Falls Mayor Steps Down

The Mayor of International Falls is stepping down.

It's so Shawn Mason can accept a position with the city as its new director of economic and community development.

Mason feels its a good move.

She's expected to start her new job next week.

She's been the mayor for the past 7 1/2 years and was not planning to seek another term this fall.

Councillor Tim McBride takes over as Mayor until this November's elections.

Assisted Living Facility Survey Results Released

CFOB file photo

A survey has found an overwhelming number of residents would stay longer in the Rainy River district if they had access to an assisted living facility.

It was conducted by the Assisted Living Action Group.

Chair Erma Armit says they'll use the findings towards trying to get a facility constructed.

Armit says many people expressed concern in the survey about the need for appropriate housing for the district's seniors.

Privacy Breach Reported

More information is expected today about a major breach of voter privacy in Ontario.

Sources say personal information on voters in more than two dozen ridings went missing from the office of the province's chief electoral officer.

Political party leaders have been notified and the provincial police are investigating.

New Police Contract

Members of the International Falls Police Department have a new contract.

It includes a wage increase of 5 per cent over the next three years and is retroactive to January of this year.

New Rental Inspections In Falls

Some landlords in International Falls are not happy with city plans to begin inspections of rental properties.

The city says it's being done to ensure the health and safety of tenants.

Lawyer Dan Griffith presented a petition to council last night says the new law isn't necessary.

The inspections will begin in 2014 with property owners charged 20-dollars for each unit they own.


Councillor Cynthia Jacksa says a task force will be set up with landlords to help them transition into the new rules.

Locum House Fundraising At Halfway Mark

The fundraising campaign to build a new home for locum physicians who travel to Rainy River is at the halfway mark.

Committee member Jack Elliott says they hope to add to the $155-thousand raised so far with a couple of fundraising events taking place, including a Pennies From Heaven initiative.

There is also a fundraising supper planned during this weekend's Railroad Daze.

Chiefs Gather Today

The chiefs of Canada's First Nations, including several from northwestern Ontario, are gathering in Toronto today for a national strategy session which will see them elect a national chief later in the week.

Former Grand Chief of Treaty Three Diane Kelly among the candidates.

The Assembly of First Nations' annual general meeting will also see the chiefs hammer out a policy agenda for the coming months.

Theft From Wedding

A newly-wed couple in Fort Frances is hoping to get some special memories from their wedding back.

Maryan Fracziewicz says wedding gift cards, along with a safe containing cash from bar sales, were taken sometime after their reception Saturday at the Memorial Sports Centre.

Fracziewicz isn't expecting any money contained within cards to be recovered, but because of their sentimental value to the cards, given by friends and family, he's they can be found at least.

Anyone who finds the cards can return them to our station or OPP.

Sturgeon Being Followed On Rainy Lake

Sturgeon in Rainy Lake and the Namakan River are continuing to get a lot of attention from researchers.

They're tracking the movements of fish implanted with transmitters.

Lakehead University associate professor Brian McLaren says they've already gained some interesting data about spawning habits.

The study has been funded for another two years.

Active Fire Weekend

MNR photo

Rain likely to give a hand to easing the forest fire situation in northwestern Ontario.

Over sixty fires are now considered active by the Ministry of Natural Resources, including three in the Rainy River district.

Two are located within Quetico Provincial Park and another near Fredrickson Lake, south of Mine Centre.

Most of the current fires have been lightning caused.

Overdue Boaters Make Way To Safety

Some damage to their boat, but a happy ending to a journey for three Fort Frances men forced to spend a night on an island on Rainy Lake last week.

OPP were called Thursday morning after family members reported the men overdue from an excursion the night before to a restaurant on the U.S. side of the border.

Police say when the men were returning, their boat struck a reef, forcing them to an island.

The men flagged down a vessel the next morning who returned them to the mainland where they called home to report they were safe.

Cars Destroyed in Transport Fire

Six cars being trailered by a transport have been destroyed by fire.

OPP says the incident happened Friday night on the Trans Canada Highway west of Dryden.

The highway was closed for about two hours.

The cause of the fire was not identified.

Rainy River College Woes Canadians

A relationship between Universities of Minnesota and Manitoba is helping to draw some Canadians to Rainy River Community College.

Recruiter Barb Fisher says being able to use the International Falls college as a stepping stone has been a strong selling point to Canadian students.

Fisher says keeping tuition rates for Ontario students the same as those paid by Minnesotans has also helped attract prospective students.

About 10 per cent of the College's enrolment each year currently comes from Canada

More Help To Combat Bullying Needed

Education advocates say new anti-bullying legislation coming to Ontario schools in September is a step in the right direction.

But Annie Kidder, with the group People for Education, says the only way to help stop bullying is by helping both the bullies and their victims.

Kidder says bullying is usually caused by mental and psychological issues.

Bass Tournament Needs Volunteers

CFOB file photo

Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship will be looking tonight for volunteers for next week's tournament.

It's holding a sign-up event at Boston Pizza between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Over 100 volunteers are needed.

More Fires Reported

The forest fire activity in northwestern Ontario continues to heat up.

Fifteen new fire were reported yesterday, bringing to 35 the number of active blazes in the region.

None are in the Rainy River district.

The Ministry of Natural Resources says many of the new blazes are the direct result of lightning-strikes.

Area Guide Charged

A fishing guide from the Rainy River district has been fined four-thousand dollars for a variety of offences.

Ron Lemmon of Bergland was charged following a two-year investigation by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Court was told that during one fishing trip, he encouraged anglers to take more than their legal limit and then sold them off.

In another incident, he sold both walleye caught by someone else and venison to another person.

NOMA Worries Over Doctor Fees Dispute

The Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association is wading into the contract dispute between the province and its doctors.

In a letter to Health Minister Deb Matthews, NOMA president Ron Nelson worries some of the changes in fees will impact northern Ontario communities' ability to recruit and retain doctors.

He's asking Mathews to ensure the cuts to fees don't impact disproportionately northern doctors with specialized services working in both hospitals and clinics.

First Nations Leadership Debate

Candidates seeking become the top Native Chief in Canada debated the issues last night.

Diane Kelly, a former Grand Chief of Treaty Three, believes her experience can help be of great assistance to the Assembly of First Nations in dealing with senior levels of governments.

She one of seven candidates up for the position.

More than 600 First Nations chiefs will select a Grand Chief  at the Assembly's conference next week.

Walk For Justice

A walk across the country is hoping to see important change.

Leo Baskatawang and others are walking across Canada to see the government make changes to the Indian Act.

Baskatawang says they've been put on the back burner for far too long.

The group hopes to be in Ottawa by September 3.