Resolute On Target With Mills

Resolute Forest Products says it's on target to open its new sawmill in Atikokan and a retooled plant in Ignace next year.

President Richard Garneau says construction on the Atikokan plant will start soon, but must still do some site work at Sapawe.

The company is spending $50 million to construct the Atikokan plant and $32 million to upgrade its Ignace operation.

Resolute Reports Loss

Resolute Forest Products is reporting a net loss of $43-million for its second quarter of this year.

Softer prices and ongoing restructuring costs are blamed.

Resolute reported a $17-million loss in the same period last year.

Boise Reports Loss

Boise Inc. is reporting a loss in its second quarter of $2.2 million.

That compares with a net income of $13.7 million last year.

Part of the loss is attributed to the planned shutdown of two paper machines at its mill in International Falls.

Detour In Koochiching County

A traffic note for motorists who use Highway 65 in Koochiching County.

Bridge work along the highway continues south of Littlefork.

A detour using County Road 8 is still in effect until August 9.

Starting today, a second detour is in place around Silverdale requiring motorists to use St. Louis County Roads 74, 356 and 23 and Bureau of Indian Affairs 11 until the end of the month.

Quetico Park Celebrates

Quetico Park is celebrating a milestone this weekend.

It was one hundred years ago that Quetico was designated a provincial park, one of the first in the Ontario Provincial Parks Act.

Several events are planned including an open barbecue at French Lake hosted by the Quetico Foundation tomorrow night.

Other events include a guided hikes and native drumming

Hartnell Enters Plea In Gun Smuggling Charge

A Fort Frances man has apparently entered a plea in connection with a gun smuggling case in North Dakota.

Reports out of Fargo say 29-year-old Shawn Hartnell plead guilty to conspiracy to illegally exporting firearms in federal court this week.

He and another North Dakota man were scheduled for a jury trial Tuesday.

Hartnell was arrested in February following an lengthy investigation involving authorities on both sides of the border.

Forest Fire Activity Remains Low

Not much work lately for Ministry of Natural Resources fire crews in northwestern Ontario.

The cool and damp weather has knocked down the fire hazard to low across the region.

There are 33 active fires, 30 of which are being monitored.

Three others are listed as being under control.

Jury Makes Recommendations

A jury is out with its recommendations following an inquest into the death of a Thunder Bay construction work.

24 year old Gustavo Argueta was killed two years ago while inspecting a bridge over the Mackenzie River, east of Thunder Bay.

Among its suggestions, the jury recommends the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities develop and implement a standardized, mandatory training program for elevated platforms.

Medical Student Gets Research Award

A Fort Frances student is among sixteen at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine receiving research awards.

Graham Gaylord will use his $6-thousand toward a project that analyses doctor referral patterns in northwestern Ontario.

New State Law In Place For Coin Dealers

A new state law now in effect offers greater protection for those who buy precious metals in Minnesota.

The law requires criminal background checks for those who deal in gold coins and other metals.

Anyone convicted of a financial crime in the past 10 years will be also barred from dealing.

New Transformer Station Planned

A major investment from Hydro One into the Rainy River district.

It's planning to spend $25-million building a new transformer station in Barwick.

Spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa says it will replace an existing and aging station in Fort Frances and improve the electricity capacity of the area between Rainy River and
.

Construction will likely start later this month with the station on-line a year from now.

Legal Clinic Welcomes Funding Announcement

The Northwest Legal Clinic is welcoming an announcement of new funding from the province.

Executive director Trudy McCormick says this week's announcement from the Ministry of the Attorney General essentially returns money taken away from legal clinics in this spring's budget.

McCormick says they had been looking at potential service cuts had the government not come through with the additional dollars.

Province Committed To Experimental Lakes Area

Published reports say the Ontario government will pay to keep the Experimental Lakes Area operating in the long term.

The province and the federal government continue to negotiate the transfer of the research station near Kenora to Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Natural Resources Mininster David Orazietti says Ontario's commitment will be below $2-million but isn't commenting on a specific number.

A tentative transfer agreement expires at the end of this month.

Bass Studied At Bass Tournament

Anglers weren't the only ones interested in the bass in Rainy Lake during the recent Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.

Ministry of Natural Resources, aided by its stewardship rangers, collected data on the fish caught.

Biologist Chris Martin says it helps identify the health of the fish population.

The MNR has been studied bass caught during the tournament for several years.

Beware Of West Nile Virus

The Northwestern Health Unit wants you to protect yourself against West Nile Virus.

Public Health Inspector Kurt Casey says symptoms of the virus are flu-like.

Casey says the number of infected mosquitoes in our area is low, but the threat of West Nile still exists.

Ontario Byelections Today

Today is a judgment day of sorts for Kathleen Wynne's record as Ontario premier as voters in five provincial byelections head to the polls.

The byelections -- in Windsor, London, Ottawa and two Toronto ridings -- are all former Liberal seats.

Regardless of the outcomes, however, Wynne will still be leading a minority government at Queen's Park.

Premier OK Talking To Speaker

The NDP calls it highly inappropriate, but Premier Kathleen Wynne says she won't prevent her staff from talking to the Speaker of the legislature.

But Wynne says she won't tolerate her staff putting "any undue pressure'' on the impartial Speaker.

Her comments come after recovered emails suggested senior Liberals in former premier Dalton McGuinty's office tried to get Speaker Dave Levac to change a key ruling against the government.

Gay Marriage Now Legal In Minnesota

Carlos Melia photo

Dozens of gay couples are getting married at Minneapolis City Hall as Minnesota becomes the latest state to legalize same-sex marriage.

The law allowed weddings to begin at 12:01 a.m. today.

Several midnight weddings were planned at several county courthouses around Minnesota, as well as at the Mall of America's Chapel of Love.

Restaurants Say Liqour Discounts Unfair

Ontario restaurants are unhappy with the province's liquor agency for what they see as unfair discounts for the federal government and foreign embassies.

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario started giving foreign embassies and consulates a 49 per cent discount on beer, wine and liquor sales last month.

A group representing Ontario's restaurants says the new discounts are unfair when they have to pay full retail price
s for alcohol.

Mine Union Upset With Premier

A mining union is accusing Ontario's premier of ignoring pleas for an inquiry into mine safety.

The United Steelworkers says it wrote to Kathleen Wynne in May seeking a meeting, only to have the Premier recently respond, rejecting the request and referring the issue to Labour Minister Yasir Naqvi.

Ontario Director Marty Warren is disappointed, saying he hoped the Premier would have taken the issue more seriously than her predecessor.

NWO Man Appointed To Species At Risk Advisory Committee

A northwestern Ontario man has been appointed to committee that provides advice to government on the handling of the Species at Risk act.

Brad Maggrah of Wabigoon will serve on the National Aboriginal Committee on Species at Risk for three years.

Maggrah is also President of the Ontario Coalition of Aboriginal People.

Four Vehicles Involved in Crash

OPP say it could have been a lot worse.

As many as four vehicles were involved in that accident yesterday afternoon on Portage Avenue in Fort Frances.

Constable Anne McCoy says it started when the driver of a pick up truck suffered a medical distress a couple of blocks earlier.

McCoy says the truck first struck a sign near Third Street East before coming into collision with a vehicle stopped at the traffic lights at 2nd Street East.

The vehicle continue to drive on the sidewalk, avoiding three people who jumped out of the way before returning to the roadway, missing on oncoming vehicle before colliding with two parked vehicles in the area of the United Native Friendship Centre.


One vehicle was pushed onto the walkway in front of the Centre.

The driver of the truck, a 65-year-old man and a woman inside one of the parked vehicle were taken to hospital for treatment.

Police Investigating Death Of Baby

Provincial Police are investigating the sudden death of a six-week-old baby girl in Big Trout Lake.

Officers were called to the nursing station Monday morning where the the child was pronounced dead.

She's been identified as Shantelle Sainnawap.

A post mortem is being done in Toronto.

MPP Sees Need For Native Police Service To Continue

Kenora-Rainy River MPP Sarah Campbell is pleased to hear Treaty Three Police Service is fighting to stay open.

Campbell says First Nations policing is a must-have in northwestern Ontario.

Campbell is hopeful the provincial and federal governments will also understand the importance of the police service and provide appropriate funding.

Treaty 3's new police services board has said it plans to meet more frequently with the expectation of coming to a resolution officers and their union can agree upon.

More Registration For Organ Donors Sought

Fort Frances is among communities in Ontario with a high number of organ and tissue donor registrations.

The Trillium Gift of Life Network says 42 per cent of residents have registered, compared with 23 per cent in all of Ontario.

Vice-president Versha Prakash would like the figure higher to help those on waiting lists for transplants.

Prakash says about 15-hundred people are currently on waiting lists.

To register as an organ and tissue donor, go to www.beadonor.ca.

Dragon Boat Club Meets Wednesday

The Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Club has moved to a new day.

Those interested in paddling the Dragon Boat can meet every Wednesday night at the Sorting Gap Marina at 5:30 p.m.

You are asked to call NCDS in advance if you want to attend.

Crazy Daze In The Falls

It's Crazy Daze in International Falls.

Businesses will be have special sales during the day

There's also several activities planned in the downtown area including music, food booths and games running until 5 p.m.

Four Vye For Emo Fair Queen Title

RRVAS photo

 Four contestants have entered to become this year's Rainy River Valley Agricultural Society’s fair queen.

Ashley Croswell of Emo, Hailey Wirtz of Fort Frances, Madison Allan of Devlin and Kaitlyn Cottam of Nestor Falls will compete in the August 15th event.

They'll take part in several events including a meet and greet next Wednesday evening at the Emo Sportsfield.

Wilde Set To Record New Album

An Atikokan blues artist is getting ready to record her next album.

Sunday Wilde will head to North Dakota at the end of August.

It comes almost a year after releasing her last album that has topped the charts worldwide.

The new album is expected to be released before the end of the year.

Driver Nabbed For Impaired

A Lac La Croix First Nation man will make a court appearance next month after being charged with impaired driving.

The 33-year-old was charged early Saturday morning after OPP stopped a vehicle they had observed being driven in a suspicious manner in the downtown area of Fort Frances.

Treaty 3 Police Service Stats Fall

The Treaty Three Police Service says it's seen a significant reduction in the number of calls for service in the past year.

Numbers released in its annual report show police dealt with 88-hundred calls in 2012, a 21 per cent drop from 2011.

The Wabaseemung First Nations near Kenora is identified as the busiest community with with over 21 hundred calls for service in 2012.

First Nations Given Funding To Participate in E.A.

Two First Nations communities have received funding to participate in the environmental assessment process of a mining project in northern Ontario.

Attawapiskat and Aroland will share $48-thousand from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for activities related to the proposed Eagle’s Nest Project.

NorOnt's proposed underground operation is located within the so-called Ring of Fire area.

Fire Activity Remains Low

The forest fire hazard in northwestern Ontario continues to remain low.

There are 35 active fires, 32 of which are being monitored by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

No fires are burning in the Rainy River district.

Consumers Warned About Insurance Firm

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has issued a warning to consumers about an insurance company attempting to solicit business over the phone.

The Commission says individuals claiming to be with Sental Insurance have been targeting mostly Royal Bank of Canada clients.

There are asking for personal information in an effort to sell identity theft protection insurance on behalf of the bank.

The Commission says the firm is not associated with the bank nor is licensed to do business in Ontario.

Boy Killed In Rainy Lake Incident

A fourteen–year–old boy is dead following an accident within Voyageurs National Park.

The Koochiching County Sheriff's Office says emergency personnel were called out to the area of Diamond Island on Rainy Lake last night at about 6 o'clock regarding the boy found floating in the lake and unresponsive.

Briggs Anderson of Fergus Falls, Minnesota was eventually transported by air to hospital in Duluth where he later died.

The boy was with a group touring the lake by houseboat.

Plenty Of Blood Needed

The Canadian Blood Services is hoping to attract a lot of new donors for upcoming clinics in Fort Frances to help meet achieve this year's target.

The clinics are set for August 19th and 20th at the Fort Frances High School.

Spokesperson Mike Choi says they're hoping to collect more than 9-thousand units of blood this summer for use at hospitals in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.

Choi says appointments can now be booked calling 1-888-2-donate or online through its website www.blood.ca.

Open House On Draft EA Report

Your opportunity to comment on a key document for a proposed gold mine near Barwick.

Rainy River Resources is holding an open house today to gather comment on a draft environmental assessment report.

Company vice-president Kyle Stanfield says close attention had been paid to such things as species at risk and water quality.

The open house at the Barwick Community Centre goes from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Legal Aid Gets Money

Legal Aid Clinics in Ontario are getting a funding boast from the province.

Thirty-million dollars will be doled out over the next three years for clinics.

In the first year, 70 per cent of the money will be used to expand the reach of Legal Aid Ontario's Family Law Service Centres, allowing more low-income families to access legal service.

OPG Told To Keep Power Plant Going

The Ontario Energy Board feels removing the Thunder Bay Generating Station would negatively impact the region's electricity system reliability.

The OEB has ordered the Ontario Power Generation to renew the plant's operating contract for the rest this year.

Wolf Hunt Quota Reduced

Minnesota wildlife officials are cutting the quota for the state's second wolf season by nearly half.

The target for hunting and trapping this fall and winter is 220, down 180 from last year.

The change comes after an annual Department of Natural Resources survey found the wolf population had dipped to an estimated 22-hundred animals.

Researcher Gets DNR Compromise

A Minnesota bear researcher has reached a compromise with the Department of Natural Resources to continue collaring bears for research purposes.

Lynn Rogers will be allowed to keep collars on ten bears, but can't hand-feed bears around his research center near Ely or webstream cameras places in dens.

A DNR spokesperson says the compromise allows the case to move to a state administrative law judge for a ruling.

College Seeks Candidate For Board Of Governors

Confederation College is looking to fill a vacant spot on its Board of Governors.

The three year term starts September 1.

Interested people can apply to Confederation College by August 31.

Bike Rodeo In Fort Frances

OPP will be testing the skills of young bicycle riders in Fort Frances.

A bike rodeo is planned for this Friday morning at the Fort Frances Library.

You're asked to call the Library to pre-register.

Adult Readers Wanted

Fort Frances Library is giving its adult readers an opportunity to read some of the top books in Canada.

The Forest of Reading program invites people to read one or more of 10 books selected by librarians across the province.

Librarian Janet Dell says they will then vote on their best.

The campaign goes until the end of October.

Youth Jobs Fund Revealed

Ontario's Liberal government will spend $195-million over the next two years on a youth jobs fund.

Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government was already working on the strategy when the New Democrats demanded a youth jobs fund in the last provincial budget.

Under the youth jobs program, employers will be eligible for up to $6,8000 to cover wages and training costs while the young workers could get up to one-thousand-dollars to cover tools  and transportation costs.

More Tests On Aboriginals Revealed

There's new information regarding tests conducted on aboriginal people decades ago.

Historical research shows government officials tested tuberculosis vaccines on impoverished aboriginal people during the 1930s.

The vaccine was successful and remains in use to this day.

Maureen Lux, a medical historian at Brock University, says it's another example of how officials used aboriginal people as test subjects and looked for cheaper solutions instead of fixing underlying problems.

Victim Avocates Want Voice In Court Case

Advocates for victims of residential school abuse say their voices are not being heard in a court case that's to decide what to do with documents from an investigation of the alleged abuse.

The federal government is asking asked the courts for help in deciding what to do with the documents which stem from a police investigation into abuse at a residential school in Fort Albany.

New Democrat MP Charlie Angus says advocates for the victims need to be represented in Ontario court, and the federal government should pay for them to be there.

Question Of The Week

Our poll doesn't suggest it, but there were strong crowds for the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship as it returned to the Sorting Gap Marina for the first in three years.

In response to a question on 931theborder.ca, 48 per cent of respondents had indicated they would not be taking in any of the activities.

This week we ask if the weather has deterred you ability to have a good summer.

New Board Sets First Public Meetings

The first ever open houses and public meetings for the newly formed International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board will be held later next month.

It will meet in International Falls August 20 before traveling to Kenora the next day.

The board was formed through the merger two existing groups to help the International Joint Commission identify issues about water for the entire boundary watershed,

Right To Union Child Care Providers Gets Court Approval

Union officials are applauding a federal judge's ruling which allows them to continue organizing home-based child care providers in Minnesota.

The judge ruled yesterday a pair of lawsuits seeking to halt the unionization effort were filed prematurely.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 5 spokeswoman Jennifer Munt says child care providers can now decide for themselves if they want to join a union.

Democrats who control the Legislature approved the union-organizing drive in May.

Charges For Fake 911 Calls

Pranksters who dial 911 without a real emergency to report face stiffer penalties under a Minnesota law hitting the books this week.

The law effective Thursday targets those who report a fictitious emergency to 911 dispatchers with the intent of luring authorities somewhere.

If the phony call results in a serious injury, it could mean felony charges.