Business Center Brings in Guest Speaker

The Northwest Business Center is celebrating International Women's Day this year with a special guest.

Barb Stegemann is the founder of Seven Virtues Beauty Inc. and a survivor of the Dragon's Den TV show.

Diane Schwartz-Williams from the Business Center and calls Stegemann an inspirational woman.

Stegeman will be speaking in both Kenora and Fort Frances on March 8th.

Rupert Road Fire Under Investigation

The Ontario Fire Marshall's Office is being brought in to help investigate an early morning fire in the Rideout area of town.

The blaze broke out in a two-story home on Rupert Road around 2:00.

Fire Chief Warren Brinkman says its too early to say what might have caused the fire.

Brinkman says the damage was extensive, but its not known if anyone was in the house at the time the fire broke out.

Broncos and Eagles Square off in Girls Hockey Final

The top two teams in the regular season in the NorWOSSA girls hockey league will square off again in the finals.

The Dryden Eagles earned a 5-3 win over the Fort Frances Muskies last night to win their best-of-three semi-final series two games to one.

The Eagles will now play the Beaver Brae Broncos in a best-of-three final starting Friday night in Dryden.

Semis Set for Kenora Broomball League

The semi-finals are set in the local broomball league.

Last night Jovan Skead scored a hat trick to lead the Blizzard to a 4-2 win over Home Hardware.

The Blizzard will now face the Flying D's in one semi, while Dunit Contracting will face the top team in the regular season, the Pink Pirates in the other semi-final.

Rickford Support NDP Motion on Aboriginal Education

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says he has no problem supporting an NDP motion calling on the federal government to increase funding for aboriginal education.

The motion calls on the government to put first nation schools on an equal footing as provincial schools.

Rickford suggests the Harper government has been working in that direction already.

Rickford says the government is also committed to working with the Assembly of First Nations on implementing the recommendations contained its report on aboriginal education.

More changes in store for Kenora Schools

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board is planning to go ahead with some of its proposed school changes despite what happens at Lakewood.

The public school board is looking to move grade seven and eight students up to Beaver Brae at some point.

Director of Education, Jack McMaster says that's not a move that will happen overnight.

McMaster says they are also activly looking at starting up a french immersion program in Kenora.

House Fire in Rideout

Kenora's Fire and Emergency Services Department is still on the scene of a blaze this morning in the Rideout area of town.

The fire broke out to a two story home on Rupert Road shortly after 2:00 this morning.

Fire crews have been working to put out any hot spots.

There has been extensive damage, but no other details about the fire have been released yet.

Public Meeting for new Economic Development Zone

A proposal for a new economic development zone for northwestern Ontario will be up for review this week.

A public information session will be taking place in Kenora tomorrow.

A joint task force has developed a plan to enhance economic development opportunties in the region and is looking for feedback.

The session will take place at the Day's Inn from 1:00 to 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Public weighs in on Lakewood's Future

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board says it could make a decision on the future of Lakewood School in the next month or so.

A final public meeting was held last night, and not much concern was raised about possibly closing the elementary school and changing it into an adult education center.

Director of Education, Jack McMaster says he's not too surprised there wasn't more of a backlast over the possible closure of the school.

The school board recently conducted an on-line survey which showed 70 percent of local residents support changing Lakewood into an post-secondary institution.

Trustees are expected to make their final decision at their April 10th board meeting.

Mayoralty confusion in Ignace

A political drama is brewing in Ignace.

Council will hold a special meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss what to do with the Mayor's seat.

Lee Kennard submitted a resignation letter to the municipal clerk on January 27th but he decided to withdraw that letter 5-days later.

Council declared the office of the Mayor vacant on February 6th, sparking a debate on whether Kennard should return as Mayor.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing says Council handled the situation correctly.

Several options now lie on the table including holding a by-election, appointing a councilor as Mayor or appointing Lee Kennard as Mayor.

Local Student heads to Queen's Park

A Vermilion Bay elementary student is heading to Toronto.

Grade 7 Lilian Berg student Emma Lang has been selected to serve as a Legislative Page at Queen's Park.

Lang will serve as a messenger on the floor of the chamber, meet key parliamentry figures and learn about Ontario's parliamentry system.

She must study and learn the faces, names and locations of the 107 MPP's before arriving at Queen's Park for her first day.

Welfare Caseload down in the Kenora District

Some encouraging signs that the economy may be slowly starting to turn around in the Kenora District.

The Services Board says Ontario Works caseloads have dropped 78-cases over 2010 numbers.

Benefit cases have dropped the past 3-years but still remain above pre-recession figures.

Kenora saw the largest decline in 62-cases, while Dryden saw a drop of 30-cases.

Ear Falls, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake saw modest increases.

Habitat For Humanity Plans more Fundraising this Spring

The local Habitat for Humanity Committee says its getting closer to its goal to be able to build a home in Kenora.

A build is scheduled to begin in May.

Andrea Lundy is a spokesperson for the local Habitat Committee and says they already have a number of their skilled trades lined up.

Lundy says they have raised about 25 thousand dollars in cash, and will be launching their shingle campaign once again in the spring.

New Northern Committee Proposed at Queen's Park

John Vanthof says the NDP is not out to give Southern Ontario less of a voice, he's out to give Northern Ontario a stronger voice.

The Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP has table Legislation to create a new Legislative Committee made up of Northern MPP's.

Vanthof says the Committee would have the power to examine legislation and make recommendations to the Government.

The motion will be debated and voted upon on March 1st.

Police Lay Charges in Weekend Collision

A 51 year old Kenora man faces charges following an accident in the north end of town.

The OPP say they were called to a collision at the intersection of Matheson Street and Second Street North around 9:30 Saturday morning.

Police say a 60 year old woman had to be taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Charges of failing to yeild to traffic have been laid.

Sioux Lookout cruises through NorWOSSA Playdowns

The Warriors were the teams to beat at the NorWOSSA curling championships at the Kenora Curling Club.

Both the Queen Elizabeth boys and girls squads claimed first place in their respective pools after two days of round-robin play at the Kenora Curling Club.

Both Sioux Lookout teams went undefeated and will head into the NWOSSA championships next week as the teams to beat.

Traffic Stop nets a kilo of cocaine

The Kenora OPP say they have taken about 100 thousand dollars in cocaine of the streets following a routine traffic stop.

Officer pulled over an eastbound Dodge Caravan around 11:30 Friday night near the intersection of the Redditt Road and the Kenora By-Pass.

After speaking with the driver, the officer became suspicious and a search of the vehicle uncovered about a kilogram of cocaine.

About 440 dollars in cash was also seized.

A 38 year old Thunder Bay man has been arrested for trafficking.

Canfield Campaigns for more Funding for Bridges in Toronto

The campaign to get the province to pay to repair Kenora's Bridges resumes this week in Toronto.

Kenora mayor Dave Canfield and three members of city council are attending the Good Roads Conference.

Canfield says they may have to take drastic action if the province is unwilling to provide any funding for bridge repairs this year.

Canfield says they will be speaking with the Ministers of Northern Development and Mines about the issue this week.

Final Public Meeting on Lakewood Tonight

The third and final meeting on the future of Lakewood School will take place this evening.

The Keewatin-Patricia District School Board has been meeting with parents and interested members of the public this month about a project which would see the elementary school turned into a facility for adult education.

The public school board has put any of its school closure plans on hold until it decides how it wants to proceed with the whole Lakewood proposal.

Tonight's meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30.

Broncos Sweep NorWOSSA Hockey Semis

The finals are all set for the NorWOSSA hockey play-offs.

Beaver Brae's girls team got by Thomas Aquinas 6-0 last night at the Kenora Rec. Center to win the best-of-three semi-final two games to none.

Haley Moncrief had a pair of goals to lead the Bronco offense.

Beaver Brae will now take on the winner of the series between Dryden and Fort Frances, which is tied at one game a piece.

Meanwhile, the Bronco boys will face Fort Frances in the the NorWOSSA final.

The Broncos swept Thomas Aquinas in two straight games to advance.

The Muskies meanwhile beat Dryden, also in two straight.