The city has the rare honour of not only having one of the only, but one of the oldest municipal police forces in B.C. with the Nelson Police Department. The NPD has been evident on the city’s streets since its inception in 1897 but, even with over 120 years in operation, the 20-plus contingent is […]

On Jan. 19,  at approximately 6:30 a.m., Osoyoos Fire Rescue and Osoyoos RCMP supported by other first responders attended to a mobile home fire at the Avalon Mobile Home Park on Main Street in Osoyoos, according to Penticton/South Okanagan/Similkameen RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Jason Bayda  . He said that, although numerous fire crews responded quickly, the […]

A Provincial snow measuring station near Nelson measured its lowest total on record as the region and the province struggles with an extremely low snowpack, according to the latest Snow Survey. Published by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship, the Snow Survey and Water Supply Bulletin noted the snowpack at the snow station […]

The long range forecast for Nelson’s skies is cloudy with a chance of snow, and smoke. Smoke in the sky above the city is from phase one of a controlled burn operation — pile burning — above Mountain Station, a process that began Jan. 12. The controlled burns will reduce the accumulation of combustible materials […]

Contrary to gravity and the laws of plumbing, water and wastewater will be going up this year. Three City utilities will be going up this year — City council decided officially at its Jan. 9 regular meeting — with water and wastewater rates, as well as resource recovery rates, increasing in the utility budget after […]

The man convicted in the killing of an off-duty Constable from the Abbotsford Police Department in downtown Nelson has been sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter. Crown prosecutors confirmed that Alex Willness was sentenced in BC Supreme Court on Thursday after he was found guilty of manslaughter charges in 2023. With credit for […]

As the temperature continues to drop in the West Kootenay region the electrical rates are rising from one of the area’s largest energy providers. FortisBC will be tacking a 6.74 per cent general rate increase — as approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission — as of Jan. 1 on to all customer bills, a rate […]

The region is expected to heat up with almost $700,000 in grants from the Province for several volunteer fire departments. Through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) the volunteer fire departments — as well as Nelson’s composite professional department — will receive the money to enhance their capabilities by funding new training and equipment. “These […]

The real estate market in the Kootenay-Boundary region continued to drop at the end of 2023, according to the Association of Interior Realtors. In the Kootenay and Boundary region, unit sales saw a 13.6 per cent decrease (November 2023) compared to sales activity in November 2022 with 171 sales recorded, down from 203 units sold […]

The Kootenay region’s economy is heading into unenviable territory. Only three other economic regions in the country — outside of the Maritimes and the territories — had a higher unemployment rate than the Kootenay region in December, 2023, which now sports a 7.1 per cent rate (December, 2023, Statistics Canada). One year ago the region […]