bessemer and Wakefield-Marenisco school districts will receive the free passes, said...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD - Aspirus Grand View Hospital broke ground Monday morning for a $16 million, 42,000 square-foot clinic complex. Aspirus Grand View Chief Operating Officer, Paula Chermside said the community asked for "a better environment to receive care." "We're delivering," she said. "When you see the plans for this great new facility and everything included to serve you, you will see we're taking the next great leap of health care to our community for...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — October’s rain has continued into November as Ironwood was working on an 11-day rain streak as of Monday. It began drizzling shortly before noon on Monday in downtown Ironwood, continuing the soggy spell. Rain totals are kept for 24-hour periods to 7 a.m. for the National Weather Service at the Gogebic-Iron Wastewater Treatment Plant off Cloverland Drive and it had rained every day from Friday, Oct. 23, through Monday. Here are the precipitation totals recorded at the plant: Oct. 24 — .43 i...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] BESSEMER - The rain Saturday night failed to put a damper on the festivities in Bessemer's Washington Elementary School as the district held its Fun Frolic in the school's gymnasium. Participants could purchase tickets that could be exchanged for snacks or a chance at the wide variety of games held in the gym. Games including bowling, shooting a Nerf gun at cans and attempting to pop balloons with darts. Participants then received small toys or...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - The Range Community Bible Church is seeking donations of shoe boxes filled with goods as it takes part in "Operation Christmas Child." The effort, billed by Samaritan's Purse International Relief as "the world's largest Christmas outreach of its kind," involves filling shoe boxes with everything from toys to school supplies and then sending the shoe boxes to children in need around the world. "A lot of these are going to kids who are in ref...
ONTONAGON - Cancer dealt a double whammy for Gail Ollila, of Ontonagon. Ollila was a custodian at the Ontonagon Area Elementary-Junior High School when she met and married teacher and elementary principal Jim Ollila in 1983. When their daughter, Amanda, was born, Ollila became a stay-at-home mom. In addition to Amanda, she has two step-sons from her husband's previous marriage. Jim Ollila was just 56 when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Surgery and chemotherapy followed. He was still re...
IRONWOOD - Ironwood students in kindergarten through sixth grades got the chance to take a break from their regular classes and celebrate Halloween Friday during the school's "fun frolic" event. The frolic allowed each grade to take part in a variety of games and activities in the elementary gym with the chance to receive candy for at the end of most events. Games included a sack race, coloring and a challenge that had student to find a safety pin in a bowl of rice while blindfolded. Each grade...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] BESSEMER - A five-year bond proposal to finance the purchase of school buses and install a new telephone system will be voted by Bessemer School District residents on Tuesday. The school is seeking to borrow $290,000. The estimated milage to be levied for the proposed bond in 2016 is .22 mill, or 22 cents on each $1,000 of taxable valuation. The millage would average $1.04 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation for the five years. Bessemer Area School...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - Some time around the year 1215, when the Magna Carta was being signed in England and roughly 277 years before Columbus set foot in the New World, a clay vessel the size of a tennis ball containing squash seeds was buried near what is now Green Bay. Now - some 800 years later - members of the Hurley K-12 School's Garden to Market Club and the University of Wisconsin's Iron County Extension Office are working to help reintroduce this extinct...
By KELSEY HANSEN [email protected] MARENISCO — Rumors about the Gogebic Miners football team ending were addressed at the Wakefield-Marenisco School Board meeting Monday. Cathy Shamion, W-M superintendent, said they are just rumors and said the school has no intention of breaking up the Miners. “Despite rampant rumors and discussion on the radio during our final game last Friday, there are no plans or intentions of dissolving the Gogebic Miner co-op,” Shamion said. “Wakefield-Marenisco is not going to dissolve the co-op and go to an eight...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - A question about Ironwood's fight against blight was addressed to all 11 Ironwood City Commission candidates at Tuesday evening's forum at Gogebic Community College. The question to the candidates for the Nov. 3 election was how the blight removal process could be speeded up and "made fairer for all." Mayor Kim Corcoran said from 80 to 100 blighted structures have already been torn down in the city, with more remaining to come down under a gr...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] WAKEFIELD- With rain falling, workers and local residents gathered to watch the 2015 Michigan state Christmas tree harvesting Wednesday morning. This year, the spruce tree is being donated by Florence Daniels, in memory of her late husband, Jim. For 30 years, Jim was a teacher for the Wakefield School System and coached basketball, track and football. Throughout his career, he received many honors, including Upper Peninsula Coach of the Year, and he...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD — It was a packed house at Gogebic Community College Wednesday as Copper Peak officials provided more details regarding plans to bring ski flying back to the Gogebic Range. Copper Peak Organizing Committee Chair Bob Jacquart began the presentation by telling the audience that there was still work to be done and money that needs to be raised. “I need you to know that we have a large task ahead of fundraising a lot of dollars,” Jacquart said, saying any connections attendees had that could...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD -The Gogebic Community College Board of Trustees heard the 2015 fall enrollment report Tuesday night. According to Kim Zeckovich, Director of Admissions, new student headcount increased from 304 last year to 322 this year along with re-entry students increasing from 127 last year to 201 this year. "GCC is already seeing an impact from its marketing initiative with Interact Communications, Inc. of La Crosse, Wis.," she said. Miranda Lawver,...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution Tuesday to allow the county to pursue a Coastal Management Grant to fund research into the current owners of the Soo Line rail grade that is intended as part of an expansion of the county’s trail system. Both motorized and non-motorized trail proponents have been investigating purchasing the entirety of what was the former Soo Line rail grade through the county and into Ashland County. “It’s a great partnership between the motoriz...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD - Business owners who survived the city of Ironwood's two-year, $15 million U.S. 2 reconstruction project were thanked at a Monday dedication ceremony. About 30 people, including numerous Hebert Construction, Iron River, company workers, were on hand for the ribbon-cutting on a soggy day. Mike Premo, of the Michigan Department of Transportation's Crystal Falls office, said, "It's been a difficult couple of years for businesses." He said the $15...
