Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 6844 - 6868 of 9836
September traffic deaths in Wisconsin were up by 17 over a year ago, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Last month, 63 people died in traffic crashes. That was seven more deaths than the five-year average for the month of September, according to preliminary statistics from WDOT. As of Sept. 30, a total of 424 people had died in Wisconsin traffic crashes this year, including 68 motorcycle operators, two motorcycle passengers, 40 pedestrians and 13 bicyclists. Traffic deaths through September were 60 more than the same...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] BESSEMER - David Rowe wanted to make math and science "fun." As a "real life" biology experiment, Rowe, a biology teacher at A.D. Johnston High School, said he wanted to estimate the population of fish in the pond at Bluff Valley Park. Rowe said the experiment resulted from years of collaboration with Roger Greil, Lake Superior State University aquatic research laboratory manager. On Monday morning, Rowe and his biology class began the experiment by...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] HURLEY - In an effort to complete the project before the cold weather sets in, work has begun on extending the paved portion of the regional non-motorized trail from the Montreal River to U.S. 51. The paved section will extend the trail, planned to run between Sunday Lake in Wakefield and the ski trails in Montreal Wis., into Hurley and give access to the trail via the city's streets. Ultimately, the regional trail is planned to connect to the...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Nancy Korpela has been appointed to the Ironwood Planning Commission. Mayor Kim Corcoran made the appointment last week. During the meeting, Korpela discussed how she has opened a business incubator downtown at 320 E. Aurora St. Called 906Boom!, Korpela purchased the old Elks Club, more recently known as the Tori House, as a MakerSpace. She describes it as a place “where people can come together to create, invent, tinker and learn with all sorts of materials, equipment and tools.” There...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD - Every year on his birthday Jim Limbach matches his age in miles on his bicycle. Although he missed his 70th birthday this year because of a prior auto accident, Limbach rode the 70 miles on Friday. For the long endeavor, Limbach said the Western Gateway Trail in Ironwood was perfect. "The trail is two and a half miles long. I rode 14 complete laps back and forth," he said. Limbach said he, and the rest of the community, loves using the...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] BESSEMER - The Bessemer City Council unanimously approved Monday the Western Gateway Trail Authority's resolution for insurance of the trail. According to council member Al Gaiss, the group needed $300 from area district members to pay for insurance. Gaiss said there needs to be "some protection afforded to the trail authority in the event that anybody is injured." Gaiss said six or seven entities, including all the townships, Wakefield and Bessemer,...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — Ironwood’s Norrie Location and the Longyear Park area are targets for a $100,000 housing rehabilitation grant that is being sought by the city. Community Development Director Michael Brown briefly discussed plans for the grant at a recent public hearing before the city commission. The grant is being sought through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. A previous grant was administered in the Norrie area from 2013-15 and there have been many more grant inquiries from that are...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - One might say the house was rocking for The Superior Horns and Blue Ice's performance at the Historic Ironwood Theatre Saturday night - but to imply the show was a simple rock concert would be a disservice to the wide variety of musical genres the group performed. Composed of several local bands, the group played a a mix of songs, ranging from rock to jazz to latin-influenced instrumental pieces. Each song featured a full horn section, a...
IRONWOOD — Chuck Gervasio’s role in Ironwood’s annual Jack Frost Festival of Lights Parade is going to be a bit different this year, as parade organizers named Gervasio the grand marshall. The parade’s theme, “Christmas is ON the Air,” also honors Gervasio — the parade’s long time on-air announcer and co-host, according to parade organizers. Gervasio, of WUPM/WHRY, has worked with the parade for 19 of its 20 years, according to organizers, and while he has retired from announcing the parade, he will host a live WUPM radio broadcast from...
IRONWOOD - Barbara Kucera, known as Bobbie by her friends and family, was diagnosed with breast cancer almost nine years ago - the anniversary of her surgery will be April 26, 2016. And she has had nine wonderful years of being cancer free after a tumultuous month so many years ago. Bobbie went in to have her yearly mammogram, a routine check-up she had been getting for many years. "Every year I would get a mammogram and this time they said there was something," she said. Kucera had her...
HURLEY — While the deadline is roughly a month away, the Iron County Regional Trail Committee agreed Thursday to pursue a coastal management grant through the Wisconsin Department of Administration to help develop the Wisconsin portion of a regional trail. The committee agreed to seek a $50,000 grant requiring $25,000 in matching funds, according to information presented at the meeting. As the committee remains a loose coalition of citizens, Iron County will serve as the entity actually applying for the grant. The grant money would be used t...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Michigan Department of Natural Resources employees were busy installing new barriers along a section of the Lake Superior shoreline at Little Girl's Point Thursday in an effort to combat erosion near the mouth of Oman's Creek. The installation of the Beach Prisms - 4-by-10-foot concrete blocks with specially designed holes to allow the movement of water through them - is the first use of the technology in Michigan, according to...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD - Children traded pens and pencils for paintbrushes and chalk. On a sunny, but chilly Thursday, Ironwood elementary students and Great Start Readiness Program students took a field trip to the downtown Art Park. Inspired by art, children left the classroom, and got to paint a wall without getting in trouble. Before painting the wall, the kids gathered around Lynne Wiercinski, Assistant Carnegie Library Director, for story time. Children sat...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — A Wednesday, Oct. 14 meeting has been scheduled on the new assessor’s plat of Aurora Location parcels. Developing the plat was approved by the Ironwood City Commission. City manager Scott Erickson said Monday the public informational meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. in the Memorial Building. There are a total of 29 property owners who must pay for their share of the costs of the plat over a five-year period, or all at once. People living within the Aurora Land Association will now own the parcel...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — The vehicle weight restriction ordinance adopted by the Ironwood City Commission on Monday sets a 30,000-pound limit. While the ordinance was designed to keep big trucks rigs off McLeod Avenue and Ayer Street, that doesn’t mean vehicles with heavier loads can’t use those streets. Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Andrew DiGiorgio noted vehicles doing business along those streets, but exceeding the weight limits, will be allowed to make routine deliveries, taking the most direc...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Members of Ironwood's JROTC program tested their personal limits Wednesday as the program practiced rappelling outside of Wakefield. The members of the school's JROTC program in grades nine through 12 rappelled down an approximately 110-foot cliff-face near M-28 and Crusher Road, northeast of downtown Wakefield. In addition to being a fun event, the rappelling allowed the students to challenge themselves and discover what they are...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Gogebic County was one of 12 counties chosen to participate in a secondary traumatic stress training session Monday and Tuesday at Big Powderhorn Mountain Lodge. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services teamed with Western Michigan University to create a trauma-informed system of care for children and their families in child welfare. According to the MDHHS, trauma is the emotional response to an event, or series of...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - A large crowd came to Gogebic Community College to support the pool, but they didn't leave happy. After much debate, the GCC Board of Trustees approved the college budget for the 2015-16 school year, keeping the pool closed, while exploring the possibility to lease the pool to Snowflake Aquatics for $1. Several audience members expressed interest in keeping the pool open. Ceci Aho, Barracuda Swim Team coach, said running a pool...
By JAN TUCKER [email protected] ONTONAGON — Ontonagon Village Manager Joe Erickson told the village council Monday the village will receive a $900,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to study the sewer system. Erickson said he has received a notice of the grant approval and expects the grant agreement documents to be in Ontonagon in the next few weeks. The Stormwater, Assessment and Wastewater grant will provide the $900,000 to devise a sewage, collection and treatment plan. The village could receive an a...
By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] IRONWOOD - It's 7 a.m. - 1 hour before classes start - and Ironwood K-12 Principal Denise Woodward is arriving for another day at Luther L. Wright. Upon arriving at her office, she is greeted by three students turning in a cell phone found outside the school and a student returning from a disciplinary issue. "It kicks in quick around here," Woodward said. "Honestly, I have no idea what time I have to be here to beat the first kids here." By 7:05,...
By TOM STANKARD [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - For the second consecutive year, Mercer has been recognized as a Department of Public Instruction "Spotlight School." Last week, Mercer was notified of the honor by DPI State Superintendent Tony Evers. "I'm pleased to offer the opportunity for the Mercer School to continue sharing successful Spotlight practices across the state, having positive impact on education in Wisconsin," Evers said. The Mercer School District will receive a $25,...
By RALPH ANSAMI [email protected] IRONWOOD — On a split vote, the Ironwood City Commission approved an ordinance Monday designed to keep heavy truck traffic off McLeod Avenue and Ayer Street. The ordinance passed on 3-1 vote, with commissioner David Sim opposed and Rick Semo absent. It was supported by Mayor Kim Corcoran and commissioners Brandon Tauer and Joseph Cayer Jr. The ordinance was opposed by several business owners and the Ironwood Industrial Development Corporation. Keith Johnson, president of the IIDC, said both McLeod a...
