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Ironwood is a city in Gogebic County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,293 at the 2000 census. The city is on U.S. Highway 2 and the Montreal River on the Wisconsin border. It is the westernmost city in Michigan, situated on the same line of longitude (90.2 degrees West) as St. Louis, Missouri.
The city is at the south end of Ironwood Township, but is politically independent.
Its name's origin is not certain, but could be from any of the following sources:
- Ironwood was a logging area when it was founded. Occasionally trees would be encountered that were too hard to cut with the cross saws and axes.
- Ironwood was also the center of a busy iron-ore mining region. Iron and wood, the two main industries, gave the city its name.
- One of its first mayors was James Wood, who would fight with a will of iron against the mining unions.
Ironwood's main source of jobs in now the tourism industry. It has many small ski-hills, lakes, and camping areas and is about 18 miles from Lake Superior. It has one high school, Luther L. Wright High School, informally known as Ironwood High School. Their mascot is the "Red Devil" and their rivalry with neighboring Hurley (WI) High is one of the nation's longest-running interstate rivalries in high school sports.
The three ski resorts closest to Ironwood are Big Powderhorn, Blackjack, and Indianhead.
A traditional local food is a pasty (pronounced PASS-tee). There are many varieties but they are made of dough and filled with meat and vegetables and then baked.
Government
Ironwood's city government, like many other small Michigan communities, consists of a 6-member city council and a Mayor. Day-to-day operations are the responsibility of the City Manager, who reports directly to the council during their monthly, public meeting.
Public Protection
The City of Ironwood operates a Public Safety department, in which all of the members serve as both police officers and firefighters. Current city ordinances allow for a full-time staff of around twenty. Before 1989, the city had traditional, separate police and fire departments. IPSD, as the department is now known, continues to be the only full-time fire department in the Western Upper Penninsula. The Public Safety Department is also supplemented by a volunteer fire department. In response to a decade-long rise in tourism, the department now operates a snowmobile patrol unit from December to February, and a community-based foot patrol unit from May to September.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.0 km² (6.6 mi²), all land.
Transportation
Ironwood is served by U.S. Highway 2, which runs west to Ashland, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota; and runs east to Iron Mountain, Michigan. U.S. Highway 51 ends in nearby Hurley, Wisconsin and runs south to Wausau, Wisconsin; where it becomes Interstate 39.
Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines, while Gogebic County operates small public bus system.
Commercial air service is available at the Gogebic County Regional Airport (IWD) north of Ironwood. Midwest Airlines, operating as Midwest Connection, operates flights from Ironwood to Rhinelander, Wisconsin; and Midwest's main hub of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (via Rhinelander). From Rhinelander, passengers may also fly to Minneapolis, Minnesota (MSP) with Northwest Airlink.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 6,293 people, 2,841 households, and 1,625 families residing in the city. The population density was 371.0/km² (960.3/mi²). There were 3,349 housing units at an average density of 197.4/km² (511.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.52% White, 0.10% African American, 0.72% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population.
There were 2,841 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 24.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,502, and the median income for a family was $30,349. Males had a median income of $26,992 versus $21,184 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,131. About 17.0% of families and 18.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.
External links
"Ironwood, Michigan"