Province Promises Cheaper Industrial Electricity Rates

The Provincial Government is providing new and existing businesses with cheaper electricity rates.

Minister of Natural Resources Michael Gravelle says the only catch is the company must promise to create jobs in order to get the rebates.

The cheaper electricity rates will be provided to existing companies who are expanding or new ones that are willing to relocate to Ontario.

Wasaya Plane Destroyed by fire

Only one wing is left after a Wasaya Airways plane was completely destroyed in a fire yesterday afternoon.

The company says the aircraft was doing a routine fuel trip and received operations in Sandy Lake First Nation.

Reports indicate that the hose connection leaked and sprayed fuel on the still hot engine.

Ministry of Natural Resources helicopters were called to help extinguish the blaze and the main ramp at the airport and the terminal had to be closed.

No one was on board and the two crew members weren't injured in the mishap.

Con College Holds Spring Convocation

Confederation College's class of 2012 has collected their diplomas.

A total of 32 students graduated yesterday morning from the Lake of the Woods Campus during their convocation.

Jim Madder is president of the college and says he sees a bright future for the grads and our region.

The largest class this year was the Personal Support Worker course, which graduated 14 students.

OPP Investigate Stolen Boating Gear

The OPP are investigating the theft of some items from a boat in Minaki.

Police say last night, someone stopped by a Front Street residence and stole several pieces of boating gear.

Stolen items included a Minnkota trolling motor, three Troll master batteries and the Wave Wacker splash guards from the rear of the boat.

Anyone with information about the theft can call the Kenora OPP or Crimestoppers.

City Council Looking at Expanded Bow Hunt for Deer

The City of Kenora continues to grapple with our expanding deer population.

Council has agreed to expand the time period for a bow hunt in city limits this fall.

Councillor Sharon Smith says that's about the only thing the city can do to try and curb our deer numbers.

The bow hunt within city limits will be expanded by a full month this year to the end of deer hunting season on December 15th.

Smaller parcels of land will also be eligible for the hunt, going from 5 hectares down to 4.

Councils Asked to Support ELA Resolutions

Opposition to a Federal Government decision to close the Experimental Lakes area east of Kenora continues to ramp up.

Jill Wilkenson is calling on local municipal councils to pass a resolution denouncing the move.

She says the ELA is important to our community.

She says the ELA is the world's top fresh water research facility and is something we should fight to keep.

Sod Turning for Habitat for Humanity

All systems are go for the Habitat For Humanity build in Kenora.

A sod-turning ceremony took place on the property located just off Main Street Rideout.

Thelma Wilkens-Page is a one of the Habitat members and says they have raised about 75 percent of the money they need.

Meanwhile, Ashley Neniska will be the recipient of the new Habitat home.

She and her daughter are looking forward to finally moving in.

Actual construction will begin next Monday, when the site is excavated and work begins on the foundation.

M.P.'s Summer Holiday's Delayed

It could be a few more weeks before M.P.'s get back to their ridings for the summer.

The Federal budget Omnibus bill has been delayed by back to work legislation for CP rail workers, and now hundreds of budget amendments from the Opposition.

Kenora M.P. Greg Rickford says at this point he's not sure when the current sitting will actually end.

M.P.'s are now preparing for what's could top 24 hours of voting on more than 800 proposed amendments to the Tory government's massive budget-implementation bill.

CUPE Protests Provincial Budget Bill

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is warning about what it sees as possible adverse consequences of a new bill moving through provincial legislature.

Jules Tupker of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, believes that a section of Bill 55 will lead to mass privatization of public services.

CUPE held a protest out side the offices of Natural Resources minister Michael Gravelle yesterday.

Operation Corridor this Week

A 24-hour crackdown on transport drivers is coming to Northwestern Ontario.

"Operation Cooridor" starts Thursday evening.

The 24-hour initiative targets commercial vehicle speeding and aggresive drivers.

Sergeant Shelley Garr is asking all motorists to slow down and be safe.

Rain Dampens Fire Hazard

Widespread thunder storms and heavy down pours have put a damper on the forest fire hazard across northwestern Ontario.

The Fire hazard is now considered "Low" across the Northwest region.

A number of fires were called "Out" in the last two days, including Kenora Fire #36, which had grown to 588 hectares in size on Falcon Island on Lake of the Woods.

There are now 15 active fires in the region.

Stanley Cup to Return to Kenora

The Stanley Cup will be coming home to Kenora this summer.

Mike Richards and the Los Angeles Kings put an emphatic finish on the NHL finals with a 6-1 shelling of the New Jersey Devil's to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.

Richards had a pair of assists in the game.

Richards now adds his name to the Stanley Cup along with the Calder Cup, the Memorial Cup, the World Junior Hockey Championships, and an Olympic Gold medal.

Jonathan Quick was named the Conn Smythe Trophy Winner as the play-off MVP.

Several Areas Still without Power Following Sunday Storm

Some residents in the Longbow Lake area are still without power today following yesterday's storm.

Hydro One says less than 20 customers are still waiting for their electricity to be restored.

Hydro is expected to be restored later this afternoon.

Several other areas in and around Kenora are also without electricty today, including some customers in the Silver Lake area and around the Whitefish Bay First Nation and just north of Clearwater Bay.

Hydro One says high winds damaged some of its power lines in the area.

Iron Ore Project gets a boost

A $900 million mining development is in the works for Northwestern Ontario.

The construction of the iron mine in the Wabigoon area is expected to begin in 2015, where close to 1,000 workers will be hired to construct the mine site.

President and CEO of Bending Lake Iron Ore Group Henry Wetalainen seems confident about it and

says they have a Chinese company interested in becoming a major investor in the project.

Bending Lake hopes to have the mine in full production in 2017.

Interpretive Forest Planted at Discovery Center

The Discovery Center is showing off its newest exhibit.

An interpretive forest was unveiled on Friday behind the building on Lakeview Drive.

Heather Paterson is Kenora's Tourism Development Officer and says the forest gives visitors an idea of some of the plant life in the area.

The city received 15 thousand dollars from the TD Green Streets fund for the interpretive forest.

The total project will amount to about 60 thousan dollars over two years.

Battle for ELA Continues

The battle to keep the Environmental Lakes Area open east of Kenora isn't over.

A meeting took place last night Knox United Church talking about the importance of the outdoor laboratory.

The public meeting was billed as "Closing the ELA-What's at Stake", and  featured a number of guest speakers including Thunder Bay-Superior North M.P. Bruce Hyer.

Relay for Life sets record in Kenora

A record breaking weekend for the Canadian Cancer Society.

The Relay for Life in Kenora raised a total of 110 thousand dollars over 12 hours.

That's the best ever total.

Hundreds of people walked the track at Lakewood School Friday night and early Saturday morning.

All totalled, Relays for Life generated 375 thousand dollars in four separate events in northwestern Ontario over the past two weekends.

Severe Weather over the Weekend

There are reports of a tornado touching down in the Rainy River district.

Emergency officials say it happened last night in the Stratton area.

There are no reports of any damage or any injuries.

David Rogers of Environment Canada says a system was prime for severe weather.

Because of the funnel cloud report, much of the district was briefly placed on a tornado watch.

Kenora was also a victim of the intense weather system getting 82 millimeters of rain.

Sod Turning for Habitat for Humanity This Morning

A milestone for Habitat for Humanity in Kenora.

A sod turning ceremony will take place this morning for the first ever build in the city.

So far Habitat has raised about 44 thousand dollars in cash, plus even more worth of "in-kind" donations.

The sod turning will take place at 10:00 just off Mellick Avenue.

Actual construction will begin on June 18th.

Saints Enjoy best ever showing at OFSAA

The Thomas Aquinas boys soccer team is back home after its best ever showing at the provincial championships.

The Saints finished with a record of two wins, a loss and two ties.

The only loss was a costly one, coming in the Quarter-final round.

T.A. lost 2-0 to the eventual gold medalists, Kings Christian from Halton.

Meanwhile, Beaver Brae's girls team won its final game at the All-Ontario Double A championships, finishing with a 1-3 record at OFSAA, but out of the play-offs.