Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission spent time looking forward at its meeting Monday evening, approving a list of goals and hiring a firm to update the city Comprehensive Plan. Commissioners previously pared down a list of goals and then voted on the 12 remaining. City Manager Paul Anderson reported the results on Monday, listing them in a chart titled Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Goals. They included: 1. New Civic Center ice making system, 2. Coordinate, communicate and expand city recreational s...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WATERSMEET - When Ricky White interacts with kids at the Watersmeet Township School, it's like an exercise in glee. They flock to him like groupies, engaging in high-fives, group hugs, and lots of smiles and laughs. "If I wanted to feel like a rock star with kids jumping all over me, that would be the place I'd go every day," he told The Globe. White is a Native American consultant, and for more than a year, he's been regularly visiting the school to work...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - Gogebic Community College's new president, Chris Patritto, heard ideas from the community at a listening session on Feb. 22. He encouraged people to share their thoughts on what GCC could improve upon in the future. One of the largest talking points was the future of the college pool, which was closed down more than a decade ago. Patritto said that at this time there is no plan at all regarding the pool, whether that be to open it, demolish...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Gogebic Community College Board of Trustees heard Tuesday the college has been granted accreditation through 2034. “This comes following our comprehensive visit this past October following years of hard work by all staff in all areas to meet the Higher Learning Commission’s criteria for accreditation,” said Maria Sokol, accreditation liaison and anatomy and physiology instructor in a college press release. Accreditation is a stamp of approval that GCC is meeting quality standards, said th...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were the winners of Tuesday’s Michigan Presidential primary. Locally, results mirrored the statewide count. Biden won the Democrat primary with 81.1% of the statewide vote, followed by 13.3% of voters choosing “Uncommitted.” According the Associated Press, Biden gained 86 of the state’s 117 available delegates to this summer’s national convention. On the Republican ticket, Trump garnered 68.2% of the vote, compared to 26.5% for former South Car...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - Local kids who benefit from mentoring received a boost last Saturday from the 22nd annual Gogebic Range Bowling for Kids' Sake. The 5-hour event, which was a fundraiser for the Brothers and Sisters of the Western Upper Peninsula, was held at Big Shots Sports Bar and Grill in Ironwood. Individuals and teams of four to eight people, or more, registered to help raise funds for the BBBS mentoring program. Prizes and drawings were included, and...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] HURLEY - Iron County Board Member Kurt Wolff reported to fellow members on Tuesday evening that he will make formal recommendations on the 2024-25 budget at the board's March meeting. He requested that members submit any concerns they have to him as quickly as possible. Wolff, who represents the town of Sherman on the board, is the lead coordinator in working toward budget reconciliation for the pending new fiscal year. One of his first objectives was to...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — Following a recommendation by the city’s new Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Wakefield City Council voted Monday evening to authorize the city manager to develop and release a Request for Proposal for preliminary costs of two regulation sand volleyball courts in Eddy Park. Funds received by the city from the American Rescue Plan Act are expected to cover the expense. In a related agenda report, City Manager Robert Brown Jr. said that a regulation volleyball court is 52 feet, 6 inc...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area School Board discussed the amended budget for the 2023-2024 school year, and heard an update from Superintendent Travis Powell about the status of the Josephson’s property at its meeting Monday. The former Josephson’s Nursing Home property was purchased by the school and the district would like to use the land for an addition to the school for young elementary students, but that plan still remains for the future, according to Powell. “I was informed this week that the Land Ba...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER - A Bessemer housing project that has been years in the making is inching toward the possible start of construction this summer. Although not on the agenda, the pending project was discussed during the public comment session of Monday's Bessemer City Council meeting. Project Developer Chad Bucknell specifically informed the city that he is requesting a tax-exempt status for the pending complex south of the Iron Belle Trail, between South Moore...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer City Council voted Monday evening to approve qualifications for the position of code enforcement officer. The role is sometimes referred to, colloquially, as a blight officer. The vote included two contingencies requested by Councilman Adam Zak: 1. Allow, but do not require, the officer to use his or her laptop on the job, and 2. Reduce the expected weekly hours from 20 to 15, with the added freedom to adjust hours to suit the officer’s schedule. The code officer’s calen...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - High-velocity nostalgia filled the Historic Ironwood Theatre on Saturday night as a Grateful Dead tribute band performed to the delight of the audience. Another One, a 6-member Milwaukee band, offered more than 3 hours of some of the band's greatest hits. Patrick Van Bibber and Isaac Young led the pack as singers and guitarists, and drummers Matt Liban and Jack Reed formed the rhythm section. Keyboardist Dan Buda and bass player Jordan Kroeger...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] MARENISCO TOWNSHIP — The Marenisco Township Board of Trustees is getting close to approving its new budget for the 2024-2025 year. Supervisor Bruce Mahler said Tuesday that trustees also are working toward creating a new Facebook page and hiring someone to update the township website. He added that the pending budget will include a new patrol car for Police Chief James Webber and a new lawn mower for the Department of Public Works. The township’s new budget year starts April 1. Mahler said the big...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] BESSEMER - Tuesday is Election Day in Michigan as voters statewide will head to the polls to cast a ballot in the Presidential Primary. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early voting was is full swing on this past Tuesday at the Gogebic County Courthouse in Bessemer. A new Michigan law provides for nine days of early voting before all state and federal elections. The nine city and township clerks in the county worked with County Clerk Ramona...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] EWEN — The Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District, based in Ewen, has a new way of informing the public. Its podcast, called “The Chalkboard,” is part of what Alan Tulppo calls the district’s “multifaceted means of sharing news.” As superintendent of GOISD, Tulppo explained the approach in a Feb. 16 interview with The Globe. “We, as the ISD, felt that we’re providing a lot of services and classes that we wanted to raise awareness of with parents and the public,” he said. “We’re using it t...
WAUSAU, Wis. — Aspirus Health announced Tuesday that major changes are coming to two of its locations in the Upper Peninsula, including transitioning Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital into a rural health clinic and a $30 million renovation and expansion of Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital in Laurium. The transitioning of the Ontonagon hospital into a rural health clinic “will provide services that better match local needs in a community that has changed dramatically in recent years,” said a release from Aspirus. Changes in Ontonagon will be effective April...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] WAKEFIELD — A Saturday Family Fun Day in Wakefield was heavy on the fun as hundreds of people gathered in VFW Post 9084. The event was in lieu of the annual fishing tournament held by the Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department. A mild winter made that activity impossible. Nevertheless, high spirits prevailed at an event that included lots of activities for kids, such as an outdoor trout pond, indoor minnow races, duck picks, a scavenger hunt, face-painting and balloon animals. Door prizes and raffles also r...
By LARRY HOLCOMBE [email protected] IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission continued Monday taking steps to improve the city’s utility infrastructure, approving a $11.4 million grant to fully fund Phase 2 of the ongoing water treatment plant project. City Manager Paul Anderson said the grant funds from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy amount to 100% grant. “We remain extremely thankful to EGLE for coming up with this amazing funding and opportunity for us,” said Anderson. Phase 2 will add water treatme...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Carnegie Library is in the middle of renovations, adding a main floor restroom, according to Library Director Lynne Wiercinski. "We are working on staying open as long as we can during construction. We have had to close for a couple days when it wouldn't be safe for patrons to be in the library while they were working," said Wiercinski. She said the project is running well, and the restroom is something that the library officials had been wanting to do for many years. The funds...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - Several hundred people gathered last weekend for the 34th annual Midwest Telefest at Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort in Ironwood Township. The three-day event normally takes place at the Porcupine Mountains Ski Area in Ontonagon, but it was moved this year due to inadequate snow at that site, which relies only on Mother Nature. Race Director Peter Werts of Madison, Wisconsin, said he expects the event to return to Ontonagon next year....
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER— The Bessemer Parks and Recreation Commission now has a full board, thanks to action taken at Monday’s meeting of the Bessemer City Council. The council voted to approve Mayor Peter Tacconelli’s appointment of Dominic Fabbri as a parks commissioner. Fabbri previously served on the city’s Planning Commission and wrote in his application that, as a father, he believes the parks commission “is more aligned with my short-term goals and time commitments.” He added that his engineering degree and...
By MEGAN HUGHES [email protected] IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The Cat Clowder, a gathering of sno-cats and similar vehicles built to move through and on deep snow, celebrated it's 10th year gathering at Powderhorn this past weekend. More than 30 vehicles made the trip up to Big Powderhorn Resort for the celebration of all things sno-cat. Big Powderhorn general manager Bruce Noren said the clowder is a highly anticipated event each year, as it draws people from across the country. "We had some come...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] A lack of snow has inspired officials in the tri-county area to allow ORV riding in February. The unusual action has been inspired by fewer than 3 feet of snow during this season — a measly allotment that has allowed trail bases to melt in the face of extended warm spells. Iron and Ontonagon counties have issued formal statements in the past week. “We’re doing the same here,” said Jerry Nezworski, president and trail boss of the Gogebic Range Snowmobile Authority. “Unfortunately, there’s no script for...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] IRONWOOD - From the moment the public arrived at the annual La Rosa spaghetti dinner this past weekend at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, they encountered enticing aromas, welcoming signs and friendly faces. The major fundraiser took place Saturday and Sunday, bringing dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hungry folks together. "It was a very good success," said Alison Schlag later. "It was a beautiful day. We were very happy with the...
By P.J. GLISSON [email protected] BESSEMER — Members of the Bessemer Parks and Recreation Commission voted last week to dedicate their next monthly meeting to working toward a new five-year parks and recreation plan. The motion followed City Manager Christopher Frazer’s recommendation that such a discussion should occur before the commission makes recommendations on the city’s new Capital Improvement Plan, which also is pending. However, commissioners already agreed that several items on their wish list should be included in the new C...
