Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 10240
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The city of Ironwood will continue to help fund the work of the Gogebic County Council of Veterans Affairs, but only after a memo of understanding is approved by the city commission. The commission asked for such a memo to be drawn up after hearing from several officials at its meeting Monday, including city manager Paul Anderson, city attorney Timothy Dean and Gogebic County Veterans Services Officer John Frello. Anderson said the issue arose in February after city finance director P...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area School Board heard the resignation of Superintendent Travis Powell at its meeting Monday evening. Powell, who has been superintendent for six years, said he has been offered a position at the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District as a director of instructional services. “It has been an interesting and rewarding six years,” said Powell. “I have learned a lot, and believe we have accomplished a lot together in this time. I believe that in many areas the distric...
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Email calendar items and community news to [email protected]. For more information, call 906-932-2211. Thursday, April 25 Bessemer St. Vincent de Paul, financial assistance, 9-10 a.m.; food pantry, 10 a.m. to noon. 906-663-4436. Ironwood St. Vincent de Paul, food pantry and financial assistance, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., located behind Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. 906-932-4325. Gogebic County Veterans Service Officer, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Wakefield City Hall; 1-2 p.m., Watersmeet Township; 2:45-3:15 p.m., Marenisco Township. 906-667-1110....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD — A play about motherhood is arriving just in time for Mother’s Day at Theatre North in Ironwood. “Listen to Your Mother,” created by Ann Imig, will be presented from May 9-12. “I thought it would be a good fit for Theatre North and something different than your standard play,” said Sandy Gertz, who is directing the local show. “It’ll be a lot of chuckles.” “We have 13 people — 11 women and two men,” she said, adding that none of the participants will be in starring roles. “It’s completely...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD — The grand opening of the Art and Pottery Studio in Ironwood drew more than 150 people last Saturday. Proprietors of the establishment are Ann Marie Batiste, a longstanding local painter, and Jesika Cane, a potter. Cane described the grand opening as “excellent” and explained the women’s desire to establish a shared location. “We were looking for more space,” she said, explaining that — until now — she worked only out of her home-based studio whereas Batiste is closing her own art studio in H...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Members of the Wakefield City Commission voted on Monday evening to approve repealing an ordinance relating to feeding deer within city limits. The motion included the scheduling of a first reading on the repeal at the council’s next regular meeting. “You have to have three readings of it,” said City Manager Robert Brown Jr., noting that a public hearing then also must occur, followed by 30 days of publication, before the repeal can be officially on record. Monday’s action follows the counc...
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Kathryn M. Reardon 82, of Springfield, Illinois, formerly of Decatur, passed away at 10:16 p.m., Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Centennial Pointe Senior Living in Springfield. Kathy was born March 12, 1942, in Ironwood, Michigan, the daughter of John J. and Jean P. (Parent) Gorrilla. Kathy attended St. Ambrose Catholic School and graduated in 1960. She went on to obtain her bachelor's degree in speech pathology from Northern Michigan University. Kathy married George W. Reardon,...
EWEN, Mich. - Bette L. (Toomey) Rigoni, 79, of Ewen, passed away on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at the Aspirus Ironwood Hospital, with her loving family at her side. Bette was born on Oct. 14, 1944, in Bessemer Township, a daughter of William and Yaga (Smolich) Toomey. She attended Bergland High School and graduated in 1962. Bette continued her education at Gogebic Community College. For many years, she was a dedicated licensed practical nurse. On Oct. 6, 1962, Bette was united in marriage to...
IRONWOOD, Mich. — Louise R. Demasi, age 78, an Ironwood icon, has departed to be with her Lord and Savior; and parents, Pizza King Joe and Lena; in Heaven on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Westgate Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ironwood after a short illness. Louise was born on June 15, 1945, in Ironwood, to Joseph and Lena Demasi. She graduated in 1963 from Luther L. Wright High School and left to go to New York to pursue a career. Louise worked as an accountant for Kraft Foods from 1963 to 1980. That is when she came back to Ironwood, t...
IRONWOOD, Mich. - Angelo "Tony" Fabbri of Ironwood, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 14, 2024, at the Gogebic Medical Care Facility in Wakefield, surrounded by his loving family. Tony was born on April 2, 1940, in Ironwood to the late Chester Fabbri and Minnie (Lombardo) Fabbri. Tony attended St. Ambrose High School in Ironwood, and then went on to Northern Michigan University, where he graduated as a master mechanic. Besides being a lifelong mechanic, Tony's passions included his faith...
HURLEY, Wis. - Janet Rosalind Gheller, 84, Oma resident, peacefully passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2024, in Hurley after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Janet was born on Sept. 7, 1939, in Oma, to Leo M. Saari and Gertrude (nee Ketola) Saari. Janet was the first of four children. She graduated from J.E. Murphy High School in Hurley with the class of 1957. Janet was a talented and aspiring violinist in her youth. As a member of the Gogebic Range Symphonette, she once even performed in...
IRONWOOD, Mich. - Barbara Bowman, 84, of Ironwood, died Thursday, April 4, 2024, at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth, Minnesota, with her family by her side. She was born March 12, 1940, in Liverpool, England, daughter of the late Thomas Wood and Rose (Doughty) Wood. Barbara worked in a factory in England when she was younger. On Dec. 13, 1958, Barbara was married to Kenneth Bowman, who served in the U.S. Air Force. They had four daughters, Sandra, Belinda, Tracey and Penelope, whom she raised in...
ALAMEDA, Calif. - Donna Marie Finley, 77, passed away in Alameda, California, on April 10, 2024. She was born Donna Marie Olson on July 8, 1946, in Ironwood, Michigan, the eldest of nine children. Donna attended Ironwood Area Schools and graduated from St. Joseph School of Nursing in Hancock, Michigan, in 1967. It was there that she met her husband, Jimmy A. Finley, who was studying geology at Michigan Technological University. They were married in 1968 and had two children, Aidan and Gaylan....
SARTELL, Minn. - Lenore M. Johnson, age 81, of Sartell, passed away peacefully, Tuesday, April 16, 2024, surrounded by her family after a brief illness. Lenore was born Nov. 18, 1942, in Ironwood, Michigan, to Leno and Estelle (Kivisto) Sterny. She graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in Ironwood, and went on to attend Gogebic Community College. Lenore was married to her high school sweetheart, Brian Johnson, on May 23, 1964. In 1976, Lenore and her family moved to their forever family ho...
By JASON JUNO [email protected] IRONWOOD --- Two of the top local girls basketball players, along with some of the best basketball players in the Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin will play in this year's Kiwanis Classic Border Bash. Hurley's Jaana Aukee will play for the Northern Wisconsin girls, while Bessemer's Brooke Stanislawski will suit up for Northern Michigan in the annual all-star basketball event slated for June 6 at the Lindquist Center in Ironwood. Stanislawski, who...
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 distributed...
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 — 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 governm...
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 adj...
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 MSU-Ext...
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 g...
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 act...
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....
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. Afte...
