LOWBREWCO Gets Ready to Celebrate Octoberfest

Lake of the Woods Brewing Company says it plans to expand its operations this winter.

The brew/pub started producing its own beer this summer.

Taras Manzies is the owner of LOWBREWCO and says one of things they want to do is expand their product line.

LOWBREWCO is launching its own version of a German lager this afternoon.

Manzies says they hope to produce at least one new beer a month during the
course of the winter.

Manzies says they are looking to add a canning line to their brewing operation over the winter to go along with their "growlers".

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Wabauskang Appeal

The Supreme Court of Canada has decided to hear Wabauskang First Nation's appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal's decision on mining activity in it's traditional land use territory.

The Supreme Court will now consider whether or not Ontario has the authority to make land-use decisions in Treaty 3.

Chief Leslie Cameron says Ontario doesn't have the right to allow mining and other companies in their traditional territory.

Cameron adds Canada needs to be involved to ensure their treaty rights are respected.
Wabauskang has an outstanding lawsuit against Rubicon Minerals.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the appeal in late 2014, with a decision not expected until 2015.

The decision comes a week after the Supreme Court also agreed to hear
an appeal of Grassy's Narrows land use appeal of an Ontario Court ruling.

Wet Weekend In Store

Be prepared to get wet this weekend.

A low pressure system is moving across northwestern Ontario that's expected to bring a couple of inches of precipitation.

Bill Laidlaw from Signal Weather Services says there's a lot of moisture
being carried into the region.

Laidlaw says things should start to dry out by Sunday.

Thistles Play Exhibition Games This Weekend

A chance to check out this year's edition of the Kenora Triple "a" midget
Thistles.

The Thistles will play a pair of exhibition games this weekend against the
Eastman Selects.

The first game is tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Thistle Rink.

The same two teams will meet Sunday afternoon
at 2:00 in Beausejour.

The Thistles open the regular Wednesday on the road against the
Winnipeg Wild.

Bronco Golfer Medals At NWOSSA Championships

A silver medal for a Beaver Brae golfer at the NWOSSA championships.

Matt Krolyk had a second place finish yesterday in Geraldton.

Krolyk finished ahead of three other golfers to earn a trip to the OFSAA
championships in Windsor next month.

Overall, Beaver Brae placed fifth in the team competition at NWOSSA.

Thomas Aquinas placed just outside the medals in 4th place.

Northwest Municipal Leaders Upset with Queen's Park

Members of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association are telling the Minister of Northern Development and Mines that they are frustrated.

Several municipal leaders spoke today with Michael Gravelle about their growing concerns about the future of the Thunder Bay Generating Station and the Ring of Fire development.

NOMA President Dave Canfield says they're understanding but something more needs to be done to help speed up the process.

Canfield made the comments during the annual Northwestern Ontario Regional Conference taking place in Thunder Bay.

Lay-Offs Begin At Boise Mill in IFalls

Layoff at the Boise Mill in International Falls are starting to kick in.

Many of the 265 employees have been working their last shifts this week as the company prepares to idle two of its paper machines and a coating machine, a decision announced in May.

The mill will still employ about 580 people.

Youth In Philanthropy Back At Beaver Brae

Youth In Philanthropy is back at Beaver Brae for the seventh year.

The program is run through the Kenora and Lake of the Woods Regional Community Foundation.

Teacher Holly Barber says selecting charities for the grants is always a challenge for the students.

The students hold a granting ceremony every spring after meeting with and selecting 4 local charities.

Bill Introduced to Expand Bear Hunt

A northwestern Ontario MPP is trying to expand the bear hunt in the north.

Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro has introduced a private members bill at Queens Park.

Mauro says the bill is aimed at reducing the nuisance bear population, and could include the re-introduction of the spring bear hunt.

Mauro hopes other parties support his proposal so it can pass into law.

OPP Hands Out Life-Saving Awards

The Ontario Provincial Police are recognizing several Northwestern Ontario civilians for their brave actions.

Dryden's Kale Greer, Christison Maua and Koen Taylor were honoured for saving the life of  Kale's four year old sister while they were playing at the Big Eagle Lodge tourist camp.

The young girl disapeared when the boys thought to see if she had wandered off to the dock.

That's when Maua says he saw her in the water.

The boys were given an award today in Thunder Bay by the OPP Deputy Commissioner.

Safety Groups Team Up Fall Seatbelt Campaign

Ontario is launching a seat belt campaign to remind drivers and passengers to buckle up.

Police, fire and emergency services workers across the provincial, along with health care professionals and road safety and injury prevention groups are participating.

It begins October 11 with educational demonstrations, child car seat inspection clinics, and seat belt blitzes by police.

Sasquatch Bush Crawl Takes Over Mt. Evergreen

Watch out for the Sasquatch.

The Sasquatch Bush Crawl takes over Mount Evergreen this Saturday.

Organizer Sue McCallum says they have events planned all day long.

Following the crawl Gropps catering is available for dinner and music will be provided by Big Bugaloo and Shred Kelly.

www.sasquatchbushcrawl.com, www.facebook.com/SasquatchBushCrawl

Bronco Football Team Looks to Extend Winning Streak

Beaver Brae's football team is looking to extend its winning
streak to three today.

The Broncos travel to Winnipeg to face the Maples Marauders.

After a slow start to the season, Broncos head coach Chris Penner says his team is starting to play better.

The Broncos have a 2-1 record, while Maples sits a 1-2.

Game time is 4:00 this afternoon at the Eastside Stadium.

Busy Day In NorWOSSA Court Sports

Local high school gyms were busy with NorWOSSA court sports.

For the second time this week, the Saints took on Rainy River and the
results were pretty much the same as the first games on Tuesday.

The Thomas Aquinas senior and junior boys volleyball teams beat the
Owls three sets to one.

In girls basketball, T.A.'s senior girls were beaten 34-14, while the junior squad dropped a 37-17 decision.

Over at Beaver Brae, just the Bronco senior boys volleyball team managed to get into the win column, downing Fort Frances three sets to none, while Beaver Brae's junior team lost three sets to one.

It was a Musky sweep in girls basketball, with the Bronco senior girls losing a
heartbreaker 30-28.

Beaver Brae's junior girls were upended 38-21.

MNR to Conduct Prescribed Burns

Shades of Deep Purple.

Expect some smoke on the water over the next couple of days.

The Ministry of Natural Resources will be carrying out a couple of
prescribed burns on Lake of the Woods over the next couple of days.

Pat Harvey from the Kenora Fire base says there are a couple of reasons to intentionally set the fires, including scientific and ecological.

Harvey says the prescribed burns will be lit on Blaze and Small Islands today and will likely burn over the next couple of days.

Northwest Region Conference Underway

Energy, mines and forestry.

Those are just some of the topics up for discussion over the next two days in Thunder Bay at the Northwest Ontario Regional Conference.

President of NOMA, Dave Canfield says they will continue to discuss the future of the Thunder Bay Generating Station.

Canfield says they will also receive updates from the federal minister of Science and Technology Greg Rickford and also Northern Development and Mines minister Michael Gravelle.

The conference began last night underway and will wrap up tomorrow.

More EQAO Results Released

The Kenora Catholic District School Board continues to post impressive results in the Grade 9 standardized math and literacy tests.

The Education Quality and Accountability Office released its most recent statistics yesterday and it shows that 89 percent of grade 9's in the academic stream met or beat the provincial average, up two percent over last year.

At applied level 64 percent achieved the provincial standard, a 20 percent improvement over 2012.

That's well above marks posted for the Keewatin-Patricia District School Board, were 33 percent of the applied students achieved the provincial standard, and 77 percent for academic students.

In the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, 86 percent of students at Thomas Aquinas successfully completed it, while the mark was 64 percent at the public school board.

NAN Develops Residential School Curriculum

A long time coming.

That's the thought of Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler, as NAN launches a Residential School Curriculum.

Fiddler says initially they will introduce the curriculum into aboriginal schools across the region.

But he adds they will also be working with local school boards to try and implement it.

Fiddler says it's important that Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals know about the residential schools and the harm they caused.

Drivers Licences Soon to Be Available On-Line

Motorists in Northwestern Ontario will now be able to renew their drivers licences online.

Now by going to ServiceOntario.ca, you can use your existing photos on your licence for an additional 5-years.

Drivers can also get licence plate stickers, driver abstracts and other products in the same transaction.

Government Services Minister John Milloy says Ontario becomes the first province in Canada to provide drivers with the online option making it easier and more convenient.

Granite Lake Cottager Fined

A cottage owner from the United States has been fined $3,000.

Paul Borys of Arizona was fined after the Ministry of Natural Resources found he was expanding his cottage on Granite Lake without the proper permit.

Borys had only been issued a permit to repair the footing and roof of his cottage.

Authorization for work on Granite Lake properties is required by the Public Lands Act to protect the trout population and maintain water quality.