Kenora Rises in Moneysense Survey

Kenora has moved up a few notches on the Moneysense list of the Best Places to Live index.

The publication rates Kenora 120th of the 190 communities across  Canada rates.

That's just ahead of Timmins and just behind Barrie.

Kenora has moved up 10 places since last year's survey, but the city is still ranked dead last in terms of Arts and Culture.

Fire Season Arrives Early in NWO

The official fire season doesn't start until April 1st, but the the Kenora District has already reported its first blaze of 2012.

It was a small 0.1 hectare grass fire near Ingolf.

Due to the dry conditions, fire information officer Debbie McLean says they will be putting on extra crews before the end of the month.

While daytime burning is allowed until April 1st, McLean is advising local residents to use common sense before doing any burning.

Health Unit to Launch Community Challenge

The slogan used to be Walk a block a day...now its walk 30 minutes a day.

The Northwestern Health Unit has launched a new challenge to get people our of their seats on on their feet.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield issued the challenge yesterday and says walking can help reduce a number of health care problems.

Canfield says studies have shown that walking a half hour a day could potentially cut helath care costs by half.

OPP concerned over Growth of Grandparents Scam

OPP are growing concern with a rise in the number of people becoming victims of the so-called grandparents scam.

It's where someone will call claiming to be a relative in trouble and seeking money.

Detective Constable Dave Felstead of the OPP's anti-racket branch says the con artists have become very sophisticated in their actions.

More than 460 people in Ontario fell victim to the scam last year, being bilked for over two-point-five million dollars.

Broncos 2-0 at OFSAA

Beaver Brae's girls are becoming the comeback queen's.

The Broncos have a 2-0 record at the All-Ontario High School Championships taking place in Belleville.

For the second game in a row, Beaver Brae needed a late goal to secure the win.

Yesterday afternoon, the Broncos edged St. Christoper from Sarnia 4-3.

Ainsley Lindquist provided the dramatics this time, scoring with just 42 seconds left in the game to steal the victory.

It was her second of the game.

The Broncos face their toughest test this morning when they take on 4th ranked St. Mary's from London at 10:00.

They wrap up the round robin at 1:00 against Smith Falls.

Vehicle goes through ice on Lake of the Woods

The OPP are advising local residents to think twice before heading out on to the lake.

Yesterday afternoon around 5:00 a Toyota Sequoia SUV went through the ice near the Rat Portage First Nation.

Police say three Americans managed to get out of the vehicle before it eventually plunged into the water.

The vehicle was hauling a trailor with two snowmachines, which also ended up in the lake.

In another incident, police were contacted about a dog going through the ice on Lake of the Woods near Dairy Queen.

The woman walking the dog managed to get it safely out of the water.

Broncos win first game at OFSAA

Beaver Brae has its first win at the All-Ontario Girls high school hockey championships.

The Broncos earned a 2-1 win over Our Lady of Lourdes from Guelph this morning in their

first game of the round-robin.

Hannah Rose scored both goals for Beaver Brae, including the game winner with less

than two minutes left to play.

The Broncos next game is 1:00 this afternoon against St. Christopher from Sarnia.

Beaver Brae will also play two round robin games tomorrow with the play-offs taking place on Thursday.

Hospital Unsure how new Funding Foruma will affect it's finances

Its unclear how a patient-based funding formula will impact Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The provincial government announced a funding change yesterday.

The hospital's Finance Manager Cindy Gasparini says they don't have many details about the funding forumla yet, so its too early to say if it will help them or not.

She says starting this year, hospitals will be paid for the care they provide patients, rather than a lump sum.

 She says 55 smaller hospitals won't be affected, but Lake of the Woods is just large enough that it will be a part of the new funding arrangement.

Fire Department Urges Caution with Spring Burning

Local residents are being urged to use caution when doing any daytime burning this month.

The rapid snow melt has left some very dry conditions in the Kenora area.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says at this point he's not planning to impose any burning restrictions.

Brinkman says last week local fire crews had to deal with a couple of large brush fires that were caused by local residents who left fires unattended.

Local Business man Lobbies for Slot Machines

A long-time proponant of slot machines is lobbying city council to help try to bring the gaming machines to northwestern Ontario.

The provinical government indicated last week its willing to expand the number of slot machines in Ontario.

Doug Stemkowski owns the Lakeshore Hotel in Keewatin and says slots would help out the struggling tourism sector in the region.

Stemkowski says municipalities receive about five percent of the revenue from slots and suggests its a good alternative to raising taxes.

Campbell Blames Province for Doctor Shortage

The MPP for Kenora-Rainy River is taking aim at the provincial Liberal riding association's claims the province has done much to improve access to health care in northwestern Ontario.

One of the initiatives is the creation of Family Health teams the Association says has brought over 25 new doctors to the region. 

The NDP's Sarah Campbell says it's those teams that are part of the problem.

Local Liberal president Anthony Leek admits more needs to be done, but the Ministry is working hard to improve access further.

OPP Investigate more Mischief Complaints

The OPP is looking into a couple of mischief complaints in the north end of town.

Police say several parked vehicles were damaged over the weekend.

In one instance, a van parked on Mascott Avenue had one of its rear windows smashed out.

The next night, two more vehicles on 3rd Street North had their tail lights broken.

More Weather Records Fall

The last day of winter in Kenora felt more like the first day of summer.

Temperatures soared to 23.8 yesterday, making it the warmest March day on record.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says things should start to feel more spring-like starting today.

Almost every community in northwestern Ontario set records yesterday, with Fort Frances the hot spot at 26 degrees.

Bronco Girls Hockey Team At OFSAA

Beaver Brae's girls hockey team will try to make its mark at the provincial championships today.

The Broncos are in Belleville for the A/AA OFSAA finals.

Beaver is ranked 10th out of 20 teams entered in the three day tournament.

Their first game is at 9:00 this morning against Our Lady of Lourdes from Guelph.

The Broncos also play at 1:00 this afternoon against St. Christopher from Sarnia.

Kenora Rockets win two medals at Manitoba Juniors

The Kenora Rockets badminton Club had its best ever showing at the Yonex Manitoba junior championships this past weekend in Winnipeg.

The Rockets brought back a pair of medals.

Andrew Neil and Jonny Houlden won a silver medal in the boys under 14 doubles division.

Tyler Neil won the bronze medal in the 16 and under singles competition.

Prior to this weekend, the best finish for a Kenora badminton player had been 5th at the Manitoba juniors.

Sharks medal at Man/Sask Swimming Championships

The Kenora Sharks Swim Club brought home a number of medals from the Manitoba/Saskatchewan

championships this past weekend at the Pan/Am Pool in Winnipeg.

12 year old Winnie Boucha led the medal parade with a gold, a solver and two bronze, while Bryce Jones collect a couple of silve medals in the boys 14 year old division.

Alex Olson had two third place finishes in the 50 and 100 meter breast stroke.

Other medalists included Michelle Belcaen with a silver in the 100 free, Alyson Stolicker a bronze in the 200 meter back stroke and Gabe Mastromateo with a third in the 100 breast stroke.

Tourism Kenora gets Funding for Winter Carnival

Tourism Kenora has been working to raise the profile of the Winter Carnival.

This year, the city receive a five thousand dollar grant to help promote the event in Winnipeg.

Councillor Sharon Smith says the money came from the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Fund.

It was used primarily for a radio advertising campaign in the Manitoba capital.

Council is expected to approve a by-law authorizing the funding arrangement at tonight's open meeting.

OPP Investigate Rideout Break-In

The OPP are investigating a break-in to a home in the Rideout area of town.

Police say three men entered a home on Mikado Avenue around 10:00 Saturday night.

The culprits were apparently scared off the by owner, who was at home at the time.

The OPP say there were no injuries and nothing was stolen during the break and enter.

Anyone who might have information about the incident is asked to contact the Kenora Detachment Office or Crimestoppers.

Bill introduced to scrap the Far North Act

A Progressive Conservative MPP wants to see the Provincial Government's Far North Act repealed.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro says bill 44 was introduced in the Legislature last week, but he's not planning to support it.

He says the bill bill undo a number of new initiatives untaken by the McGuinty Government.

Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Norm Miller introduced the legislation that aims to scrap the far north act.

Fort Kraft Mill experiences downtime

More bad news for Mill workers in Fort Frances.

A lack of qualified personnel has put a halt to production at the Resolute Forest Products kraft mill.

Company spokesperson Pierre Choquette says the mill doesn't have enough second class stationary engineers needed to run the plant.

Such personnel are often trained in several areas as mechanical, chemical and electrical.

Choquette says they're evaluating operations to determine their best course of action.

Production on the paper side is not effected.