Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 6919 - 6943 of 9826
HURLEY - Celebrate Italy and Iron County's Italian heritage Saturday during the city's annual Festival Italiano on Silver Street. This year, there's something for everyone, said Rita Franzoi, the Hurley Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. There will be live music, street dancing, outdoor dining and more throughout the day. Festivities begin at 10 a.m. with a three-on-three basketball tournament, according to event fliers. Then, at noon, there's a duck pick in the parking lot of Giovanoni True...
HURLEY - Over 20 people attended Tuesday's meeting of the Iron County Regional Trail Committee, leading to the election of new leaders and the reaching of a consensus on how to move forward with bringing the regional trail through Iron County. The effort is the latest development in the ongoing effort to construct a non-motorized trail between the ski trails in Montreal, Wis. and Sunday Lake in Wakefield. Although no formal action was taken, the group agreed to move forward with the plan to...
Wednesday brought some needed rainfall to the Gogebic Range, but with sun forecast today through Saturday, dry conditions could return for the holiday weekend. Booming thunderclaps accompanied Wednesday’s rain and a severe storm warning was out for Iron County, Mich. With temperatures in the 80s returning, dry grass may become a hazard. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges caution when lighting and extinguishing fires on Labor Day weekend. Dan Laux, MDNR fire prevention specialist, said Michigan is seeing late summer conditions w...
MERCER, Wis. - The Iron County Land and Waters Conservation Department's "Conservation on Tap" lecture series wrapped up Tuesday, at The Pines in Mercer, with a presentation by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Biologist Sam Jonas on moose populations in the Upper Midwest with a focus on Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Minnesota. Jonas began his lecture by discussing the history of moose in the region. Historically moose populations were found in the upper midwest,...
IRONWOOD - Incoming Ironwood second grader Kaitlynn McCracken not only kept up with her studies over the summer by participating in the Ironwood Area School District's summer program but also received a gift certificate for attending 19 of the sessions. The program, designed to prevent students from "backsliding" and losing knowledge over the summer vacation, was open to the district's incoming second through 11th graders and offered the students a chance to work on lessons using the software...
LAND O’ LAKES, Wis. — Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, Senator Tom Casperson and State Representative Scott Dianda signed a special tribute last week to celebrate recently completed LL Trail for its the grand opening on Aug. 22. In the tribute, the three of them thanked the Michigan Trails and Recreation Alliance of Land and Environment, the Ottawa National Forest and the Parks and Recreation Division of Michigan Department of Natural Resources for their collaborative work they’ve done in the development and implementation of the 26-mile multi...
MARENISCO - Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Keith Creagh recently approved the sale of six acres at the Presque Isle River Dam flooding area to Marenisco Township. The dam is south of Marenisco, off the west side of M-64. "With the dam repairs, this impoundment enjoyed by anglers and hunters is expected to return to a popular waterfowl and warmwater fishing destination for Marenisco Township," said Terry Minzey, DNR Upper Peninsula regional wildlife supervisor. "This is a good...
Although they probably wish otherwise, today was the first day of the 2015-16 school year for students in the Hurley and Mercer school districts. Classes began at 8 a.m. for Mercer students and 8:05 a.m. for Hurley, according to information on each district's website. There was a familiar face in a new role when students arrived at the Hurley K-12 School this morning, with Melissa Oja serving as the district's dean of students. Oja had previously worked in the district as a middle-high school...
BESSEMER — Business partners from Wisconsin and South Carolina have recently purchased the old Big Dollar grocery store building in Bessemer. According to City Manager Mike Uskiewicz, the partners are planning to convert the space into a “state of the art” facility for producing medical marijuana. Uskiewicz said their product will be sold out of Gogebic County to down-state facilities that process the marijuana into medicine for treatment of patients with seizures, epilepsy, cancer and other ailments. Uskiewicz said the business will not be op...
PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS - During the Porcupine Mountain Music Festival, Vox Vidorra wowed with audience with their passion for music. Vox Vidorra, or voice of life, is a group of multi instrumentalists performing indie rock and soul music, fronted by Molly Bouwsma-Schultz. Growing up, Bouwsma-Schultz said she had a hard life living with her single mom in Grand Rapids. Bouwsma-Schultz was introduced to music at a young age and hasn't stopped pursuing her passion of singing and songwriting. Together,...
IRONWOOD — Bored at their Gogebic Community College dorm rooms on Sunday, five friends went to “shred” at Hiawatha Rotary Skate Park. Thinking It was a nice day, Shane Ollila brought his new dorm friends friends Jenna Juntunen, Christian Eggleston, Nuski Malith and Dakota Jones to the Ironwood skate park to have fun. Ollila said he’s an experienced skateboarder who’s been riding since he was 8 years old. To show off his skills, Ollila performed “ollies,” kick flips and went up and down ramps at the park. “Ollies “are not named after Ollil...
IRONWOOD — Following a “successful” phase I of the Western Gateway Trail project, the trail authority looks to trek on. Construction of phase I in Ironwood began earlier in the summer and was completed in mid-July. Ironwood City Manager Scott Erickson said local residents love hiking and riding on it. “We’ve had nothing but positive feedback on the trail,” he said. “We’ve seen everybody from young families to hikers using it.” The authority has its sights on the second and third phases of the project. Erickson said the authority will ac...
WATERSMEET - The Watersmeet Township School District has a new superintendent for the 2015-'16 school year. Gerald Pease was born in southern Illinois and spent most of his adult life in Montana. While in Montana, Pease said he was professor at Montana State University in the university's leadership program and an administrator before coming to Watersmeet. Growing up, Pease said his family often visited the area and thought it would be a nice place to live. Over the last several years, he said...
WATERSMEET — The Lac Vieux Desert Tribe continued its longstanding relationship with Watersmeet Township Schools by sharing a portion of its semi-annual revenue fund with them. Twice a year, the tribe presents the money, also known as 2 percent funds, to local units of government as part of a 1994 compact with the state. This year, tribal member Henry Smith said it presented the school with a check of $174,000. Using a portion of the 2 percent funds, George Peterson, Watersmeet K-12 principal and athletic director, said the K-12 school r...
IRONWOOD - Eagle Waste's new recycling service for Ironwood customers begins next month. Jim Whittinghill, of the Eagle River, Wis., company, on Wednesday morning said people who now receive curbside service will also receive 96-gallon containers with yellow lids for recyclables such as papers, plastic, cardboard, glass and other items explained in information sheets supplied to customers. "They'll be able to co-mingle the recyclable items," he said. The items should be placed loose in the...
HURLEY — While more information is needed to see whether its a viable option, the Gogebic Range Broadband Committee discussed applying for grants from the state of Wisconsin to expand broadband internet access to Iron county residents at the committee’s Wednesday meeting. While there are several options and funding levels that could be pursued, the committee’s consensus seemed to be to pursue “the low-hanging fruit” and choose the option that requires the least investment and expense while serving as many people as possible. With this goal...
IRONWOOD - State Representative Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, spoke Tuesday evening at the Memorial Building in Ironwood about energy in the U.P. and the future of the area based on energy types. Ironwood was the last of three stops this week in the U.P. to discuss energy reliability and the best price possible for the energy. He also spoke with a groups in Houghton and Marquette. Joining Dianda were House Democratic Leader Tim Greimel and Michigan Natural Resources Commission Chair J.R. Richardson...
IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College was filled with the sounds and sights of students, faculty and staff on campus Tuesday as the fall term began this week. Welcome signs, emblazoned with the college's new forest green logo, greeted students around campus and around town. Sophomore Darroel Pittman roamed the halls Tuesday afternoon on his way to class. His semester's course schedule includes biology, sociology, college algebra and composition. "I like composition, I'm a big English fan," he...
IRONWOOD — A representative of the local Western U.P. Snow Shakers assured the Ironwood City Commission Monday that if an all-terrain vehicle trail is opened in the Miners Memorial Heritage Park, it will not be a “scramble area.” Rob Youngberg, speaking for the group that was previously called the Gogebic Range Trail Authority, said a 15 mph speed limit would be strictly followed by the riders. A proposed motorized east-west trail through the 1.5-mile park has created controversy because about half of the people surveyed about uses there said...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Board of Trustees approved naming Zoning Administrator Leroy Johnson as the township’s noxious weed officer at Monday’s meeting, pending Johnson’s acceptance of the position. Several board members brought up the logic in selecting Johnson for the position as there is likely a lot of overlap with his current responsibility of enforcing township regulations against blight. “Would (appointing Johnson) be a logical thing to do. A lot of times, the same nuisance things he would be checking, many times tho...
BESSEMER - With school starting Sept. 8, the Bessemer Area School District Board of Trustees approved several staff hirings and accepted other resignation letters Monday. With the board's approval, A.D. Johnston High School Principal Dan VanderVelden accepted the role of senior class advisor and high school student council advisor. "We posted this position, and we didn't have anybody from the Bessemer area apply," BASD Superintendent Dave Radovich said. VanderVelden said taking on these roles...
IRONWOOD - A group of residents gathered at the pavilion in Ironwood's Depot Park Saturday morning to receive assignments for the summer clean-up of the Montreal River. The clean-up was one of three this year, said Ian Shackleford - a botanist with the U.S. Forest Service which helped an organize the cleanup - and was coordinated by the Forest Service, the Ironwood Parks and Recreation Committee and the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department. There was a clean-up using kayaks in...
KIMBALL, Wis. - The Iron County Farmers Market was especially crowded Saturday as the market dedicated a new sign commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Lucy Luoma Hantala Pavilion, the market's home. Located at the corner of 10th Avenue and U.S. 51, the pavilion is named after Lucy Luoma Hantala, a former teacher of one of the market's founding fathers, John Sola and a supporter of the effort to build the pavilion. "The market had applied for a grant to construct the new pavilion, but the...
BESSEMER - It was a party in Bessemer's Bluff Valley Park Saturday as the park was the site of the annual town picnic, hosted by Marty's Goldenaires. The day featured a variety of games for both children and adults, including penny pitch, chuck-a-luck, frog races, super-sized beer pong - which features soccer balls and garbage cans - and a corn hole tournament. There was also the standard summer picnic-fare of burgers, bratwurst, hot dogs, grilled corn and chicken as well as refreshments....
