Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties

Articles written by Steve Newman


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 8 of 8

  • Casperson speaks on legislative session, grants

    Steve Newman|Dec 29, 2018

    After 14 years in the Michigan legislature, six in the House and eight in the Senate, Tom Casperso, R-Escanaba, is moving on due to term limits. His time in the Senate ended with a string of appropriations for western Upper Peninsula projects, including $10 million for Copper Peak and Pine Mountain, $2 million for Gogebic Community College, $1.5 million to assist Waupaca Foundry and $1 million for Michigan DNR jobs for the area. In a sense, the main catalyst to be able to get new development and investment in the area was the Michigan...

  • Eddes follow the call of the Christmas bird count

    Steve Newman|Dec 24, 2018

    IRONWOOD — Jerry and Christy Edde were out driving around the area Saturday looking for bird of this feather and that as part of the annual area bird count, held on a weekend near Christmas every year. They took to the road around 7 a.m. and talked about their annual tradition. They made it their mission to drive up and down the roads of Wakefield, Ramsay, Plymouth Location, Bessemer, Ironwood and Hurley to survey the bird life for the annual Gogebic Range pre-Christmas Bird Count. They estimated that they will drive over 80 miles on the day an...

  • Gogebic County scores big in state budget bill

    Steve Newman|Dec 22, 2018

    By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] IRONWOOD — Bob Jacquart couldn’t hold back his excitement for the $10 million in funding to help renovate Copper Peak that was included in the state’s budget bill passed early Friday morning. “We’re happy with what the state did, it’s pretty special,” he said. The state budget includes grants for a variety of Upper Peninsula projects, including grants for $1 million for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to create 10 jobs in Gogebic County, $1.5 million for Waupaca Foundry to open a plant in Iro...

  • Copper Peak gets its opportunity

    Steve Newman|Dec 22, 2018

    By STEVE NEWMAN [email protected] IRONWOOD — Copper Peak came out a big winner in the state budget bill passed Friday morning by the Michigan Legislature. A grant of $10 million was appropriated for renovation projects at Copper Peak and Pine Mountain. The grant will be awarded proportionately, according to Bob Jacquart, fundraising co-chair for Copper Peak. Since the Copper Peak renovation project is estimated at $15 million to $18 million and the Pine Mountain project is estimated at about $2 million, Copper Peak is expected to get t...

  • Color Peak

    Steve Newman|Oct 15, 2018

    IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The sun came out Saturday to help outdoor enthusiasts enjoy their visit to Copper Peak for the facility's first "Light to Night Festival." The festival ran from noon into the evening and included music, games, horse and wagon rides, food and discounted rides to the top of the ski flying hill in Ironwood Township. The parking lots were close to capacity during the afternoon, and there were lines of people waiting to get on the chairlift to go up the mountain. At the top, a...

  • Madison Bach Musicians fill theatre with joyful music

    Steve Newman|Oct 15, 2018

    IRONWOOD — A small but enthusiastic crowd enjoyed a musical performance from the Madison Bach Musicians Saturday night at the Historic Ironwood Theatre. The group is passionate about bringing the authentic sound of the Baroque musicians of the past in its fullness to the listening community. Before the concert, the group’s artistic director and harpsichordist, Trevor Stephenson, called the period of time when composers George Handel and J.S. Bach wrote, “a combination of the highest intellect and highest emotion,” and felt that contrib...

  • Volunteers prepare Iron Belle Trail for season

    Steve Newman|May 21, 2018

    IRONWOOD — An enthusiastic group of workers came out Saturday morning to work on cleanup and preparation of the Iron Belle Trail for the busy summer season. The project has generated such enthusiasm that a number of participants had done a lot of the work before the scheduled event. The Friends of the Iron Belle Trail were led by Sam and Anne Davey, who coordinated the day’s activities. A group met at Depot Park in Ironwood and a second group met in Bessemer, and worked their way toward one another, trimming brush, moving rocks out of the gra...

  • 'Ole and Lena' keep audiences laughing at Historic Ironwood Theater

    Steve Newman|Jan 22, 2018

    IRONWOOD - Sharon's Coffee Company in Hurley turned into "Ole and Lena's Supper Club" Saturday night, as the performers for the Historic Ironwood Theatre's presentation of "Ole and Lena's 50th Wedding Anniversary and Vow Renewal" joined diners for a five-course Scandinavian dinner before heading to the theater for the play. The downtown restaurant was filled to capacity for the dinner, and even had to turn down some requests. According to Zona Wick, president of the theater board, Sharon's came...