Kenora

-- UPDATE --

A single lane of Highway 17 has been reopened.

-- Original Story --

Highway 17 is closed in both directions at Highway 71 due to a collision. 

Traffic control is in place and there is no word on injuries or when the highway will reopen. 

A returning face is hoping to get re-elected in Kenora.

City councillor Sharon Smith has confirmed she has filed her nomination forms to once again run and hopefully be re-elected as a councillor in this fall’s municipal election.

Smith was first elected as a city councillor in 2010 and was re-elected in both the 2014 and 2018 elections by the Kenora community. The long-time councillor and Keewatin resident is a former Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry staff member.

Residents along Sedesky Road and Wildwood Drive are advised of a road closure impacting their area today.

The City of Kenora says traffic will be reduced to one lane on Sedesky Road today as crews work to complete culvert maintenance work, and traffic control will be in place until the end of the day.

The city issued an evacuation order for Sedesky Road in early June after severe flooding in the area washed out Sedesky Road and Wildwood Drive, with a reported 10” of water on the roadway. Sedesky Road is located off of Gould Road, near Railway Street.

It was side-by-side racing action yesterday at Lake of the Woods Speedway.

Feature race winners included Alex Mira for a second week in a row in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks. Jake Mazur from Dryden stole the chequered flag from Brodie McGowan in a final straight stretch pass in the 4-cylinders, and after years of trying, Edward Bell won his first-ever feature race in the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds.

“Tried to get it as close to perfect as I could and it seemed to be running really good tonight. It was good to win,” said Bell, after his victory.

The Rotary Club of Kenora and Special Olympic fundraising Lucky Duck Race was held on Sunday, August 14, 2022.

The event was a sell-out with all money going to support Special Olympics and Rotary projects in Kenora.

Due to the high water level this year, there was not a safe way to set up the duck race at McLeod Park. The top 20 ducks were randomly selected out of the back of a pick-up truck by Special Olympic athletes.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

Thirteen programs in the region will be receiving over $200,000 after the Kenora District Services Board distributed funding to help nearly 1,000 children in the area.

Leadership with the KDSB says they believe that all children need and deserve equal access to organized sports, recreation, community activities and food security, especially in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the region.

This week's REMR Roofing Person of the Week is Carl Fors!

Carl was nominated by Aimee Spencer, who wrote in part:

It was side-by-side racing action Sunday afternoon at Lake of the woods Speedway. Feature race winners included Alex Mira for a second week in a row in the WISSOTA Pure Stocks. 

Jake Mazur from Dryden stole the chequered flag from Brodie McGowan in a final straight stretch pass in the 4-cylinders, and after years of trying, Edward Bell won his first-ever feature race in the Q104 WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds. 

Racing returns to Lake of the Woods Speedway Sunday, August 28, 2022, for the track championships. Fans can see a two day racing program next weekend in Emo.

The boil water advisory that was issued for the northern half of Kenora on Tuesday, August 9 has been rescinded.

The city issued a boil water advisory for all residences north of the Canadian Pacific Railway Line on Tuesday after a water main was struck on private property.

Canadian Blood Services is in talks with companies that pay donors for plasma as it faces a decrease in collections.

The blood-collection agency issued a statement on Friday saying it is in "ongoing discussion with governments and the commercial plasma industry" on how to more than double domestic plasma collection to 50 per cent of supply.

Canadian Blood Services has previously cautioned that letting companies trade cash for plasma — a practice banned in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec — could funnel donors away from voluntary giving.