Local News from Across the Rainy River District
There’s mounting opposition to the federal government’s firearm buy-back program. The program opened Jan 19, despite widespread opposition and refusal of some provinces to participate. The federal government unveiled the next steps in its national gun buyback program and Canadians will have about two months to declare their interest in […]
A police officer and a military member who were involved in the rescue of three stranded fishers on Lake Manitoba earlier this month detailed the night as a collaboration that involved some help from the missing fishers. RCAF member Capt. Zach Hotte was on the rescue plane, a CC-130H Hercules, […]
The Portage Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is turning to unique community events like “cat yoga” and targeted foster programs to meet the growing needs of its local rescue operations. Chrissy Nesbitt, fundraising coordinator for PAWS, says the organization is looking for creative ways to engage the public while supporting the […]
SIOUX LOOKOUT — Several years’ worth of work is scheduled to start this spring on Sioux Lookout’s wastewater system. That’s according to Mayor Doug Lawrance, who told Newswatch increasing the capacity of the existing water treatment plant is needed to accommodate the municipality’s growth. “Our population has just grown steadily […]
Emo will be getting more than $1.4 million from the province to upgrade its wastewater treatment equipment, Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford announced on Jan. 22. The investment is part of $700 million in provincial funding announced last week to assist 127 municipalities and First Nations communities in upgrading and […]
Last week the Ministry of the Attorney General announced that four new judges have been appointed to the Ontario Court of Justice to serve across Ontario, including one in Ontario’s northwest. Justice Archana Arun Medhkar comes to Northern Ontario from India by way of a long career in Toronto, according […]
Mitaanjigamiing First Nation will be getting $4.2 million in funding towards critical water infrastructure upgrades for its water treatment plant. Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford made the announcement on Jan. 22, 2026. According to the province, the investment comes from the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s (MHIP) Health and Safety Water […]
Thunder Bay Ironworks #759 Trade School was built two years ago, a building for iron worker apprentices. It was an immediate decision from not only president B.J. Sault, business manager Adam MacGillivary, and the many ironworkers who knew him, that the trade school should be in memory of Russ MacDonald, […]
The Ontario government has declared the Greenstone Transmission Line project as a priority, accelerating construction of a 230-kilometre power line that will run from Nipigon Bay to near Aroland First Nation. In a shot at the recently imposed U.S. tariff regime, the province says the project will create more than […]
As below-normal temperatures persist in Thunder Bay and areas close to the city, Indigenous leaders have been calling on their city counterparts to declare a state of emergency over homelessness, as many are forced to endure the bitter cold outdoors. On Friday, Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon and […]
THUNDER BAY — The city was advocating for more power to push back against over-budget legislated agencies, boards and commissions at the 2026 Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference. “We were lobbying the ministry to say we need some sort of mechanism to say, ‘listen, you can’t come in at 9.1 […]
As Parliament resumes, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives are striking a more conciliatory tone on issues like crime but remain unrelenting in their demands to axe carbon pricing and fast-track pipelines. Parliament returned on Jan. 26 after an eventful week marked by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum […]
