Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 92
By JASON JUNO [email protected] MARQUETTE --- Ewen-Trout Creek's Bree Besonen joined a pretty exclusive club last week. The eighth grader was named to the All-U.P. Second Team at the 49th annual Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association girls basketball meeting last week. She's believed to be one of just three girls to ever be named to the All-U.P. team as an eighth grader. She knows the other two pretty well - they're her sisters. Elise Besonen made it in 2017 and...
MARQUETTE --- Ewen-Trout Creek’s super scorer, the leader of Wakefield-Marenisco’s district championship team and Ironwood’s floor leader were named to the All-U.P. Division 4 Second Team at Monday’s meeting of the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. Ewen-Trout Creek’s Austin Gordon, Ironwood’s Axton Ruotsala and Wakefield-Marenisco’s Carter Cole joined nine other top players on the Second Team. Gordon, a 5-11 junior, made the list for the second straight year. His 24.1 point per game scoring average ranked second in th...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] EWEN --- The last time Wakefield won a district championship in boys basketball, the president was George Bush. The first one. The Cardinals ended a drought dating back to 1992, when consolidation with Marenisco was still more than a decade away, with a 41-37 MHSAA Division 4 District 97 championship win over Ironwood Friday night. "That's 32 years we've been waiting for this," W-M coach Pat Libertoski said. "Thirty-two years, man - finally, finally. I'm...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Bessemer took advantage of the defensive attention given to standout Brooke Stanislawski. They went inside and pulled the upset of rival Wakefield-Marenisco. After losing to the Cardinals by double digits twice since Feb. 15, the Speedgirls won the most important game, Monday's MHSAA Division 4 District 97 opener, 61-50. "Our schedule did not help us," W-M coach Alex Metas said. "It's hard to beat a good team three times in a season, let alone in 2.5 weeks." Things were certainly different in...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] HOUGHTON --- Wakefield-Marenisco experienced all of the emotions of March in a span of five days. On Friday, they won their first district championship in 32 years with an exciting win over Ironwood. On Tuesday, they led much bigger Lake Linden-Hubbell, ranked third in the Upper Peninsula, for much of the fourth quarter in the Division 4 regional semifinal. But the senior-dominated Lakes rallied late in a heartbreaking finish to end W-M's season with a...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Ewen-Trout Creek is a unanimous favorite among coaches to win next week’s MHSAA Division 4 District 97 championship. They’re the No. 1 seed in the bracket, they’re 8-1 against district opponents, they’re the defending champions and they’re ranked fourth in the U.P. poll with a 16-5 record. “Ewen has to be the favorite,” Ironwood coach Jesse Mackey said, “with that earned No. 1 seed. Very talented team. Those young girls have only gotten stronger and more experienced against the varsity lev...
BESSEMER, Mich. - Mitchell James Perlich, 64, of Ironwood, passed away peacefully Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. He fought bravely for six months with lung cancer, but unfortunately lost that battle. Mitchell was born April 7, 1959, in Marquette, to his parents, Donald Walter Beck and Patricia Anne Perlich-Beck. He grew up with his family, friends, and many cousins in Belleville, Illinois. In Bellville, he was a high school wrestling team member graduating from... Full story
WAKEFIELD, Mich. - Clifford Mark Johns, 67, of Wakefield, died on Monday, May 1, 2023, in Bessemer. Mark was born to Kenneth and Bertha (Mikkola) Johns in Wakefield, on Dec. 13, 1955. He graduated from Wakefield High School in 1974, where he was very active in track and field. Mark earned numerous records for the Wakefield Cardinals and is still the current 880-yard run record holder. He attended Northern Michigan University and Gogebic Community College, earning a degree in accounting before... Full story
IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission approved vacating the alley south of the 400 and 500 blocks of East Birch Street, as well as Deane Street between the two blocks, at its meeting Monday evening. Michael and Greta Erm requested the move, as they plan to build a home there on Birch Street. Commissioner Jim Mildren said it was exciting to have someone building a new home in the city. A brief public hearing on the matter was held before the meeting, at which no one spoke. City Manager Paul Anderson told the commission there is opportunity t...
KIMBALL, Wis. - Gerald L. "Skip" Wick, 92, of Kimball, passed away in the comfort of his home on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022. Skip was born Feb. 9, 1930, in Rice Lake, the son of Richard and Agnes (Fligel) Wick. He was an outstanding athlete at Rice Lake High School and graduated in 1948, he then attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and played for the Bluegolds football team in 1949 and 1950. Skip enlisted in the U.S. Army in the summer of 1951, where he proudly served in Korea as a plato... Full story
By ZACHARY MARANO [email protected] HURLEY - The student body of Hurley K-12 School gathered in the high school gymnasium on Thursday morning to send off the Hurley Northstars boys basketball team before they headed to Madison for the state basketball tournament. The pep rally started with a comment from Jay Aijala, mayor of Hurley, and special education associate and elementary athletic coordinator at the school. "It has been an extremely exciting week around school and around our...
IRONWOOD, Mich. - Olive G. Niemi, 86, of Ironwood, passed away peacefully on March 25, 2021. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Raymond R. Niemi; and brothers, Charlie and Billy; and sister, Nancy Jo. She is survived by her two sons, Raymond A. Niemi (Paulette) and Patrick J. Niemi; her grandsons, Andrew, Nicholas, Michael and Anthony Niemi; and her sister, Lillian Sullivan. She is also survived by many relatives and friends. Olive married her husband, Ray, in 1955 and they shared... Full story
DULUTH, Minn. - Raymond "Ray" Kuula, 87, of Ironwood, passed away Aug. 16, 2020 at Essentia St. Mary's Duluth from respiratory failure due to complications of Parkinson's, of which Ray used his Sisu to deal with over the last several years. Ray was born June 17, 1933 at Grandview Hospital in Ironwood to Verner and Mildred (Hautala) Kuula. He was raised with his brothers in Oma Township near the Gile Flowage. Ray met the love of his life, Kay, when they both worked for S.S. Kresge store in downto... Full story
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD - High school graduates of Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 School had to wait until Friday evening for their graduation ceremony, but they were rewarded for their patience with perfect weather in an outdoor setting overlooking Sunday Lake. The ceremony - which normally would have taken place in the school gym in late May - was delayed due to COVID-19. Because of related concerns about enclosed spaces, this year's event was held on the north side of the...
WAKEFIELD, Mich. - Conchita Luoma, 81, a longtime resident of Wakefield, passed away peacefully on Friday evening, May 24, 2019, surrounded by her three children and special loved ones. She was born in La Coruna, Spain on Sept. 16, 1937, the daughter of Pedro and Estrella Garcia. She came to the United States with her father in September of 1948 at the age of 12 to join her mother who had been here since 1946. Conchita graduated from Wakefield High School in 1956. On Nov. 26, 1966, she married... Full story
WAKEFIELD, Mich. — Marilyn Rhea Karling, 84, passed in peace Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents, William and Linda Karling and all of her brothers and sisters. She was a beloved aunt, sister, sister-in-law, daughter and friend and took great joy in her family, walking, biking and cheering on the Wakefield Cardinals (where she was awarded the “Super Fan Award”) and then Bessemer Speedboys (after moving to Bessemer — she believed you had to represent your home town). Marilyn was a wonderful human being that wa... Full story
WAKEFIELD, Mich. - Duane "Dewey" Lane, 87, a lifelong resident of Wakefield, passed away suddenly Saturday evening, Sept. 29, 2018, at his home. Dewey was born on April 10, 1931, in Wakefield, to Edward "Ham" and Irene (Pikka) Lane. He attended schools in Wakefield and graduated with the Class of 1949. During his high school years, Dewey was active in all sports. On June 23, 1949, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy serving aboard the USS Robert Owens as a radio operator during the Korean War. After... Full story
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Brian Ross Kujala, 66, former resident of Wakefield, Mich., passed away unexpectedly at home of an apparent heart attack on April 8, 2018. Brian "Quee" was born on June 25, 1951, in Wakefield, the son of Jack and Ruth (Holmquist) Kujala. He attended Wakefield schools and graduated with the class of 1969. Brian resided in Louisville for 35 years and was self-employed with a lawn care business. He also lived for a short time in Milwaukee, Wis., and Key West, Fla. In his younger... Full story
WAKEFIELD - What a stretch of games for the Watersmeet Nimrods. They lost to No. 1 Dollar Bay Thursday night, fell to the third-place team in the conference, Wakefield-Marenisco, Friday night, 80-53, and they face back-to-back meetings with No. 3 Ewen-Trout Creek early next week. "We're playing the best teams in the U.P., some of them," Watersmeet coach George Peterson III said. "That's one way that our young guys will grow. I'm challenging them to get better every night." Watersmeet's Julius...
SOLON SPRINGS, Wis. — Solon Springs defeated Ironwood 66-52 in the season opener for the Red Devils’ boys basketball team Monday night. Ironwood coach Pete Lewinski said the game was close throughout the first half, but Solon Springs went up by seven points by halftime. "But we came out flat in the second half and they went ahead by 12 points," Lewinski said. "We cut it to 54-47, but that's the closest we got. Their big guy (Jens Gehl) was real good. He had 23 points and we had no answer for him." Lewinski said Tony Wiemeri was "the bright spo... Full story
PORT WING, Wis. - South Shore looked every bit the part of conference favorite in the first half, building a 37-18 lead on Hurley, which looked every bit the part of a team working in new - but dynamic - pieces. In the second half, Hurley showed it may just be a sleeper in the Indianhead Conference, fighting back to within a possession. They ultimately lost 50-48, but they came away with a lot of positives. "I'm just pleased with how the kids bought into not going crazy in the second half,"... Full story
WAKEFIELD, Mich. – Naomi Marlene (Jarvi) Voit, 81, a lifelong resident of Wakefield, passed away early Friday morning, May 19, 2017, at her home. Naomi was born on Jan. 24, 1936, in Wakefield, a daughter of Matt S. and Aili E. (Pikka) Jarvi. She attended Wakefield High School and graduated in 1953. Naomi's high school education provided her with the knowledge for her secretarial and accounting career. She worked as an accounts receivable clerk at Laird Lumber Company in Wakefield, followed by s... Full story
ST. LOUIS — The Gogebic Range (Hurley-Bessemer) robotics team ranked in the top third Friday in its subdivision in national competition here. The first year team that won a regional tournament in Duluth to qualify for the nationals ranked 19th in its subdivision with a 7-3 record. There were 68 teams in the subdivision. OP Robotics, from Stony Creek, Ontario, ranked first in the same subdivision. A complicated scoring system listed the Gogebic team (6613) with a 1.77 ranking score, tied with two other teams. The first place OP team had a s...
By IAN MINIELLY [email protected] The first year Gogebic Range (Hurley-Bessemer) Robotics Team left Tuesday at midnight for the robotics championships in St. Louis. According to Van Hill, the team’s schedule is packed, with very little time not dedicated to the competition, but they do have one scheduled non-robotics event planned. The team carved out time Friday to catch the St. Louis Cardinals host the Cincinnati Reds, weather permitting. The qualification match schedule for the team, going by number 6613, in the Curie Division i...
IRONWOOD, Mich. - William E. Ribich, 92, of Ironwood, passed away Sunday morning, March 5, 2017, at his home. William was born on Feb. 3, 1925, in Eveleth, Minn., a son of Vincent and Lucy (Maccani) Ribich. He attended Wakefield High School and graduated in 1943. William was an excellent student and an outstanding athlete. He was the basketball captain of the 1943 Cardinals team, which captured the Michigan-Wisconsin conference championship and the tournament. William exceled in football, where... Full story
