District Court Judge Michael Pope gave a report on Wednesday to the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners regarding the cost of providing legal defense to those who ask for a court appointed attorney. He said the cost of a criminal defense in the state had risen to about $172,000, of which the county pays about … Read more
The board of Gogebic Community College has approved funding for a biology Zoom room. During its regular meeting at the beginning of the week, Director of Information Technology Steve Spets said the addition of a Zoom room will make for a tested, common platform will already be in place on campus. The cost of the … Read more
The Ottawa Nation Forest has been open to free personal use firewood gathering since early 2020 in order to support households that rely on firewood for home heating use and to limit visits to the home office during the pandemic. The U.S. Forest Service has announced that effective January 1st, there will again be permit … Read more
The 10th annual Candlelight Snowshoe put on by the Friends of the Miners Memorial Heritage Park is scheduled for Monday from 6-8 pm. The snowshoe is held to help raise funds to maintain the park along a one-mile candlelit stretch of the trail through Miners Park. Rick Semo, president of the Friends of the Miners … Read more
At its regular meeting on Monday, the Wakefield-Marenisco school board reviewed and approved a bid for replacement of windows at the school. A bid for just over $1,100,000 was received to replace all windows, in order to reduce costs, the board decided not to replace windows in the gym which dropped the cost to just … Read more
Saturday afternoon it was all about Santa and his Elves at the Bessemer VFW Post 3673 at the post’s second annual Santa Drive-Thru Event. Parents drove through the VFW parking lot and received a gift bag for each kid in the car, containing a craft kit, cookies, candy, a Christmas stuffie, and other holiday goodies. … Read more
Legislation recently signed by Governor Whitmer will expand certain county term limits. County Commission board members will begin serving four-year terms starting in the 2024 voting cycle. Right now, their terms run concurrently with state representatives and voting happens every two years. Supporters of the legislation say they hope it helps county officials focus on … Read more
Gogebic Community Colleges continues to have vacancies to fill at the upper level of administration. The Association of Community College Trustees has been hired to assist with it’s search for vice president of student services and athletics as well as vice president of business services. Both positions have been open and actively recruiting for a … Read more
The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reported late last week that there have been more than 200 COVID-19 cases in Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton, Baraga and Keeweenaw Counties since December 8th. Iron County Public Health has two COVID-19 clinics scheduled for the rest of the year. The Pfizer vaccine for children and adults will be available … Read more
School districts across the country and the state face great difficulty finding skilled substitute teachers who often have to serve on short notice, and in order to solve the problem in Ontonagon, the Ontonagon Area School Board voted this week to hire a long term full time substitute teacher, who would always be on hand. … Read more