Midget Thistles De-Throne Kings

For the second year in a row, the Kenora Triple "A" Midget Thistles have knocked off the
Thunder Bay Kings in the Northwest Branch Playdowns.

The Thistles won the best-of-three series two games to one, with an emphatic 3-1 win
Sunday afternoon at the Kenora Rec. Center.

The Thistles got out to an early lead, finishing the first period up 2-0.

Nolan Ross added a power play goal in the second period to increase their lead to 3-0.

The Kings finally solved Thistles goaltender Brandon Beaulieu with just over five minutes
remaining, but Kenora's defense held the fort the rest of the way.

Thistles head coach Doug Novak says the victory is particularly sweet because it was the
first time they have beaten the Kings on home ice.

The two sides will see each other in another couple of weeks as the Kenora Thistles will
host the Telus Mid-West Regional Championships at the beginning of April.

OFAH Annual Conference Underway

The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters is holding their 85th annual conference, which began today.

Manager of Communications Shannon Gutoskie says hundreds of people are expected to attend the meeting in Mississauga.

Environment Minister Peter Kent, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak will also be in attendance.

5 Youth Injured in Single Vehicle Accident

5 Youth from Sioux Lookout are in hospital with minor injuries for a single vehicle accident on Highway 17 East of Dryden

Highway 17 West of Thunder Lake Road near Dryden has been re-opened following an accident last night.

O.P.P. say around 5:30 last night a mini van lost control and rolled over several times.

Health Unit Releases New Opioid Overdose Plan

Preventing overdose deaths across the region.

The Northwestern Health Unit has started an Overdose Prevention Program, which is for those at risk of overdosing on opioids which includes oxycodone and heroin.

Manager of Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Programs Gillian Lunny says they will be offering a drug called Naloxone.

Lunny says anyone who knows someone who uses opioids and is at risk for overdose should contact your local health unit.

Kenora Places Bid for OLG Casino

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation says yesterday was the last day for municipalities in Northwestern Ontario to make a bid for a casino in their community.

OLG Spokesperson Tony Bitonti says there was a lot of interest from other areas of the province, but they can only have so many.

Kenora was the only community in the region to make a bid.

Dryden decided not to place a bid despite pressure by Wabigoon.

HNO Branch Playoffs This Weekend

The Hockey Northwestern Ontario branch playoffs are this weekend, and Kenora will be well represented.

The Kenora Triple "A" Midget Thistles will play host to the Thunder Bay Kings, while the Peewee All-Stars and Bantam North-Stars, made up of players from Kenora, Dryden, and Fort Frances, are also facing the Kings.

Starting tonight the Thistles are hosting the Kings in the best of three series at the Rec Centre.

Game time tonight is 7:00 with game 2 tomorrow at 7:00 and game 3 Sunday at 1:00.

The Peewee and Bantam teams are in Thunder Bay for their playoffs.

5 Men Fined by MNR

5 men have been fined by the Ministry of Natural Resources for illegally killing a bull moose near Lily Lake, West of Thunder Bay.

The MNR say that 5 men were fined $9,000 after conservation officers received a tip about a bull moose being shot.

The officers found the group of hunters near by where they denied any involvement.

However, ballistic evidence did prove their claims to be false.

The fines are for possession of an illegally killed bull moose, abandoning the flesh and allowing it to spoil, and obstructing an MNR officer.

Mining Exploration Companies Upset

Junior mining exploration companies in Northwestern Ontario have a bone to pick with MP Michael Gravelle.

They say government policies are stopping them from exploring for minerals and driving them out of the country.

The Minister of Natural Resources doesn't see the doom and gloom.

Gravelle believes the industry runs in cycles and that the companies realize the opportunities remain here.

Event Centre Committee Wants Public Opinion

The City of Kenora is researching what should be included in an events centre.

Mike Dietsch is the vice chair of the vice chair of the event centre committee and says the city has given them specific goals.

Dietsch says one big part of their discussions will be the twinning of the ice at the Rec Centre.

He adds the committee will hold a public meeting in mid-May.

Northern Bands Hockey Tournament in Dryden

There's something for everyone this week at the Dryden Memorial Arena.

24-teams from remote First Nations communities are competing in the Northern Bands Hockey Tournament.

Max Kakepetum is one of the organizers, and says everyone is invited to participate in the festivities.

Kakepetum says Dryden has been a great host.

MPAC Won't Appeal Dryden Mill Assessment

The ball is back in the City of Dryden's court regarding the on-going mill assessment issue.

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation President Antoni Wisniowski says they have no plans to appeal the 14-million dollar assessment of the Domtar Mill.

He notes he understands the impact on the community and will continue to work with Dryden officials to find a solution.

Revera Staff Join CEP

25 Revera employees are joining the Communication, Energy and Paper-workers Union.

CEP Spokesperson Marvin Pupeza says in a vote last week, 60 percent of the staff from Thunder Bay and Kenora voted in favor of joining the CEP.

Revera home health care provides service across Northwestern Ontario and the CEP already represents 40 personal support workers in the Dryden area.

OFL wants to hear from People in Northern Ontario

The Ontario Federation of Labour wants to hear from northerners.

The group is holding province-wide pre-budget consultations.

There are no stops in the Kenora District but Vice-President Irwin Nanda says they still want to hear from the "people".

The only northwestern Ontario stop was last Thursday in Thunder Bay.

Winter Fish Off This Saturday

The 10th annual Falcon Lake Winter Fish Off takes to the ice this Saturday.

Andrew Klassen with the event says their is plenty of opportunities to walk away a winner with over $90,000 in prize money.

Klassen says they are expecting 14-hundred people to compete in the fish off and tickets are still on sale.

Adult tickets are $70 while second hole and child tickets are $30.

Visit www.winterfishoff.com for more information.

Kenora Family Involved in Accident on Trans-Canada

A family from Kenora has been involved in an accident on Highway 1 near Steinbach, Manitoba.

R-C-M-P say the accident took place yesterday afternoon around 12:30 when a Westbound car turning off the highway collided with an SUV heading East.

the 45 year old Kenora woman driving the SUV and her 2 children were treated with non life-threatening injuries.

The male driver of the car has been airlifted to a Winnipeg Hospital and is listed in critical condition.

Police say that alcohol is not a factor in the collision and that they are continuing to investigate.

More Concerns Over Patient Transfers

The Lake of the Woods district hospital has brought up new concerns over ambulance transfers with the Kenora District Services Board.

The Hospital says that their staff faces the risk of being stranded in Winnipeg now that ambulances only wait for one hour before heading back to the district.

Director of EMS Andrew Tickner says the decision is based on the need of keeping response times down with having the ambulance available to the district.

Talks are on going between the Hospital and the KDSB.

Bob Rae Talks About Forest Industry

Federal Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae says there's still major challenges facing the forest sector.

Rae stresses the importance of getting the government involved in moving the industry forward.

He says that he wants more aboriginal gets involved in the industry.

Rae adds the Feds have also cut back on forestry research and notes more attention must be put on new products and product development.

Anthony Leek Supports Trudeau

The front runner in the federal Liberal leadership race has the support of some in northwestern Ontario.

Anthony Leek, president of the Kenora-Rainy River provincial Liberal Riding Association, believes Justin Trudeau has what the party and Canada needs.

The federal Liberals will select a new leader April 14th.

Post-Mortem Conducted After Incident at Norman Dam

Some more details have been released about the body that was recovered at the Norman Dam last week.

O.P.P confirmed that a male body was found and that a post-mortem was conducted at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

The post-mortem did not discover the cause of death but has ruled out foul play in the death.

Police say they are hoping more answers will come from the the results of a toxicology report.

O.P.P say that they have not be able to identify the man but do not believe that he is from the Kenora area.

No Injuries in Oxdrift Fire

No one was injured in an overnight fire in Oxdrift on Sunday.

Last night, Oxdrift Firefighters responded to the blaze on Coates Road.

Captain Andrew Trudgen says the first responders found the home and garage to be completely engulfed.

Firefighters spent the next three-hours putting out the fire.

The cause is unknown at this time.