Local News

The Lakehead District School Board approved a $132.8 million budget that focuses on full-day kindergarten, information technology and mental health. The 2013-2014 budget is up slightly from last year’s $131.4 million.

Thousands of hens at a local farm are flying the coop next year. Vanderwees Farms and its 30,000 hens have been putting eggs in local grocery stores, restaurants and on breakfast tables for years.

Amy Rusak may use a scooter to get around, but that won’t stop her from rappelling down the side of 14-storey Maplecrest Towers in August. “I’m doing it to prove to everybody that I can do it. It’s also for a great cause.

A local man has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Michael Todd Payne, 46, was charged in January with possession and distribution of child pornography.

A back portion of the Empire Hotel has collapsed, and now the city is looking at demolishing the old Simpson Street building. The entire back wall as well as some of the inside of the abandoned hotel collapsed sometime Tuesday night.

The body of drowning victim Larry Larivee has been recovered from the MacKenzie River. OPP officials says they located the 26-year-old’s remains on Tuesday at about 6:15 p.m.

The Ontario Civilian Police Commission has dismissed an appeal by a city police officer who was found guilty of discreditable conduct last year.

Lily Taimi Reivonen attributes 100 years of healthy living to eating fresh vegetables and growing up on a farm.

More than half of small businesses in the city plan to hire more staff in the next year.

Thunder Bay continues to be a sellers market for homeowners, according to the spring outlook by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. CMHC market analyst Warren Philp says local home prices will rise 6.