More Downtime Planned

More downtime is planned for workers at the AbitibiBowater mill in Fort Frances.

The company says both the paper and kraft mills will be halted for fourteen days beginning March 28 because of poor market conditions.

More than 500 employees will be effected.

The news comes as about 230 employees are in the middle of a shutdown of the mill's paper machines that is to end March 7.

Mining Company Acquires More Land

Another mining company is beefing up its assets in the Rainy River district.

Mineral Mountain is acquiring 1,100 hectares from Whetstone Minerals.

The property is located 70 kilometres northeast of the Rainy River gold deposit and next to the former Straw Lake Beach Gold Mine.

The mine, now owned by Mineral Mountain, operated between 1938 and 1945.

Trudeau to Visit Fort Frances

Margaret Trudeau is coming to Fort Frances.

Sandy Skirten of the Canadian Mental Health Association says the ex-wife of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau will be speaking at the Townshend Theatre April 14.

"She'll be discussing her live story, living with bipolar," says Skirten. "Some of the journeys she's had throughout her live. This is also part of the celebration of the Fort Frances branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, our thirtieth anniversary."

Skirten says getting Trudeau to visit was something the local branch has been working on for many years.

Task Force Releases Interim Report

A Task Force looking at the management of Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake has released an interim report.

Canadian Secretary Kelli Saunders says the group, formed by the International Joint Commission, is putting forward some ideas gathered from the first six months of its work.

"(It includes) some of our initial thoughts on governance structures that might work for this watershed which is our ultimate goal," says Saunders. "(It's) to start getting some feedback from people before we get to the end of our mandate."

Saunders says a series of public meetings to discuss the report will be held in early April.

Food Box Program Expands

(Clover Valley Farmer's Market photo)

Clover Valley Farmer's Market is looking to introduce a smaller box to its popular food box program.

Donna Lowey, a food purchaser for the program, says it's a response to public demand.

"We've had lots of customers say 'we've love to get your box, but there's just one or two us and there's way to much food'," says Lowey. "We are going to launch a box that's suitable for singles or a couple."

Lowey says the $15 box could be in place this month.

The larger $25 box will continue to be offered.

Five Arrested in OPP Drug Busts

Five Rainy River district residents face drug charges following separate drug busts last month.

In one case, Provincial Police seized over $37-thousand worth of drugs, including 36 marijuana plants, a quantity of marijuana bud and a quantity of prescription pills from two homes in LaVallee township and Chapple township last Thursday.

A 26-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man from LaVallee township each face production charges.

A 27-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman, from Potts Township, face charges of possession and Insecure storage of a firearm.

In a separate incident, an area man will appear in a Fort Frances court room next month on possession charges.

He was arrested on February 15 in Couchiching First Nations with several Oxycontin pills in his possession.

OPP says the man did not have a prescription for the drugs.

Trucker Charged

An area trucker has been charged for having an insecure load after a load of logs spilled in Fort Frances' downtown Saturday morning.

The incident at the corners of Central Avenue and Scott Street forced the closure of roads in the area for several hours.

No one was injured.

Agent Orange Probe Widened

The Ontario government is asking Ottawa to see if Agent Orange was widely used in the rest of the country.

The province says it is already clear that the chemical mixture linked to certain types of cancer was widely used in Ontario for more than three decades.

Natural Resources Minister Linda Jeffrey says they are also looking at its use by Ontario Hydro, municipalities and farmers.

Minnesota Deficit Lowered

A new economic forecast shows Minnesota's budget deficit has improved.

It now stands at $5-billion.

The budget forecast says federal tax cuts are behind the short-term improvement.

Moose Permits Cut

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources confirms it will issue only half the number of moose permits in 2011 that it did last year.

A total of 105 bull moose permits will be issued for the two-week hunt in October.

The reduction is related to declining moose populations.