Below is a collection of some of the most clicked-on stories on KenoraOnline and DrydenNow in the month of July 2021.

Kenora walks in honour of those lost at Residential Schools and the survivors

Over a hundred people gathered in Kenora to pay their respects and honour the lives lost at Residential Schools and the survivors. The group started the morning under Kenora's Whitecap Pavilion and walked to the site of the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School on Airport Road... Read More.

Mastromatteo headed to Tokyo

Gabe Mastromatteo. Photo courtesy of Swimming Canada.

This is the moment Gabe Mastromatteo and Northwestern Ontario have waited for since he made the Canadian Olympic swim team last month. Mastromatteo is set to hit the water tomorrow and start his Olympic journey tomorrow morning at 6:25 a.m. CDT competing in the 100m Men’s Breaststroke as an individual. Mastromatteo will be in the third heat and is assigned to lane 3... Read More.

Gabe continues into tomorrow's finals

Kenora's Gabe Mastromatteo is off to the medal round of the men's 4x100m medley relay. Gabe and his team finished 8th overall in their last swimming event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games with a time of 3:32:37... Read More.

Kenora welcomes 75 evacuees and declares a state of emergency

Courtesy of the Kenora Airport.

A state of emergency for the purpose of hosting wildfire evacuees has been declared by the City of Kenora. The state of emergency allows the City of Kenora to obtain funding for the evacuation and make emergency decisions... Read More.

Kenora Fire 51 remapped to 31,673 hectares, crews not heading to B.C.

Kenora 51, northwest of Kenora in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, has been remapped to a size of 31,673 hectares, or 316.73 km². Read More.

Red Lake could be evacuated in the coming days

Photo courtesy of Amanda Sainnawap - former chief of Pikangikum First Nation.

Extreme forests fires in the Red Lake area have caused the Municipality to be on high alert as the Red Lake 77 and 16 fires are progressing close to the community. The Municipality and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry continue to closely monitor the forest fire conditions... Read More.

Evacuee questions hotel pricing

A Deer Lake First Nation evacuee that was evacuated to Dryden on her way to Thunder Bay has publicly accused the Comfort Inn Dryden of raising their room rates due to the evacuation. Read More.

Driest year for the Lake of the Woods sub-basin since 1961: LWCB

The Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB) says this has been the driest year for the Lake of the Woods sub-basin since 1961, according to its records. According to Environment Canada's Historical Records, between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, 152.8 mm of precipitation fell in the Kenora area... Read More.

Smoke is due to northern fires, Kenora Fire confirms

Many large forest fires in Northwestern Ontario have led to smoke rolling into Kenora today causing low visibility and intense smoke odors throughout. Kenora Fire confirmed today that smoke is not from fires in close proximity to Kenora. The smoke has been blown from the Red Lake 61, 15, 77, and Kenora 51 forest fires. Read More.

Emergency Area Order in effect for NWO

Photo courtesy of Brandy Parnell.

High temperatures, little precipitation, and many thunderstorms have caused many multiple large forest fires across Northwestern Ontario. The extreme fire hazard and increased forest fire activity, have led the ministry to issue an Emergency Area Order across Northwestern Ontario. This order is in effect to allow the ministry to take special measures to ensure the safety of people and the protection of critical property... Read More.

Kenora OPP investigating a suspicious death

The Kenora OPP is investigating a suspicious death on Mikado Ave in Kenora. OPP say at approximately 3 p.m. on Friday, July 30 officers were called to a residence on Mikado Avenue where one individual was located deceased... Read More.

Dryden doctor wins Rural Service Award

Dr. Steven Viherjoki

Dr. Steven Viherjoki of Dryden has been rewarded for his hard work and dedication to the community by being this year's recipient of the Rural Service Award by the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada (SRPC)... Read More.

Kenora breaks one-year-old heat record

Kenora broke a one-year-old heat record on Saturday, based on historical weather information provided by Environment Canada. The past record for July 3 was 32.3 C, which was set in 2020... Read More.

20+ Australian firefighters arrive in NWO

Photo courtesy of AFAC National Council for fire and emergency services in Australia and New Zealand Twitter page.

Approximately 20 Australian forest firefighters will be making the journey to Northwestern Ontario to help battle several large forest fires in the region. “Australian forest fire personnel have arrived in Ontario, and will begin supporting Ontario with an incident management team, which is a group of specialists who manage and look after a forest fire,” said Johnathan Scott Fire Information Officer for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry... Read More.

Kenora man wins $100,000 with ENCORE

Picture courtesy of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

Kenora's Timothy Skead is $100,000 richer after a lottery windfall. Skead matched the last six of seven ENCORE numbers in the May 21, 2021, Lotto Max draw to win $100,000... Read More.

LWDHF says farewell to Executive Director

After nearly 12 years, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital Foundation is saying farewell to its Executive Director. Jess Rheault came into the position in November of 2009 overseeing fundraising, event planning, budget management, accounting, public relations, proposals, donor stewardship and liaison between hospital staff and LWDHF staff and board... Read More.

Samsal and Norman win Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship

Jay Samsal and Troy Noram have won the 2021 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and the $10,000 that goes with it. Photo courtesy of Jason Cain.

Jay Samsal and Troy Norman have won the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and broke a 23-year-old record in the process. The team from Fort Frances and Kenora brought in a tournament told of 62.10 lbs of fish, breaking the previous tournament record of 58.62 lbs... Read More.

Kenora's first off-leash dog park now open

The Mayor along with Council cut the ribbon last night on the cities first off-leash dog park behind the A &W ball diamonds.

The Mayor along with Council cut the ribbon last night on the cities first off-leash dog park behind the A &W ball diamonds. This new addition to Kenora comes from a need from dog owners to have an off-leash park within the city... Read More.

Wabaseemong First Nation takes big step with Tiny Home Project

The Wabaseemong Independent First Nation performed a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday in their community for their Green Living Project for Tiny Homes. The ceremony was to officially begin construction on the first of 6 tiny homes. Photo courtesy of Wabaseemoong Independent Nations Facebook page.

The Wabaseemong Independent First Nation performed a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday in their community for their Green Living Project for Tiny Homes. The ceremony was to officially begin construction on the first of 6 tiny homes. The ceremony consisted of the communities Elder blessing the area by placing tobacco in the ground alongside the Chief of Wabaseemong Waylon Scott and the contractor Mike Neniska and songs were performed as well. A moment of silence was had in memory of the mass graves found at residential schools across Canada... Read More.