By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

An increase in the number of grants available, more stringent requirements and the complexity of applications for both federal and provincial grants has prompted the town to consider searching for a full-time grant writer explicitly for that purpose. “Currently, grant applications, reporting, and financial tracking are distributed across staff who […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

A busy Fort Frances Town Council meeting on Monday night saw councillors deliberating on matters from fire-protection grants to a motion to reconsider the fate of Sunny Cove Camp for several hours. “The fire department has applied for the Fire-Protection Grant for 2025-2026 for personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

Emergency repairs are under way at the Fort Frances water tower after a break in a recirculation pipe was discovered earlier this year. The repairs are expected to cost about $175,000, to be funded through the town’s water and sewer reserve. “The water tower recirculation line has frozen and split […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

For the Fort Frances High School students who run it, Muskie Mart is far more than just a school spirit shop – it represents an opportunity to get real-world experience they can take along with them after graduation. From pricing items to sorting inventory and providing customer service to marketing, […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

Last September, HGTV announced it was looking for extraordinary Canadian small towns to showcase their hometown pride and star in a new series called Home Town Takeover Canada, inspired by the popular U.S. show Home Town Takeover produced by RTR Media. Although the town has yet to be selected, production […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

Since the beginning of the year, Fort Frances and all other recycle programs in the province completed the transition from municipal programs to corporate collection of materials, and that could mean a big change for locals who drop their recycling off at the depot. In a report to council, Town […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

From a multimillion-dollar total in the recovery of evaded taxes and duties to hundreds of tariff and weapons seizures, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) says its 2025 highlights are evidence of a very busy year for the border crossings at Fort Frances and Rainy River. “There were multiple commercial […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson

A request to review the decision to sell Sunny Cove, the library’s budget, sewer and water billing and a report of tens of thousands of dollars raised for the local food bank were among the agenda items considered during Monday’s regular meeting of the Fort Frances Town Council. A letter […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

Alternative voting measures such as online and telephone voting will officially be available for future municipal elections in Fort Frances, though balloting for byelections will remain a paper-based system for the time being. The use of online and telephone voting began as a measure to address the social distancing requirements […]

By Laura Balanko-Dickson
Staff writer
lbalankodickson@fortfrances.com

The Northwest Catholic District School Board’s (TNCDSB) recently released annual mental health plan identifies four main areas that will guide the board’s student support going forward, a strategy that begins with establishing calm as its foundation. “This year we have four focus areas, which we’re calling calm, connection, communication and […]