Prepare for a sonic tempest to sweep through Rossland, BC, as Blizzard Music Festival returns to the alpine city. The quintessential Canadian music extravaganza will span four days, from Jan. 25 to 28, 2024, and align with the Rossland Winter Carnival, promising a thrilling lineup of diverse artists. The annual winter music throwdown has carved […]

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 […]

Dear editor, Pro-oil politicians like Premiers Danielle Smith and Scott Moe are lying to Canadians about renewable energy and I’m sick of it. The risk of losing power during a brutal cold snap like the one Alberta just had is terrifying. The province’s power grid struggled because extreme temperatures took out multiple gas generators, not […]

This past Fall the Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society (CKISS) concluded another year of the Communities Protect Freshwater Together: Riparian Restoration in the Kootenay Region Eco Action Project, the Society is thrilled to showcase the remarkable accomplishments and community-driven efforts that have shaped the second year of this three-year initiative. Focused on engaging and inspiring […]

Castlegar RCMP are singing the praises of Castlegar Search and Rescue (SAR) after a dramatic save on Sunday. “Just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 14, the Castlegar RCMP received a report that SOS emergency beacon had been activated by a device owner,” said Castlegar RCMP NCO/ic Sgt. Monty Taylor. “The emergency beacon company had contacted […]

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 […]