Local News from Across the Rainy River District
More than 350 municipal leaders, administrators, government representatives and business partners are heading home with renewed energy and focus on municipal resilience as the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) conference and annual general meeting concluded Friday. The three-day conference, which took place in Thunder Bay this week, was centred on […]
THUNDER BAY – The province’s plan to consolidate 36 conservation authorities into nine has received royal assent. “The bill that included the amendments to the Conservation Authorities Act passed third reading yesterday and has been given royal assent this morning, so it is now official,” Todd McCarthy, minister of the […]
The Ontario government is easing alcohol regulations in provincial parks, just in time for the opening of the 2026 camping season. Alcohol is no longer restricted to individual campsites, as adults are now allowed to responsibly consume their favourite beverages in most staffed provincial park areas, including picnic areas, beaches, […]
THUNDER BAY — The Ford government says it plans to fast-track construction of a new transmission line between Dryden and Red Lake. The project is a “key-priority” as the Red Lake district is anticipating a 525 per cent increase in demand for energy, said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and […]
Tbaytel released its 2025 Report to the Community, with its theme, Investing in the Everyday. The report highlights Tbaytel’s 2025 achievements and financial performance, which returned $23.1 million in dividends to the City of Thunder Bay. These funds help reduce local property tax bills by approximately 8.1 per cent. Also, […]
By Allan Bradbury abradbury@fortfrances.com The offence came to life and goaltender Brady Cates was his usual rock-solid self as the Fort Frances Lakers defeated the Thunder Bay North Stars 5-2 on the road Saturday night, tying the Salonen Cup final series at three games apiece and forcing Game 7 this […]
If you’re looking for a sweet treat next week that will also benefit the community, Tim Hortons has what you want. In a press release from Riverside Health Care, the organization shared that it will once again bye the recipient of the local Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign, set to […]
Toronto-based soul and roots performer Sandra Bouza is starting a tour that will see her play shows from Sault Ste. Marie all the way to western Saskatchewan and back east into Quebec, and she’s got a stop planned for Fort Frances. Bouza, pronounced Bo-zah, says a lot of her music […]
Chris McKhool – 7x Canadian Folk Music Award winner, 2026 JUNO nominee for Children’s Album of the Year, and one of the country’s most beloved family entertainers – will be undertaking an eleven-date northern Ontario tour in celebration of his long-awaited new album Little Leaf. Stopping in Fort Frances on […]
THUNDER BAY —The annual Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) conference is “very important for the region,” NOMA president Rick Dumas says. “Obviously, NOMA’s been doing this for many, many years — or decades, for that matter,” Dumas, who is also mayor of Marathon, said on the first day of the […]
THUNDER BAY — The provincial government is “taking action now” for safer highways in the north, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Wednesday at the 2026 Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association (NOMA) conference. “Highway safety is a top priority for this government,” Sarkaria said. Highways 11 and 17, which together are Ontario’s […]
With the chosen deep geological repository site for Canada’s used nuclear fuel in Northwestern Ontario undergoing a multi-year regulatory decision-making process, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has begun to search for a second such site. The NWMO released a discussion document last June on its proposed approach for siting […]
