One Dead In Boating Mishap

More tragedy on northwestern Ontario waters.

A 64-year old Minnesota man is dead after falling out of boat while on a fishing trip northwest of Thunder Bay.

OPP say Douglas Davis of North Mankato and two other men, also from Minnesota, were in the boat on Manion Lake Saturday afternoon when they somehow all ended up in the water.

Police say the three were pulled from the lake by another group of fisherman.

Town Council Seeks Improvements To Road Out Of Its Jurisdication

Google Map

Fort Frances wants some improvements to the road leading to its airport.

Frog Creek Road is under the control of the Miscampbell Roads Board.

Mayor Roy Avis says they'll calling on both the roads board and the Ministry of Transportation for upgrades.

He suggests the Ministry provide money  normally gives to the roads board to the town to fix the road.

The town estimates the cost to resurface the section by the airport to be about $55-thousand.

New Parking Rules Around Schools Wanted

Members of the Fort Frances Traffic Safety Group want some changes to parking rules around three elementary schools.

They say the measures will help in their efforts to improve the flow of buses and parents who drop off and pick up children at Robert Moore, J.W. Walker and St. Francis Schools.

They include no parking or stopping on certain streets around the schools between the hours of 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and modified calender parking on some streets.

A ban on u-turns on roads near the schools and new stop signs on Flinders Avenue at First Street West and on Armit Avenue at Fourth Street East creating a new fourway stop are also be sought.

The group hopes to have the new parking restrictions in place by September.

The Safety Groups request is now before town
council for its consideration.

Demolition Of Former School Goes Next Week

Demolition of a former school in the east end of Fort Frances will begin next week.

The tear down of the former Huffman School is to accommodate construction of a new 16-lot housing subdivision.

None of the lots have yet been purchased, but the town is reworking pricing and sale conditions.

Cost of the development is being paid for out of reserve funds that will be paid back through the sale of the lots.

Budget Vote Today

A vote on the provincial budget goes today.

The New Democrats are promising to vote with the the minority Liberal government to avoid a general election.

The Conservatives say they don't understand how the NDP can call the Liberals corrupt for deleting emails to cover up the cost of cancelling gas plants and then prop up the government by voting for the budget.

Unemployment Claims Stable

The number of people in Koochiching County claiming unemployment benefits is unchanged.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development says a total of 100 claims were filed in May, down just one from April.

That compares with the 59 filed in May 2012.

New Bird Homes Coming To Downtown Fort Frances

Birds will soon find a new home in downtown Fort Frances.

Bird houses will be going up in the core in the near future.

Chair of the Fort Frances Downtown Business Improvement Association Doug Anderson acquired the houses and turned them over to students of the early learning program at Robert Moore School to paint.

Anderson says the final product is thirty-three unique and distinct bird houses with no two being the same.

The BIA is also looking at installing wind chimes.

Busy Weekend For MNR Firefighters

It was a busy weekend for Ministry of Natural Resources forest fire fighters.

Nearly thirty new fires were reported, mostly caused by lightning.

One of the largest is a 15-hundred hectare blaze near the community of Summer Beaver that is being observed.

None of the new fires were in the Rainy River district where the fire hazard is currently moderate.

Canoeing Accident In Quetico

A tragic end to the search of a missing Minnesota man in Quetico Provincial Park.

The body of 78-year-old Richard Barber was located Thursday in Basswood Lake by Provincial Police and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Richard and his wife Elaine were in the boundary of the park for a canoe trip when their canoe capsized.

Rescue crews were able to locate Elaine and return her safely to Atikokan.

OFIA Happy With New Endangered Species Act

Forestry companies will find it easier to operate with changes to the Endangered Species Act.

President of the Ontario Forest Industries Association Jamie Lim says the changes will streamline how companies operate.

The changes will be in place for the next five years.

Local MP Not Surprised By Conservative MP Decision To Quit

Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty isn't surprised an Alberta MP has quit the Conservative caucus over what is being called the Federal Government's lack of transparency.

Rafferty says Brent Rathgeber resigned after his private member's bill was rewritten by a largely Conservative committee.

The NDP member claims there are a lot of unhappy Conservative MPs.

Bike Safety Promoted In Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is warning motorists and bicyclists to be aware of each other and share the road.

The agency says in the last four years, 44 cyclists have died on Minnesota roads while almost 46-hundred were injured.

More than half the deaths and injuries occurred between June and September.