Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 835 - 859 of 9883
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] HANCOCK — The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department released updated COVID-19 case counts for the five counties in their coverage area on Thursday. There was not a spike in new cases since last update, although it may be too early to see the effects of any disease transmission over the Fourth of July weekend. According to the update, there were 41 new COVID-19 cases in Gogebic County, 33 new cases in Houghton, six new cases each in Baraga and Ontonagon and four new cases in Keweenaw in the s...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] Elizabeth Sweeney of Hayward, Wisconsin, claimed the $42,371 prize from the Bessemer Fourth of July 50-50 raffle on Thursday. The winning ticket number was 32400 and was announced at the end of the parade on Monday. Tickets had been sold through the weeklong Bessemer Blast celebration. Organizers plan to use their part of the proceeds to fund the various events of next year’s celebration including the music, prizes and fireworks display. Two other Fourth of July 50-50 raffles held in the area have a...
BESSEMER - Members of the Bessemer Planning Commission cleared the way for a new housing complex by voting on Tuesday evening to change zoning on city land that is directly south of the Iron Belle Trail, which in turn runs directly south of Bessemer City Hall. The vote means that the zoning designation for the site - which runs between Clayberg and Moore streets - will change from Country Estates to Mixed Density Residential. In abbreviated terms, Country Estates is known as CE, and Mixed Densit...
IRONWOOD — Festival Ironwood is returning next week from July 13-17 with five days of family-friendly events under a big top tent in the Historic Depot Park. The festival will feature food, live music, a classic car show and more. Festival events start at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. Festival coordinator Will Corcoran said that the first night is organized by the Ironwood and Hurley Rotary Club and includes live music by the Lake Effect under the big top, as well as beer and brats through 10 p.m. The local Fat Tire and Superior Riders bike c...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Despite the threat of thunderstorms, along with widespread, ongoing major road construction, Monday evening’s Fourth of July parade in Bessemer was well received by enthusiastic viewers. The excitement started even before the actual parade with warm-up entertainment in the way of Marty’s Goldenaires marching up Sophie Street single-file, after which members of Klassic Kruisers drove down in a stream of classic cars. Local law enforcement and Color Guard then led the parade, prompting viewers to...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Light showers on Monday afternoon weren't enough to stop the Fourth of July celebrations in Wakefield, with the parade starting at Cormier's Corner and proceeding on Brotherton and Sunday Lake streets. City and area residents lined the streets of downtown Wakefield to watch the parade from camping chairs and bleachers, while children prepared to gather any candy thrown from the parade floats. Before the general parade started, a group of...
WAKEFIELD - Despite the threat of thunderstorms, a community picnic in honor of July 4 went off without a hitch on Sunday, drawing a large crowd of people who enjoyed the entirety of Eddy Park. There was plenty of delicious picnic fare, as well as organized activities ranging from kiddy fun to bingo to live music by several bands or musicians. The Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department also offered a display. In the John Siira pavilion, Dave and Bobbi Sue Daignault of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, and...
RAMSAY - It could be said that the crowd at Ramsay's Independence Day celebration was so full of energy that no pyrotechnics show was even needed. However, the actual fireworks - aptly named "Rumble Over the River" - also were awesome. Saturday's festivities, which started at 6 p.m. and lasted the rest of the evening, attracted hundreds of friendly folks - several with cowboy hats adorned with U.S. flags - who gathered along the entire length of Main Street. Behind the Bessemer Township Fire...
WAKEFIELD — Thanks to a Monday evening vote, the city of Wakefield is now positioned for a revision of its master plan. “We will start working on that probably within about a month,” said City Manager Robert Brown, Jr. in a Wednesday phone call. City Council members voted to approve a cooperative funding system in which the Michigan Economic Development Commission will provide $20,000 toward the project while the city will pay about $14,500. Brown said the master plan has had no major revision for a couple of decades. “We will start working on...
Fireworks can be an exciting Fourth of July spectacle, but when handled improperly, these pyrotechnic devices can cause fires, severe injuries and deaths. Local public safety departments recommend handling them with care over the holiday weekend and following all applicable laws. “Each July 4th, thousands of people – most often children and teens – are injured while using consumer fireworks. Despite the dangers of fireworks, few people understand the associated risks: devastating burns, other injuries, fires and even death,” Lt. Matthew...
Flags from many countries wave in the breeze as they hang from the eave of the Historic Ironwood Depot early Friday afternoon. The flags represent the various countries of origin for contributors to the 2022 Emberlight Festival. Friday was the opening of Mary Burns' "Ancetral Women Exhibit: Wisconsin's 12 Tribes" and the "Emberlight Photographers" show, both on display in the depot through the two-month festival of visual and performance art in Ironwood. The Art in the Park exhibit opens today...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER - The 13th annual Tree of Honor ceremony had a rousing start on Wednesday evening as members of Marty's Goldenaires marched up Sophie Street and lined up in the Bessemer Pocket Park. The band played several patriotic tunes, and Myron Re played "Taps" as American flags large and small loomed all around. As World War II veteran Thomas J. DeCarlo danced to the music, Marty's Director Dan Pitrone prompted the crowd to "give him a hoop and holler."...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors heard a presentation by John Will, president of Northwood Technical College, at their regular meeting on Tuesday. Will told the board that students earned $694,409 worth of college credits during the 2020-2021 school year. Four NTC students placed at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Dallas and two apprentice students took first and second place in the ABC Carpentry state competition. The presentation also h...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - Members of the Wakefield Historical Society Museum flung open its doors Tuesday with a quiet open house to start the summer season. Bernie Ylkanen, a museum docent, hosted the "Forchuly" event with his dog, Nisu, who was happy to meet new friends. Although traffic was light that day, Ylkanen said society members expect heavier flow soon. "The big day here is the Fourth (or July)," he said. "It gets overrun here." Ylkanen said it's likely that...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Persons looking for a rockin’ good time will have no trouble finding it as the Fourth of July period has a list of live bands set to perform across the region. Bessemer alone will feature three bands tonight, Friday and Sunday evenings in the downtown area. Ramsay, in Bessemer Township, also will have a Saturday night live band. Flashback, which is the only local band, will perform tonight from 8 p.m.-midnight on Sophie Street in Bessemer. The Dweebs, from the Twin Cities of Minnesota, wil...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] IRONWOOD - City Engineer Scott Erickson provided the city commissioners with an update on their projects at their regular meeting on Monday. Erickson said that the city has approximately 51 projects that are underway or in the works and reviewed some of the highlights. Erickson said that a contractor comes to the city every year and applies a fresh coat of paint to the pavement markings indicating which way traffic should go. He said the contractor ha...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Board of Education approved its budget for the 2022-2023 school year at their regular meeting on Monday. The board also completed their first reading of policy updates from the Michigan Association of School Boards and the educational consulting firm Neola. Carolyn Mieloszyk, the district’s administrative assistant and school board secretary, said that the recommended changes were not substantial. According to a policy overview from Neola, the changes include the addition of...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] MERCER, Wis. - Despite occasional rain throughout the weekend, the Mercer Open All-Species Fishing Tournament took place on a variety of public-access lakes that are south of County Road G. "It is the second year in this form," said Melissa Biszak, executive director of the Mercer Chamber of Commerce, the primary sponsor of what is billed as a "family-friendly" event. The event, which Biszak said had 35 participants this year, now includes two divisions:...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Wakefield has a full schedule of activities to celebrate Independence Day, with this year’s theme being “Generosity, Diversity, Unity.” Today, the Wakefield Historical Society will sponsor an open house at its Sunday Lake Street museum. The “Forchuly” event will run from 1 to 4 p.m. A corn hole tournament will be held at Den-O’s Sports Bar on Friday. Street dances will occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights at 8 p.m. on the corner of Sunday Lake and Hancock streets. On Sunday, the Wakefie...
BESSEMER - The 13th annual Geocache Dash starts today in Bessemer, as numerous Fourth of July events begin to unfold more than a week before the actual holiday. "It's very family-friendly," said dash organizer Scott Pospect on Thursday. Parents are welcome to bring children, and the only items needed to participate are a smartphone and a global-positioning system app. GPS coordinates will be available today, along with full rules, at bessemer4th.com. Pospect's geocache activity is different...
By CHARITY SMITH [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Gogebic Range Health Foundation has announced three recipients of the for the second year of the Jonathan A. Erickson Fund grants. The awardees include the Emberlight Ambassador Leadership Program, the Wakefield-Marenisco School Youth Skatepark Project and the Gogebic County Sheriff's Department for Project Life Saver. Andrea Bergman, executive director of the foundation presented two of the awardees with a check on Thursday morning....
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners approved area cities’ and schools’ millage requests at its regular meeting on Wednesday. Gogebic County Equalization Director Kathy Jo Koval said the county is requesting a levy of 6.6419 mills to be levied against a property tax base of $595,728,765. She said that the property tax base was established through an extensive sales analysis and review. Through analysis of hundreds of sales, the departments assessed properties at 50% of their true...
By Charity Smith [email protected] HURLEY - The annual Across the Borders community health fair returned to the Iron Belle Trail Tuesday. The annual event provides a way for residents to gather information on resources available to the aging in the community, while getting some exercise by walking the Iron Belle Trail from Hurley to Ironwood. Twenty-seven vendors representing a variety of organizations, governmental agencies and local businesses which provide various services to the elde...
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] HURLEY — Iron County Highway Department head Mike Swartz gave the highway committee an update on their projects for the year at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Swartz said that they finished repaving part of U.S. 51 with a mill and overlay from Iron Street in Hurley to County Road C. He said that they went back and resealed cracks on County Road G from Owl Lake Road to the intersection with County Road H and from there, to Cedar Lake Road. They also replaced some culverts on is County Road C f...
