On September 19, 2023, at approximately 7:00 pm, The Pas RCMP received a report from the hospital that there was a stabbing victim currently being treated.

Officers attended the hospital and spoke with the 40-year-old victim, who had been stabbed by a male known to her. She sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers located the 37-year-old male and he was arrested without incident.

He has been charged with Assault with a Weapon, Assault Causing Bodily Harm and Fail to Comply x2.

He was remanded into custody.

Culture Days starts today  and there will be no shortage of great events happening  in our community through out the next three weeks.

The Flin Flon Friendship Center will be hosting a tipi   making event at the Flin Flon Community Hall on Saturday October the 7^th and Events Co-ordinator Joe Ann Pelletier gives us the details.

" Our Culture Days fun activity will be a miniature tipi, we have one for the children made out of paper , so it's a little bit easier with the design on it so it is simple for them. We have one for the adults with canvass, we are going to be placing canvass over top and they will be able to use ceramic paint to design their own. The design reflects cultural beliefs, values, spiritual connection between man and nature."

You can sign up for the event by calling the Friendship Centre and the afternoon will also include entertainment, a teepee teaching, refreshments and a prayer from Elder Margaret Head.

We are now less than two weeks away from a provincial election and returning officer for Flin Flon, Barb Bragg tells us what you need to know before you head to the polls.

" We have the election coming up and we have the opportunity in Flin Flon to vote for advanced voting for 8 days at the local election office at 29 Main street, upstairs at the old CO-OP building. People can come in and they can come from anywhere in the province on advance voting days. On October the 3rd, election day and local voters can vote at the two polling stations including St Anne's Hall and the Flin Flon Community Hall.

The advance polls are September the 23^rd to the 30^th and make sure you bring your voting information card and two pieces of id, one with a picture. You can also get any information you need by going to electionsmb.ca.

For the last four years, 102.9 CFAR has been doing a local campaign called Snacks For Students where they collect proceeds to purchase snacks for elementary school kids in our area.

CFAR Manager Dianne Russell mentions there is a great need in our community. " So what we found out is supporting children in the community is something the community needs and what we need. They always try to keep kids fed and we decided that we would work with local business's and institutions to get food and we call it Snacks For Students. We get a portion of the money we do for advertising and we do tips on the air that talks about healty eating. We also go and buy snacks for all the elementry schools."

Snacks For Students will continue til the end of September and if you would like to make a donation by cash or cheque you can stop by CFAR at 316 Green Street.

Due to staffing shortages and to better disperse workload amongst officers, there will be a temporary amalgamation of the police  resources in Flin Flon, Cranberry and Snow Lake.

Tara Seel who is the Media Relations Officer for Manitoba discusses how the plan will work.  " What this means is that all three detachments will remain open, the infrastructure will stay in place and resources will be shared. All three communities will continue to  have police services and that is important to stress. Nobody is losing police here, they will continue to have police and calls for service will continue to be responded to on a priority basis like they are now. We really do need to recognize our current staffing models are going to lead to officer burn out, we can't continue this way and keep everyone including our officers safe. We have heard and understand the communities concern's when it comes to the change and makeup of ploicing services. We stress the detachments will remain open and there will be a continued police presence."

Seel wanted to stress that this amalgamation is  only temporary and if the plan needs to change they will find alternate measures. This change will come into effect October the 5^th.

If you require further information you can contact your local detachments.

Creighton Recreation and Flin Flon Recreation are holding a In Motion Colour Fun Run at the Phantom Lake Golf Course on Sunday September the 24^th .

Crista McIntire from the In Motion Committee tells us this is going to be a real fun way to get active. " The Color Fun Run is free and is open to anybody in the community, so individuals, families and seniors please come out. It is a fun event to get our communities out and get them active. It is a Color Fun Run which means the Bombers are going to be out throwing dye on people. As you go around the golf course which is about 3km, you are going to have some individuals throwing dye on you which will make it a little more fun."

Reigistration is at 12:30 at the clubhouse and the run will start at 1. You can pre register at creightonrecreation@sasktel.net or kandersen@flinflon.ca.

City Council held their regular meeting at City Hall last night.

There were a few resolutions passed including an agreement with Hudbay to lease the Staff House and Whitney House and the Chief Administrative Officer to authorize the agreement on behalf of the City.

It was also resolved that the City Of Flin Flon  approve Mayor Fontaine and Councillor’s Dallas, Lytwyn, Richardson, Slipp, and  CEO  Brown to attend the AMM Covention in Brandon November the 28^th to the 30^th. Councillor Eagle pointed out it is vital for Flin Flon to be represented at this Provincial event to find out what other municipalities are doing and to get ideas and information to bring back to Council and the City.

The City has also tendered the winter sand mix to Dunn Rite Tires and Service c/o Don Holmes Trucking for the winter of 2023 and 2024. The City has also approved Flin Flon Rec Director Cait Bailey and other members of the Flin Flon Rec Department to attend the Rural Rec Summit in Portage La Prairie.

On September 14, 2023, at approximately 10:00 pm, Norway House RCMP received a report of shots fired at a residence in Kinosao Sipi Cree Nation. Officers responded immediately. When they arrived on scene, a 31-year-old female victim was located. She had been struck by a gunshot while outside her home and received non-life threatening injuries. At the time of the shooting, the victim’s four children were also in the residence.

Responding officers learned that a group of suspects had run into the nearby bushes. Officers searched the area. While searching, they heard several more gunshots. A shotgun in a case with ammunition was located in the bush.

Police spoke with witnesses and cleared multiple houses in the vicinity of where the shots were heard. Another residence had been shot at. Nobody else had been physically injured.

In one of the residences searched, a 16-year-old male believed to be involved was taken into custody and another firearm believed to be involved was seized.

Investigation has determined that at the first residence, there were five people believed to have been involved in the shooting.

Police continue to investigate.

Culture Days will start this Friday and over the next three weeks, there will be lots of great activities in Flin Flon to help celebrate the event. The Wild Things Market will take place this Saturday and Rikki Odua tells us some of the vendors who will be on hand.

" This year's Wild Things Market is going to bigger and better than ever. We have over 40 tables of goods and products. Some of them include Penner Farms with their produce, baking and preserves. Angela Shocka with her Northern Coffee, Tina's Rings Things and Skinnies, Highland Honey, Rachel with her adorable hand made goodies. We will also have lots of handmade products like wood signs, bird houses, jewelry as well as food and drinks from OMG Concession."

Besides the market there will be live entertainment, kids activities including face painting and a pumpkin patch corner, a photographer which will be taking family photos and a pancake breakfast courtesy of the Lions Club.

It takes place this Saturday from 11 to 6 at Creekside Park.

The 12^th annual Grandmothers Walk will take place this Thursday to raise awareness for the prevention of child exploitation. Jeremiah Herman who is the Project Director for the Aboriginal Head Start program welcomes everyone to the walk on Thursday.

" We are going to start at the Neighbors Of The North Park next to Super K, right beside the David Collins monument. We will join elder Margaret Head who is going to have a pipe ceremony and smudging. Then we are going to be walking down Main street to Pioneer Square , it is confirmed that we will have a police escort. Once we get there we are going to have a couple different performers including the Youth Centre Drummers And Dancers as well as the Northern Lights Womens Singers."

Following the walk, everyone is invited to Pioneer Square for a ceremony featuring remarks and soup and bannock. There is another Grandmothers Walk being planned for Cranberry on September the 25^th.

Culture Days will start this Friday September the 22^nd and there will be no  shortage of events for you and your family to enjoy. The Arts Council’s Crystal Kolt is very excited about all the events that will hit our area.

" You know Culture Days is a much anticipated event that happens every year and there is no shortage of events that are going to be happening. It starts this Friday and will continue til October the 15th. Once again we have the Wild Things Market this Saturday, we also have the Wild Rice Cabaret where you can go on the Arts Council website to book yourself a table. It is free , just make sure you book yourself a table."

There will also be a big event at the Friendship Centre, Main Street Tours, Lectures with Les Oystrik and Dave Price ,  Human Books and lots of school events. Culture Days will also have a partnership with Calm Air so people will have a chance to win a flight any where Calm Air flies with different raffles.

For any information on this year’s Culture Days you can go to flinflonartscouncil.ca

The Norva Center is getting ready for their biggest fundraiser of the year, Square Footish which will kick off this Friday September the 22^nd just in time for Culture Days. Megan Dupas the gallery manager says this is open to artists both locally and abroad.

" Local artists and artists from out of town can submit work and then all the pieces will be displayed together in one big group exhibit. This is fantastick because some people have painted a canvas, some people have drawn on a canvas, or do like a mixed media piece. Some people submit a drawing or print that they have framed. So you get to see all kinds of different mediums and different styles all in one big exhibit which is really cool."

Tomorrow is the last day to register and you will be able to make silent bids on all pieces right through Culture Days. A few select pieces will be chosen for a live auction on October the 15^th from 2 to 4pm at the Norva Center.

Calinexx Mine announced a major discovery at their Pine Bay Project near Flin Flon earlier this week. It is a brand new discovery hole and they believe it has significant potential to grow the resource base at Pine Bay further then what they thought even a month ago.

CEO , Max Porterfield says this is a discovery they have been working on for a very long time. " If you want to talk about truly how long its taken, it has taken over a century to make this discovery. Going back to 1919, when exploration first started in this area. There has been a number of historic explorers that explored it with a very large target based on the geology of the area. The geology points to a large deposit that should be there, in terms of Callinex we started exploring the area in 2014. We had a big discovery hole there in 2016 that we couldn't replicate and based on the success recently of the discovery of  Rainbow, it allowed us to have a new intrepretation return back to this area of the property."

The company will continue to work on this discovery and there are four different zones they are working on and based on the mineralization they have hit they believe they are on the edge of a system.

AT THEIR MEETING EARLIER THIS WEEK THE TOWN OF CREIGHTON REPORTED RECEIVING A REQUEST FROM NORTHLANDS COLLEGE TO USE A

SITE FOR THEIR HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR COURSE. IT WAS AGREED TO REFFER THE REQUEST FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. A REQUEST

FROM CHRISTIAN HORIZONS FOR ASSISTANCE IN PURCHASING A STOVE IN THE SPORTEX LOUNGE AREA AND SHARING THE COSTS WAS ALSO

REFFERED FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. FLIN FLON MINOR HOCKEYS REQUEST FOR SPONSORSHIP FOR THIS SEASON WAS AGREED UPON IN

THE AMOUNT OF $600 DOLLARS WHICH IS THE SAME AS LAST YEAR. COUNCIL VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE FIRST AND SECOND READING OF

BY-LAW 5-2023 WHICH IS TO ESTABLISH RATES FOR THE SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTIONS OF WATER AND THE USE OF THE SEWER MAIN

COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL SYSTEM. IT WAS ALSO AGREED THAT MAYOR BRUCE FIDDLER SIGN THE PROPOSAL FROM ASSOCIATED

ENGINEERING FOR A DESIGN REPORT FOR THE SEWER COLLECTIONS SYSTEM REHABILITATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $32,400. COUNCIL ALSO

REPORTED THAT THE SECOND COLUMBARIUM IS ESTIMATED TO ARRIVE BY THE END OF THE MONTH AND PLANS ARE UNDERWAY WITH RAY

SHIRRAN FROM HUDBAY FOR USE OF A CRANE FOR PLACEMENT.
 

The Community Adult Learning Center is open for another year  and Literacy Instructor Heather Jobes lets us know about all the different programs that they offer for Flin Flon and the surrounding area.

" We offer adult literacy, language arts, math, employee ability skills, mature student, high school tutoring and help. We also offer computer sessions for a minimal fee. We have GED  prep and testing but GED testing will be discontinued in Canada in May. Testing will be available til May the 3rd of 2024. Manitoba is investigating options to determine the best replacement program for GED and regular updates will be provided as they are available."

They are open Monday to Friday 8:30 to 4:30 right til June. They are located in the lower level of the Main steet Plaza at the old CO-OP and you can call 204-687-3223 if you need more information.

Community Futures Greenstone held their AGM last night at City Council Chambers.

The evening began with a message from the chair, Cal Huntley who says they had a great year of achievements and partnerships and thanked their staff, board members and supporters.

Becky Cianflone also spoke and says they had a good year and talked about some of their challenges ahead.   " We had a really successful year coming out of the pandemic and we have really put a lot of  focus into understanding the need of our business community. The future looks at us filling those needs and how we can come up with unique ways to solve problems."

Kristina Birch also spoke over zoom and was able to share some details from a business needs survey she conducted with business people in Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach, Cranberry, Snow Lake, The Pas and Thompson. 73 % of business’s indicated that their sales are stable and have increased. Their biggest challenge was  lack of customers.

A complete report from last night’s meeting can be found at cfmanitoba.ca

One of the highlights of the fall season in Flin Flon  is the return of Culture Days and one of the popular events is the Wild Things Market that will take place at Creekside Park on Saturday September the 23^rd.

Organizer Ricki Odua says things are starting to come together.

" The Wild Things Market is at Creekside Park and it is a very nice time of the year. We have lots of events happening for the kids including a pumpkin patch , a photographer who will come and do pictures for you. We have entertainment through out the day and we have people from Peechy Pottery, home made quilts and jewellery, to home business's like Sunset Gourmet and Scentsy."

They are looking for more vendors to join them including home business’s, food vendors, any body who makes things or any one who would like to sell tickets for their particular event. You can call or text Rikki at 204-271-3605 if interested.

If you are interested in local community theatre, the Ham Sandwich group will be holding auditions for Jack and the Giant Beanstock tonight at the Flin Flon Community Hall starting at 7.

Director Leslie Fernandez says they are looking for roles in all age groups.

" Ham Sandwich is really excited when we have kids involved, so this show is called Jack And The Giant Beanstock. There are roles for both adults and children, so if you have ever been interested in theatre please come out to audition. Auditions are tonight at the Flin Flon Community Hall.  The story is your classic Jack And The Beanstock with a few twists and a few different characters. It will be lots of fun and great for kids."

The show will be performed at the Flin Flon Community Hall on November the 24^th and 25th and will also need people to help out back stage and with other roles. So if you are interested you can show up at the Flin Flon Community Hall tonight.

Callinex Mine has discovered 4 Copper,  Gold, Zinc and Silver  VMS Lenses at the Pine Bay Project.

Callinex made the announcement yesterday about the discovery at the Pine Bay project near Flin Flon.  The discovery hole , DSC 111 intersected four different  separate volcanogenic massive sulphide  lenses with significant base and precious metal values within a total cord width of 67.7 m.

The Descendent was intersected at a down-hole depth of 1,318m and remains open in all directions. Many of the largest deposits within the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt have been discovered at depth, such as the 777 Mine that was discovered at a down-hole depth of 1,278m, the Lalor Mine that was discovered at a down-hole depth of 781m and the Company’s Rainbow deposit which was discovered 933m down-hole.

The abundance of zinc, gold and silver indicates that the hole may have intersected the edge of the VMS system similar to what occurs at the Rainbow deposit.

At the Descendent discovery, a BPEM survey was recently completed and results are being interpreted by Callinex’s technical team. An aggressive fully funded step-out drilling campaign will immediately be carried out at the Descendent discovery, a BPEM survey was recently completed and results are being interpreted by Callinex’s technical team.

On September 6, 2023, as a result of an ongoing investigation into the possession of controlled substances and illegal firearms in the community, Norway House RCMP, with assistance from the RCMP Emergency Response Unit (ERT) and RCMP Police Dog Services (PDS), executed a search warrant at a residence in the community.
 
The search of the home led to the seizure of nine firearms that were illegally owned and obtained, over 130 grams of a substance believed to be crack cocaine, machetes, a sword, bear mace, and ammunition.

Larson Cromarty, 26, and a 17-year-old male youth were located inside the residence and were arrested without incident. They are remanded into custody on charges including Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime and Possession of Weapon for Dangerous Purpose (x8).

Virgil Gamblin, 35, and Jeffrey Cromarty, 24, were arrested by Winnipeg Police Service in Winnipeg on September 8, 2023, and face numerous drug and weapons-related offences in relation to this matter.

Norway House RCMP continue to investigate.

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Manitoba PC Leader Heather Stefanson kicked off her Northern Tour on Friday in Flin Flon with her big announcement regarding a campaign announcement of 10 million dollars towards a new pool.

Stefanson also visited  the Pas and said she and her party are committed to healing  health care in The Pas and the North.

They have budgeted $39 million for the Pas Primary Health Care Clinic and planning and design have already begun with construction to start in 2024-25. The redevelopment clinic will provide much needed infrastructure to deliver quality accessible care to residents in the community and surrounding area.

Stefanson also visited with many other organizations and the PC government was able to provide funding to the Sam Waller Museum for $25,000.00 with the Pas Immigrint Services, $250,225 for the Roy H Johnston Arena and $300,000 towards  the Winton Pool.

Callinex Mines held a special ceremony at Pioneer Square in Flin Flon this past Saturday. Mike Muzlowski was honored with a special bust that is on display to honor his illustrious career in the mining industry that spanned  over 5 decades.

Max Porterfield who is the President and C.E.O of Callinex says they really wanted to honor this man’s legacy.  " It is a beautiful day here today and the turn out has been amazing. We wanted to honor Mike for his contribution to the city and the communities that surround Flin Flon. we also wanted to honor Mike for his legacy and all the mines he has discovered through out his career and continues to do with us."

Muzlowski was involved in the discovery of 16 mines and was instrumental in the development of the Flin Flon mining disctrict through his previous roles with Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting, Granges Exploration, Callinan Mines and Callinex. He was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall Of Fame in 2011.

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson was in Flin Flon on Friday to officially kick off her campaign tour and made a major announcement regarding a new swimming pool for the city.

Stefanson says she and her PC  party know how much the community is looking forward to getting the new pool built.  "  Well I heard loud and clear the last time I was in Flin Flon that they really want to make sure the pool gets built here, so we are making a campaign announcement today of ten million dollars towards that. I think it is going to be wonderful for the community. I can also say that I was out at Callinex today meeting with them and  there is lots of exciting things happening in this community and I am very excited for the future for Flin Flon."

Stefanson also stopped in the Pas and the  Garden Hill and ST Theresa Point First Nations  meeting with different people in those communities,  and says starting their tour in Northern Manitoba shows how much they care about people in this part of the province.

A big  announcement was made earlier today that should have an impact on Flin Flon’s downtown. Windam Hotels have bought the Flin Flon Hotel property and will be opening up a brand new Ramada Hotel slated for 2025.

Flin Flon Mayor  George Fontaine was on hand for the announcement at Pioneer Square today and couldn’t be happier about the future of this community.

"  It's just the beginning, we got a great start. we have big plans that we want to continue with and this is a heck of a big boost for the downtown area. This is a chance to revitalize and let the community know we arn't going any where. This town is not going to shrink and it is going to grow. There is a lot more industry in the back ground that we have been hearing about and we are being informed about. There are a lot of positive signs."

The new hotel will feature between 80 and 100 rooms, a meeting room, conference room and a small restaurant and a brand new parking lot.  The plan is to use the Flin Flon Hotel as a shell and expand with a new building around it.