Mauro Backs Pupetello For Leader

Bill Mauro knows who he wants to see as the province's next premier. The Thunder Bay MPP is endorsing Sandra Pupetello to replace Dalton McGuinty as liberal leader. Mauro believes she is best suited to lead the province and understands the needs of the north.

Project Sold Off

An exploration project, in its infancy stages in the Rainy River district, is being sold off. B-C based Duncastle Gold has signed a letter of understanding to acquire the Mineral Mountain Resources Pipestone project in a cash and shares deal. It's located about 60 kilometres north of Fort Frances.

Chamber Of Commerce New Board Members

Thunder Bay's Chamber of Commerce has some new faces on it's 2013 board of directors. Eat Local: Pizza & Pastry owner Jim Stadey, as well as Lakehead University's Bahram Dadgostar will sit on the board, followed by Bombardier's Claude Gingras, and Uli Walther of GKR Fasteners.

Christmas Cheer Ready To Fundraise

The Christmas Cheer Fund is back for another year.  Past Chair person Jolene Kemp says one of this year's goal is to have a positive outcome.  Christmas Cheer's Chair person will announce the Campaign's new goal at the end of November.

Credit Counselling On The Rise

Thunder Bay's Counselling Centre is seeing a jump in the number of people coming to them for help with their finances. Manager Sheri Fata says they've seen a 28 percent increase in the number of their clients and most of the time its after they've already racked up a debt. Fata says they hope people will be smart when it comes to their holiday spending. Fata made the comments during a celebration of Credit Education Week and wants to remind the public that their services are free and they're here to help.

Toys For Tots Back Again

Toys for Tots is back for another holiday season of fundraising. Organizer Bob Vander Ploeg says they're confident in their fundraising efforts. The firefighters have a booth set up at the Intercity Shopping Centre to take your donations. Money raised goes towards buying toys and gifts that Christmas Cheer gives to those in need.

Education Centre Open On Cumberland

There's a new opportunity for First Nation residents to upgrade their skills and training.  The Matawa First Nations set up an education centre at the Everest College building on Cumberland Street.  Spokesperson Carolyn Zadnik says they'll be helping residents upgrade their highschool education and beyond.  Over 100 students are expected to take part in the program.

Auto-Pedestrian Collision Near City Hall

Thunder Bay Police are investigating a collision between a car and a pedestrian. It happened just after 10:30 this morning at the intersection of Archibald and Donald Street. 2 city buses were indirectly involved and are parked at the scene while police investigate further. No other information is being released at this time.

Ground Search Begins For Missing Woman

Twenty city police officers are on foot patrolling the area surrounding the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Police are conducting the ground search for 42 year old Pauline Kireto who was last seen on October 15th. Efforts by her family and police to locate her have been unsuccessful. Kireto is described as 5-foot-1 with a medium build and short dark hair. She does require medication and has been without them since the time of her disapearance. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Pauline Kireto is asked to call city police or crimestoppers.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett In T.Bay

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett is holding a roundtable event at Lakehead University tonight.  The Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Critic will be speaking with Confederation College and LU students about aboriginal issues.  The event gets underway at 4:45 tonight.

NAN Talks Funding Cuts

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation is taking action against the Federal Government's funding cuts to First Nation organizations.  A series of funding cuts have been made and will be fully implemented by 2014.  NAN Grand Chief Harvey Yesno says if they have less money to work with they won't be able to hold as many conferences.  Yesno brought up the federal funding issue at the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Special Chiefs Assembly currently running at the DaVinci.

Noront Stays The Course

Noront Resources remains confident production of its Ring of Fire mining project in northern Ontario will begin on time. President Wes Hanson says even though Cliffs Natural Resources has delayed the start up date for it's own mining project by a year, Noront still has its sights set on starting production at the Eagle's Nest site in 2016 or 2017. Hanson says however that still hinges on the search for cash. While not mentioning a possible financial partner, Hanson says they're optimistic they can assemble a package which will meet their start up target.