30 years

REPUBLIC — The idled Republic Mine, once the mighty lifeblood of this small west Marquette County town, is being permanently closed, the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company announced this morning. Idle for 15 years, activities necessary for closing the mine have begun. After suspending operations in 1981, Cliffs deferred a decision on permanently closing the mine in hopes that market conditions would improve so that iron ore production could resume. In recent years it became increasingly evident that Republic pallets would not be competitive with other available sources in the marketplace.

90 yerars

MARQUETTE — The board of directors of the Palestra company, under instructions from the stockholders to offer the property for sale at once in order to pay off indebtedness against it, yesterday addressed a letter to the city commission in which it offered to sell the building to the city for $18,000, which is the approximate amount of the debt the stockholders desire to wipe out. Inquiries recently have been received from several sources, the directors point out in their letters, as to the possibilities of purchasing the Palestra, dismantling it and re-erecting it in some other city. The directors are considering these offers, but are reluctant, they say in the letter, to sell the Palestra to outside interests, because they believe the building is filling an important need here as a recreational center and because they believe the city could, because of greatly reduced overhead expense, operate it successfully and without monetary loss.