Target could be coming to Thunder Bay

Will Thunder Bay soon be the home of Target? That's too early say company officials. The US retailer is purchasing over 200 Zellers stores for 1.83 billion dollars. Spokesperson Amy Riley says the company is really excited about coming to Canada and will now be contacting land owners.  Riley says once that process is complete, the company will begin evaluating possible locations with the goal of opening as many as 150 locations by 2013.

Fatal fire claims one man's life

One man is dead after an apartment fire late last night.  Just before midnight Thunder Bay Fire and rescue responded to the blaze in apartment 113 of 120 South Cumberland street.  Crews quickly dealt with the inferno and discovered the body of the man in the apartment.  Officials believe careless smoking is the cause of the fire and are investigating.

Dryden only regional stop for health panel

A provincial panel examining rural and northern health care is due to stop in Dryden next month. That's the only stop in the region for the panel according to co-chair Rick Johnson. They want to get feedback on a report on the issue.   Johnson says all the information relating to the process can be found online

Hernandez still in custody

An interesting twist to a city court case involving Christian Hernandez. He's the 25 year old charged with impaired driving causing death after 45 year old Richard Carmichael was killed in a traffic accident just days before Christmas.   The prosecution wants Hernandez's lawyer Chris Watkins off the case because of a possible conflict of interest.   Watkins says until that's settled Hernandez's bail hearing can't go ahead.  Madam Justice Pelletier will hear the case at 10 Thursday morning.

NOMA steps up lobbying efforts

Northwestern Ontario's municipal leaders are preparing to step up lobbying efforts in 2011. Dennis Brown is the acting President of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association and he anticipates that they'll get more attention with a provincial election on the way. Brown says NOMA met with several Provincial cabinet ministers last year and that resulted in some positive policy changes for Northwestern Ontario.

Health Care forum scheduled for Dryden

The Provincial Government wants to hear from Northerners about the region's health care system.  A series of roundtable discussions will be held throughout the North, but the closest will be in Dryden.  You can also put your two cents in by logging onto http://www.ontario.ca/ruralnorthernhealth .

New job website launched

Your one stop shop for job information is now online.  The North Superior Workforce Planning Board has launched a labour market information portal.  Project Coordinator Steven Bill says the site offers a job bank and more.  The site can be found at http://www.nwolabourmarketinfo.ca/

City well represented at winter games

6 athletes from Thunder Bay will be heading to Halifax next month for the Canada Winter Games.  The group includes 4 skiers, Jimmy Gunka, Christopher Hamilton and Michael Somppi on the men's team with Erin Tribe competing for the women.  There are also two hockey players, Amanda Makela and Brittany Zubeck.    They were introduced at a flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

Duguid visits Abitibi

Energy Minister Brad Duguid is in Thunder Bay today to tour the Abitibi Bowater paper mill.  Duguid says he's looking forward to seeing his government's Industrial Conservation Initiative in action. Duguid says Abitibi Bowater has been able to save money on their hydro bills by using electricity during off peak hours. The Minister feels the initiatives found in the government's long term energy plan will help the North.

Hobb's says streetcar deal could be saved

Mayor Keith Hobbs says there's hope for Thunder Bay's Bombardier plant. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has said he wants to tear up a streetcar deal with the company. Ford favours subway cars instead. Hobbs says he has heard through sources the plan could be modified to include a mix of streetcars and subway vehicles.  Hobbs adds he still hopes to meet with Ford next month.

Arson likely the cause of south side blaze

Fire investigators are saying vandals may be responsible for a Tuesday morning fire on North Syndicate Avenue. Terry Hanchar says it looks like the blaze at the Christian Fellowship Centre could have been deliberately set based on one account.  He says a neighbour says  he has seen kids hanging around there in the past.   A big storage facility was heavily damaged in the blaze

Patient Transfer's studied

Superior North Emergency Medical Services is welcoming an Ontario Ombudsman study. The probe will look at non-emergency patient transfers and whether they need to be regulated. Gale says he hopes in the future another patient issue is addressed. The EMS head wants the Ombudsman to look into the high demand on the EMS for patient transfers. The Ombudsman launched the investigation after receiving 30 complaints about private companies that transfer non-critical patients.

Housing starts continue to rise

Thunder Bay's housing market continues to break records.  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Analyst Warren Philp says 2010 was a good year.  In 2010 the city saw 204 new housing starts, which breaks the record first set in 1994.  In December, 13 single detached starts were reported.

Facebook video brawl solved

The parents of the brawling teen girls involved in a facebook video will be in charge of disciplining their kids.  Thunder Bay Police Spokesperson Chris Adams says they've wrapped up the investigation into the Sunday night fight behind Silver City.   Adams says it's not unusual for police to let the parents deal with the situation.

Red Nose goal is New Year's Eve

Operation Red Nose hopes to extend it's operations for the next holiday season. Chair Ken Boshcoff  wants the program to run on New Year's Eve. However, he says the problem is recruiting volunteers who are willing to drive home drunk party goers. Boshcoff says it would take over 100 volunteers to work on that evening, which is the number of helpers they had for the whole program this year. Organizers hope to attract volunteers from community groups

Bruce Montague released from jail

Former Dryden Gunsmith Bruce Montague is out of jail and has returned home.  Montague is embroiled in a fight over the Federal long gun registry.  His wife, Donna says they'll be facing a civil forefeiture trial over the May long weekend.  Bruce was released from jail this afternoon after spending four months in the district facility in Thunder Bay.

Hyer holding prebudget meetings

The upcoming Federal Budget will be the main topic for Bruce Hyer as he tours his riding. The Thunder Bay Superior North MP will be making stops in a number of communities and says he looks forward to hearing from residents.  Hyer will be hosting a meeting in Thunder Bay Thursday night at the Waverly Library starting at 7 o'clock.

Fire and Rescue deal suspicious

A Suspicious Fire kept Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue busy this morning.  Platoon Chief Scott Brown says the blaze broke out just after 2 o'clock at the Thunder Bay Christian Fellowship on Syndicate. The fire was in an outdoor storage building. Brown says it was a stubborn fire. Officials say the cause is suspicious and are investigating.

Facebook video leads to assault investigation

Thunder Bay Police are investigating a possible assault after a video of the incident was posted to Facebook. The video, which has now been removed from the site, shows one girl getting beaten by a number of other girls behind Silver City. The video appeared on Facebook yesterday morning.

2011 and beyond: A Strat Plan

The City of Thunder Bay is looking to the future.  Councillors listened to a report on the strategic planning process at a meeting Monday night.  The City is currently reviewing issues for the Strategic Plan and later in the month goals will be set. Spokesperson Karen Lewis says they hope to have a citizen survey out before the Strat Plan is complete. Many councillors want the survey to be done sooner rather than later.  Lewis says they could look at moving the survey up to late February or March rather than May. Public feedback on the draft plan will be held in the Spring.