NDP to select their Candidate tonight

The last of four nomination meetings for the NDP in Kenora-Rainy River goes tonight in Fort Frances.

Sarah Campbell of Oxdrift and Robert Sinding of Kenora are vying to be the riding's candidate in this October's provincial election.

Tonight meeting at the Adventure Inn begins at 6 p-m.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is expected to be in attendance.

OPP Search For Missing Man on Shoal Lake

A search is continuing today for a missing 28 year old man on Shoal Lake.

The OPP's Emergency Rescue Team was called in after the Winnipeg man decided to go for a swim near Galt Island.

He had been staying with friends at a camp on the island.

When he failed to return later in the morning, a search of the island  and the shoreline was carried out.

The OPP were finally contacted around 2:00 yesterday afternoon, but officer were unable to locate the missing man.

City Invests in Solar Recycling Units

The City of Kenora is rolling out a new recycling device.

Solar Recycling units will soon start showing up in downtown Kenora.

Operations manager Rick Perchuck says they will be placing 16 units in the downtown area.

Perchuck says the units will cost about 100 thousand dollars, with the province picking up about half the cost.

District Services Board Warns of Budget Increases

Increased costs continues to haunt area Municipalities.

The Kenora District Services Board is out with its first draft of the 2012 budget, which shows an 800-thousand hike in the Municipal share.

CEO Dan McNeill says they are trying to find cost savings.

The first version calls for no increase in funding for repair and mainenance in the public housing and non-profit housing budget.

Busy weekend for fires in NWO

It was another busy weekend for firefighters in Northwestern Ontario.

There were 28-new confirmed fires Saturday and Sunday, with more expected.

There are over 2-thousand fire personnel dedicated to the fire fighting effort, with 454 people from Alberta, B.C., Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, Minnesota, Michigan and Parks Canada.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is also getting air support from Quebec and Minnesota.

The MNR says there is no end in site, with sunny skies and dry conditions forecast for this week.

Energy could become fall election issue

The Provincial Government's Renewable Energy program could be an election issue this fall.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says the government went down the wrong track.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives have promised if they're elected they will cancel the green energy feed in tariff program.

NAN Conference Starts Tomorrow

Ontario's Lieutenant Governor will be speaking at the Nishnawbe Aski Nation's chiefs conference this week.
It kicks off in Summer Beaver tomorrow, with housing, mining, and education being discussed.

David Onley will speak about his work with aboriginal youth literacy.

Bombardier Workers Return to Work

Its back to work for seven hundred Bombardier employees in Thunder Bay.

Union members voted in favour of the new 3 year contract Saturday. Local union president Dominic Pasqualino says the deal is a good compromise.

The contract includes improvements to wages and pensions along with a change in the work schedule from a 5 day week to 7 days.

Hovi Leads Rifles to First Victory of Season

A former member of Beaver Brae's football program is powering the offense of the Winnipeg Rifles Junior football team.

Martin Hovi rushed for 122 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns to lead the Rifles to a 41-34 victory over the Edmonton Huskies in their first game of the season yesterday.

Three former Broncos are suiting up for the Rifles this season, including Hovi, Aaron Koch and Ryan Van Bellingham.

MNR Making Progress on Forest Fires

Fire crews continue to make good progress on wildfires burning across northwestern Ontario.

There are currently 83 blazes burning in the region, down from 96 yesterday.

Five new fires were sparked yesterday, and the Ministry of Natural Resources is worried that all the lightning we've had over the past couple of days will result in even more fire activity.

A total of 200 fire crews will be returning back to British Columbia and other provinces because their tour of duty is winding down.

Another 160 will start arriving later today.

Province promises to fix up By-Pass Bridges

A couple of bridges along the Kenora By-Pass are in for a makeover this year.

Reconstruction work on the Middle Lake and Winnipeg River Bridges are two of the projects included in this year's Northern Highways program.

The province will be spending 618 million dollars on roads in northern Ontario this summer.

The twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway east from the Manitoba Border is also included in the Highway programs budget this year.

NDP send Travelling Ballot Box Around the Riding this Weekend

The NDP will be taking a travelling ballot box around the Kenora-Rainy River Ridng to select a candidate for the upcoming provincial election.

The New Democrats are trying to hold onto a riding held for the past couple of decades by Howard Hampton.

Kenora Lawyer Robert Sinding is challenging Hampton's constituent assistant Sarah Campbell for the nomination.

Sinding believes the party's platform will resonate with local residents.

The travelling ballot box will start the day in Sioux Lookout and be in Kenora on Sunday afternoon, before ending up in Fort Frances Monday night.

Clement Announces Funding for Aboriginal Businesses

There's almost 2-million of Federal dollars going to help Aboriginal business development in the Northwest.

FedNor Minister Tony Clement says the support is needed because raising money to start a business in First Nation communities is totally different that in larger centres.

Clement made the announcement in yesterday while touring the region.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Day this Sunday

Waste Diversion Ontario is helping out the City of Kenora this year with its household hazardous waste disposal day.

Usually the city has to foot the entire bill for the waste collection day, but Operations Manager Rick Perchuck says they are eligible for some additional funding.

Perchuck says the city usually has to pay 35 thousand dollars every year to hold the Hazardous Waste Disposal Day.

You can drop of hazardous materials this Sunday at the Waste Transfer Station from 8:00 to 4:00.

Health Unit Re-Opens Keewatin and Round Lake Beaches

Good news for people who want to cool off this weekend.

The Northwest Health Unit has lifted the swimming bans at Keewatin Beach and Round Lake.

The most recent round of testing shows that bacterial levels have returned to acceptible levels.

The two swimming holes had been closed for the past week due to high levels of e-coli.

Province to Review lack of Aboriginal Representation on Juries

A former Supreme Court of Canada justice is going to look at why aboriginals are being shut out from juries in Ontario.

First Nations who live on reserves in the province say they have been excluded from juries for years.

Now the province has asked former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci to look at the issue and come up with ways to fix the problem.

Bombardier Strike in Thunder Bay over

Striking Canadian Auto Workers members at Bombardier's Thunder Bay plant have reached a tentative agreement after just one day on the picket line.

Both sides reached an agreement last night.

The 700 union members, who assemble rail cars at the plant, are expected to vote on the offer on Saturday.

Staff walked off the job Tuesday but both sides returned to negotiations yesterday morning.

Bike Trails coming to City

The City of Kenora hopes to become more cycler friendly in the next few months.

Work is underway to develop a bicycle route through town.

Councillor Sharon Smith says that will include a marked route along Lakeview Drive, once that section is re-paved in the fall.

The route will include "share the road" signage, as well as bicycle stencils on the shoulder of the road.

OPP Arrest Two people in Rideout area

The OPP have arrested two people as a result of a drug bust in the Rideout area of town.

The Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau and the Drug Unit executed a search warrant on a home on Mascott Avenue earlier this week.

Police say 3.5 grams of marijuana, six oxycodone pills and other drug paraphenalia were seized.

50 year old Leo Delorme and 22 year old Harley McLeod from Kenora have been charged with possession of a narcotic.

They are scheduled to make a court appearance in September.

Economic Development Commission Present Q2 report

All the city's investment in infrastructure over the past couple of years is starting to pay off.

That's the message of the chair of the Lake of the Woods Economic Development Commission.

Dennis Wallace presented the second quarter report to council this week and says there is a lot of interest in the former Abitibi property.

Wallace admits it could take a couple of years for the interest to translate into actual jobs, but says the foundation is there for growth.