Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library hosted its first ever donut sale this fall to help fund programs and purchases for the library. People were able to pre-order their donuts, which were made by Rigoni's Bakery, earlier this month, and pick them up Tuesday morning at the library. Library director Elaine Erickson said Rigoni's donated all the packaging materials. "We had both businesses and individuals contribute; we had very diverse support," she said. The library sold pumpkin spice and...
BESSEMER - The Bessemer City Council heard a presentation at its meeting Monday from Jim Loeper, Gogebic County emergency management and 911 coordinator, regarding the countywide 911 operating surcharge proposal on the Nov. 4 election ballot. The current surcharge millage expires June 2015 and voters are asked for the renewal, which is not to exceed $1.65, on the monthly billings of landline, wireless and VOIP service suppliers within the county. Loeper said the county can levy up to $1.65 per...
HURLEY - People looking to help local high school seniors and enjoy an Italian meal had a chance to do just that at a luncheon hosted by the Gogebic and Iron County Paisano Club on Saturday. Around 30 people visited the Hurley Senior Center for a lunch of Italian sausage, polenta, Italian sauerkraut a beverage and desert. A 50/50 raffle was also held, as was a drawing for donated door prizes. Dorothy Walesewicz, who shares the club's title of president with her husband, Joe, said it was the...
Of the six schools within the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District, just one has seen an increase in this year's enrollment from last year. Excluding the few students who are counted as part of a separate district formed within the ISD, the six other GOISD schools have seen a drop of 433 total students-or a decrease of more than 16 percent-from 2009 to 2014, according to data provided by the GOISD and mischooldata.org. Wakefield-Marenisco, with a 2014 fall count of 291, has held close...
WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield City Council decided Monday the Sunday Lake spillway may need more extensive repairs than originally thought. Employees from the city's department of public works lowered the level of Sunday Lake in late September and determined the spillway was in need of concrete and rebar reconstruction. The estimated cost of materials was about $1,500 and city officials said the work could have been completed by city employees in three days. However council member Bob Blaskowski...
WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield City Council terminated several contracts during its meeting Monday in order to help in the purchase of Father Daniel Hall as the new city hall building. The Western U.P. Substance Abuse Service Agency contract, the city's Employee Assistance Program (EAP), was up for renewal. After tabling the discussion at a previous meeting, the motion was carried to terminate the contract since the city is not legally obligated to carry an EAP, rather it is required to inform its...
BESSEMER - The pews were full Sunday morning at Sharon Lutheran Church in Bessemer as the congregation celebrated 125 years of existence with a service and a catered brunch, and also officially installed its new pastor, the Rev. Bill Jacobson. Jacobson has been presiding over the All Saints Lutheran Church in Wakefield for several years and has held sermons at Sharon Lutheran since June 1. He said the church held an official installation Sunday because Bishop Tom Skrenes, of the Northern Great...
IRONWOOD - Students at All Saints Catholic Academy in Ironwood held a Fire Safety Day Friday afternoon at the school. Students were visited by members of the Ironwood Public Safety Department and got to check out the department's fire trucks and some of the equipment. All Saints' new principal, Timothy Barry, said the school has held similar events in the past. "It's fire safety month and we're having a fire safety day," he said. "They're here showing the kids how all the equipment works, and ta...
IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College Foundation honored three individuals and one organization for their contributions to the college and commitment to the community at its 19th annual "Celebration of Achievements" banquet Thursday. This year's honorees included distinguished alumni Robert Baima and Walter Prosek. Roy Contratto was also honored as 2014's distinguished faculty member, and the Ironwood Kiwanis Club was awarded Honorary Friends of the College at the banquet in the Lindquist...
WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP - Due to a decrease in taxable property value Wakefield Township residents will get a slight tax break for 2014's tax year. The Wakefield Township Board approved a new millage rate at its meeting Tuesday, which is slightly lower than 2013's rate and will generate roughly $27,000 less in township revenue. "For you taxpayers, the millage rate will go down from 4.65 to 4.4021," said John Cox, township supervisor. The total taxable value dropped from about $31.1 million to $25.5 m...
BESSEMER - Bessemer's City Council voiced its support for the proposed hotel resort and casino on top of Indianhead Mountain in Wakefield Township, citing potential job creation associated with the endeavor. The plan for the 140-bed hotel and adjoining casino is a partnership between Indianhead/Blackjack Mountain officials and Lac Vieux Desert tribal leaders from Watersmeet. "It certainly will create jobs in the area in the event that it should occur," council member Al Gaiss said, predicting...
ONTONAGON COUNTY - Senior citizens recently enjoyed the fall colors in Ontonagon County from the seat of an off-road vehicle during the seventh annual Senior Fall Color Tour. According to a release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, nearly 100 senior citizens occupied the passenger seats of two-, four- and six-person side-by-side ORVs as the group traveled a 19-mile route from Greenland to Twin Lakes State Park. The color ride is organized and provided entirely by volunteers...
IRONWOOD — Three more individuals and a local organization will be honored Thursday for their commitment to Gogebic Community College and the community at the 19th annual “Celebration of Achievements” banquet, hosted by the GCC Foundation. This year’s honorees include distinguished alumnus Robert Baima, class of 1971, and Walter Prosek, class of 1940. Distinguished faculty member Roy Contratto, will also be honored, and the Ironwood Kiwanis Club will be deemed Honorary Friends of the College. Baima Baima, a Hurley native, graduated from GC...
BESSEMER - The city of Bessemer is looking to remove a blighted structure at 506 S. Moore St., for which it would receive grant reimbursements from the Michigan State Housing and Development Authority. Officials were notified in July that Gogebic County received the MSHDA Blight Elimination grant, along with four other Upper Peninsula counties: Alger, Delta, Houghton and Marquette. The grant money, totaling $168,950, is to be used for elimination of 11 publicly-owned residential structures and...
IRONWOOD - Aspirus Grand View Hospital held an open house Thursday to show the public its new emergency department. Officials said the project, which included relocating the hospital's lab and pharmacy, cost $4 million and completely changed the appearance and structure of the hospital's emergency care location. "It's like working in a whole new place," said Brian Hughes, one of the full-time physicians in the department. Hughes has been at AGVH for two years, but in the emergency medicine...
WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP - Plans for a new 140-bed hotel and adjoining casino are in the works for the top of the Indianhead Mountain Ski Resort in Wakefield Township. Barry Bolich, manager of Indianhead and Blackjack Mountain ski resorts, and tribal leaders from the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians gave a presentation to the township board and planning commission at a meeting in September. "At this point, we've entered into and signed a letter of intent ... to pursue and study...
HURLEY - The Board of Directors for the Aging Unit of Iron County met Wednesday to discuss its budget and intend to give the unit's employees wage increases, if it gets a larger allocation from the county. The Aging Unit's typical county allocation is $106,000. The unit will ask for an additional $15,000 for next year's budget, and a one time request of $4,000 for this year's budget to help pay off its debt for a new roof on the Hurley Senior Center. The Aging Unit's budget proposal, which was...
IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College's Board of Trustees at its meeting Tuesday heard the college's enrollment has grown by about 2 percent from last year to 1,122, one of only three community colleges in Michigan to experience the upward trend. The college also saw an increase in credits taken this year, said Miranda Lawver, assistant registrar and institutional researcher at GCC. "Gogebic is the only one up - actually Henry Ford (Community College) is too - up both in head counts and credits...
IRONWOOD - The city of Ironwood is pursuing reimbursements for expenses regarding infrastructure repairs following damages resulted from this past winter through Section 19 of Michigan's Emergency Management Act. Ironwood's City Commission held a special meeting Monday and took action unanimously approving Finance Director Paul Linn to execute the application process on behalf of the city for $100,000 of Section 19 funding. Gov. Rick Snyder opened up the application period for Section 19...
WATERSMEET — One of Watersmeet Township’s school colors, gold and blue, will play an important part on Oct. 6 in raising awareness of bullying. The Nimrods will drop the gold and wear blue as part of a worldwide “Blue Shirt Day” to raise awareness of bullying and cyberbullying. Blue Shirt Day is scheduled each year on the first Monday of October, which is National Bullying Prevention Awareness month. April Syria, guidance counselor at the Watersmeet school, said this is the sixth Blue Shirt Day but the first year the district is working...
WAKEFIELD - Students at the Wakefield-Marenisco School District will be volunteering to help the city with a few different projects expected to start next week. Wakefield's City Council Monday approved a proposal to allow students in Chris Tweiten's Life Skills class to perform some tasks for the city. "What we have is, for this Life Skills class, we're kind of doing community enrichment projects and the city has volunteered to let us work with them," Tweiten said. Tweiten said he has about 27...
Individuals with a knack for names have a chance to suggest an official name for Michigan's statewide biking/hiking trail that stretches 900 miles from Ironwood to Belle Isle Park in Detroit through a contest of the state's Department of Natural Resources. Gov. Rick Snyder first proposed the trail in November 2012 and the DNR announced the naming contest Tuesday. "This contest is a fun, inclusive opportunity for people to share their creativity, draw on their passion for our state's trails and...
As the screen at the front of the room lit up with "math mountain" problems displayed by the projector installed on the ceiling, a teacher calls on students to answer the addition and subtraction equations. After the student answers, red numbers start appearing on the screen, as if written by a ghost or an invisible Einstein. But it's not magic, witchcraft or spirits. From the back of the room, Tony Bunt, the second grade teacher at Ironwood Area School District, wrote the answers on a wireless...
IRONWOOD - The Daily Globe is bringing the thrill of Bingo to subscribers' front doorsteps on Tuesday and awarding a $500 prize to one lucky reader. The newspaper will begin its annual Bingo game for readers with an official card being placed inside Tuesday's paper. But the game isn't only for subscribers. Anyone can pick up the Daily Globe to participate in the chance to win. "This is at least our fourth or fifth year," Marissa Casari, circulation supervisor, said about the game. "Most people...
WAKEFIELD - Wakefield City Council members entered into a lease agreement Wednesday with the Diocese of Marquette for Father Daniel Hall, located on Maria Lane, which the city plans to use as its new city hall. The city will pay rent of $166.67 cash per month, along with utilities and general maintenance of the building. The one-year agreement is set to take effect Oct. 1 and the city has the option to purchase the property for $100,000 at any time, with previously paid rent, insurance and...
