Local News

Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue crews have already started to deal with brush fires. Fire crews were called to a pair of blazes that broke out along the Thunder Bay Expressway near Balsam Street Wednesday. The first happened just before 2 p.m.

Trees don’t just help a city look nice. Thunder Bay’s urban forest, which includes an estimated 15,000 trees, reduces runoff into the sewers, helps air quality and can even cut heating and cooling costs. The city thinks it gets about $1.

Cuts, freezes and omissions in the provincial budget have local social services and First Nations organizations nervous.

Heather Coulson says if a stroke awareness aimed at Aboriginal youth saves even one life, then it was well worth the effort.

Four short lines in the Ontario budget about the Ring of Fire isn’t enough for mining companies to hang their hats on, says the head of the Ontario Prospector’s Association.

The Northwest Local Health Integration Network has laid out a blueprint for its 10-year plan to reduce health-care costs. Officials with the Northwest LHIN announced the plan during a teleconference Wednesday.

A hockey tournament in Sioux Lookout had more action off the ice than on. The event was held between March 12 and March 18. Officials with the OPP say officers responded to nearly 300 calls during those dates. Eight of those 300 calls were assaults.

A routine traffic stop on the Trans-Canada highway has resulted in a drug bust. OPP officers from the Marathon detachment pulled over a vehicle Tuesday on Highway 17 in Pic Township.

A locally-based group has purchased two of the largest privately-held parcels of land on the Bowman Island in Lake Superior. The Thunder Bay Field Naturalist announced its purchase in a news release issued to media Wednesday morning.

Some local officials were surprised the Ring of Fire was largely absent from Tuesday’s provincial budget.