Week of April 18, 2024
Week of April 18, 2024
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] HURLEY – The Hurley School Board agreed Monday to hire Jackie Franzoi as a school counselor beginning for the 2024-2025 school year. Her hire means the district will now have two school counselors. Franzoi will work with grades 6-12, while current K-12 counselor Sarah Eder will focus on K-5 beginning in the fall. Franzoi, a Hurley High School graduate, comes from a school counselor position at the Winter School District. The board meeting began...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — As a result of an April 2 election, four new members of the Iron County Board of Supervisors took their oath of office on Tuesday afternoon. New leadership also was elected. The new members are Mario Loreti of District 2, Hurley Ward 2; Roxanne Lutgen of District 13, Mercer Ward 3; Doug Swartz of District 7, Kimball; and Paul Mullard of District 1, Hurley, Ward 1. A fifth new member — Rick Boes of District 11, Mercer Ward 1 — also was elected but was absent on a preplanned vacation. He...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - A launch party for the fourth annual Emberlight Festival, which will run for eight weeks this summer, took place Saturday night at Theatre North in Ironwood. It was an opportunity for festival co-founders Miles Mykkanen and Cindy Franck - who are also the creative director and artistic producer, respectively - to announce the new season's lineup of entertainment while also kicking off a fundraising raffle. "It's a little insane to me that we...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted last week to appoint Peter Tacconelli of Bessemer and Whitney Vernetti of Ironwood to 3-year terms on the Board of Directors of the county’s Community Mental Health Authority in Wakefield. The board also voted to reappoint three incumbents to the board: Joseph Bonovetz of Bessemer, who also is a county commissioner; Carrie Braspenick of Wakefield; and Patricia Crabtree of Ironwood. Bonovetz abstained on the otherwise unanimous vote. The...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Downtown Development Authority continued a debate at an April 10 meeting as to whether to release a city lot to support a local business or to retain the land for possible future development. The discussion related to a letter of request from James Thull dated Nov. 16, 2023. Action on Thull’s request has been tabled since that time. Thull said in the letter that he now owns a building at 119 E. Sellar St. that he uses to rent apartments. His request was to purchase the...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY — Two new faces joined the Hurley City Council on Tuesday as members took their oath of office from Clerk/Treasurer Stacey Wiercinski in a reorganizational meeting. Logan Dahlbacka and Joseph Kasper were newly elected on April 2 when the following incumbents were also re-elected: Jamey Francis, Rita Franzoi, Robert Lanctoe and Stephanie Innes. Joanne Bruneau was also re-elected as mayor. Seven persons had run for the six at-large council seats. Former Councilman Joseph Pinardi lost his seat by...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library is planning for a new future after receiving a $750,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. The library had applied for a $2.5 million grant in 2023, according to library director Lynne Wiercinski, with plans to add approximately 5,000 square feet to the library. The state received far more applications than it had planned, said Wiercinski, resulting in more grants being...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted April 10 to undertake discussions with Watersmeet and Marenisco townships regarding how PILT funds are distributed. The acronym PILT stands for “payment in lieu of taxes,” and representatives of the two townships approached commissioners with their related frustration in what they view as unfair allotments. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, “Payments in Lieu of Taxes are federal payments that help local...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD – The Pat O'Donnell Civic Center hosted a health fair on Tuesday where people gathered to learn about health resources in their community. A collaborative effort by the Western U.P. Health Department, Michigan State University-Extension and the Upper Peninsula Health Plan, more than 40 organizations were represented, bringing with them activities for the entire family. The event combined the health fair aspect with a family fun night, said...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MERCER, Wis. — The first two batters went out in the bottom of the first inning. Jenny Klopatek still drove in a run, herself, diving in just ahead of the throw for an inside-the-park home run. It was an exciting first run for Butternut-Mercer’s first game in Mercer since the co-op formed in the 2017 season. It set the tone for a 12-5 Pioneers’ win over Ironwood in a non-conference game Tuesday night. And it was pretty fitting how the first inning went. The two batters who went out were from...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HURLEY --- Hurley’s home opener came exactly one month earlier than last year’s May 11 game against South Shore. The Northstars defeated Butternut-Mercer 14-4 Thursday, April 11, and have since played two more home games. A more consistent schedule should give them more chances to play — and more chances to get better — compared to last year when it didn’t stop snowing until early May and they didn’t get outside here to even practice until after their 12th game. “We’ve got a lot to work...
IRONWOOD, Mich. - Lee James Cummings, 57, of Ironwood, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family and close friends at his home on Thursday, April 11, 2024, after a long heroic battle with cancer. Lee was born on Sept. 6, 1966, in Ironwood, the son of the late Ernest and Janice (Brace) Cummings. On April 23, 1988, he was united in marriage to Gina Pedrin at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Ironwood Township. Lee grew up in Hammond, Indiana, and graduated from high school in 1985....
IRONWOOD, Mich. - Jean Teresa Forini, of Ironwood, passed away peacefully on March 13, 2024 in Chicago. She led a long and happy life filled with love. Jean was born in Ironwood on March 29, 1933, the daughter of John and Mary (Kapets) Wilcheck. There was a big snowstorm that day and she liked to say she blew into this world with it. She graduated from St. Ambrose High School. Following a year at Gogebic Community College, she worked at Bensen's Optical and Prudential Insurance in Ironwood....
WAKEFIELD, Mich. - Mary Ann (Grivicich) Anderson, 99, of Wakefield, passed away peacefully at home on Friday, April 12, 2024, with her daughters at her bedside. Mary was born on March 27, 1925, in Ironwood, the youngest of seven children to Marco and Matilda (Smolich) Grivicich. She attended Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood and graduated with the class of 1943. In 1946, Mary was united in marriage to Robert A. Anderson. They were blessed with three daughters, Diane, Paulette and Mary....
ESCANABA, Mich. - Kenneth "Ken" Heino Jussila, 85, of Escanaba, passed away at home surrounded by family on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, following years of ongoing health issues. Ken was born in McMillan Township, and raised in Ironwood. He was the oldest of four children born to Heino and Donna (Cobb) Jussila. He graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood in 1958. Ken married Debra (Debbie) Moran on Oct. 16, 1976, and together shared many wonderful life events as well as his health...
2023-24 Season Snow: 62.7 in.
2022-23 Season Snow: 253.4
2021-22 Season Snow: 182.3
2020-21 Season Snow: 84.4
2019-20 Season Snow: 169.3
2018-19 Season Snow: 182.8
2017-18 Season Snow: 172.3
2016-17 Season Snow: 121.2
2015-16 Season Snow: 187.5
2014-15 Season Snow: 198.1
2013-14 Season Snow: 192.7
2012-13 Season Snow: 223.7
