Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
PARTICIPATING IN Monday's dedication of playground equipment at Ironwood's Longyear Park are, from left: City manager Scott Erickson, Mayor Kim Corcoran, Department of Natural Resources representative Jeff Gaertner, community development director Michael Brown, Marisol Brown, Ironwood Public Safety Department Director Andrew DiGiorgio, parks and recreation committee member Sam Davey and city commissioner Rick Semo.
IRONWOOD - New playground equipment at Ironwood's Longyear Park is set on a soft rubber surface that prevents kids' injuries from falls.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday afternoon marked completion of the $60,000 project, with half that amount coming from a Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant.
About a dozen children were using the new playground on a 77-degree afternoon.
The former Ironwood Jaycees matched most of the DNR grant for the handicapped-accessible Super Play company items, Mayor Kim Corcoran noted. The city department of public works did some of the work, providing an in-kind match.
Ironwood Community Development Director Michael Brown said the equipment was designed to accommodate both physically and mentally challenged youngsters.
Jeff Gaertner, of the DNR, said the fund establishing the grants is supported by mineral and gas right payments and was established in 1963. Since then, Gogebic County has received $282,000 in Land and Water Conservation grant funding, he said.
-Ralph Ansami
