West Kootenay News

Trail has elected a new mayor, preliminary results show a change of leadership in Castlegar, and several regional district directors are trailing challengers following the October 17 local elections across the West Kootenay.

A 41-year-old woman who was reported missing in Castlegar more than six weeks ago has been found deceased, according to an update issued by Castlegar RCMP on Thursday, Oct. 15.

Rossland voters will elect a mayor and six city councillors on Saturday, October 17, with polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at City Hall.

The Nelson Police Department is asking for the public's help locating a 48-year-old man named Colin, also known as Buzz, who was last seen in Nelson on Oct. 6.

Rossland council will be asked Monday to support recreation staff in further investigating recommendations that include a City sponsorship framework, naming recognition, annual trail-maintenance funding and a more formal public review of major recreation capital projects.

Property owners who carry out unauthorized development near streams, lakes and wetlands in Electoral Area G could face a new layer of enforcement under proposed Regional District of Central Kootenay changes intended to put more of the cost of dealing with violations on the responsible property owner.

Rossland is planning for roughly $60 million in capital spending over the next five years, with municipal staff warning that additional borrowing will likely be needed as early as 2027 to help pay for water, sewer, retaining-wall and other infrastructure work.

A proposal to rezone a First Avenue property for a six-unit townhouse development will go before a public hearing Monday, with final approval of the project’s zoning still requiring later council votes.

Rossland city council will consider allowing indoor self-storage throughout the city's Downtown Core commercial zone Monday, with rules intended to keep storage units from replacing street-level storefronts.

Nelson residents are being asked to reduce water use Thursday while city crews repair a small leak in the pipeline carrying water from Five-Mile Creek, which supplies about 90 per cent of the city’s drinking water.

A prescribed burn covering up to 2.4 hectares of municipally owned land between Whitman Way and Bingay Road could begin as early as Tuesday, Sept. 29, if weather and site conditions are suitable, according to the BC Wildfire Service.

The City of Trail is hosting National Day for Truth and Reconciliation programming at the Trail Riverfront Centre on Monday, Sept. 28 and Tuesday, Sept. 29, with the same three-hour program offered each afternoon

Rural property owners in seven Central Kootenay electoral areas could see changes to the language governing residential development in their Official Community Plans, but the Regional District of Central Kootenay says the project will not introduce any new zoning.

Thierry Emile Brenon, a Slocan man who had been missing since early 2025, has been located deceased, Slocan Lake RCMP says.

RCMP officers seized about $42,000 worth of illicit nicotine products from two businesses in Castlegar and Nelson during an investigation into the sale of contraband nicotine pouches.

A specialized field of particle-accelerator science is bringing researchers from around the world to Nelson this week, where a local company and a new Selkirk College research centre have been building expertise in ion-source technology.

An Influenza A outbreak remains active on the medical unit at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital in Trail.

Work is continuing at the historic Kenville Gold Mine west of Nelson as Ximen Mining Corp. seeks longer-term financing for a planned new underground portal and decline.

Interior Health is warning people not to eat mushrooms sold at Harrop Community Hall on Sunday, Sept. 20, after they were identified as potentially toxic.

A skunk in the Kootenay Lake region has tested positive for rabies, prompting Interior Health to ask anyone who may have had contact with a skunk in the area to come forward for assessment.

For more than half a century, Darryl “Tiger” Milburn was a familiar presence behind the microphone at Trail Smoke Eaters games.

A new emergency response vehicle is carrying Kootenay physicians to critical 911 calls after community organizations, fundraisers and private donors helped pay for its purchase and outfitting.

Nelson seeks nominations for 2027 Sports Ambassador

B.C.’s police watchdog has found no connection between police actions or inaction and serious injuries suffered by a youth while in Nelson Police Department custody on Aug. 11.

Castlegar Mayor Maria McFaddin has been appointed executive director of Forestry Works for BC, moving from municipal leadership into a province-wide forestry organization as her term at city hall nears its end.

Castlegar and Trail RCMP took several people into custody Tuesday while executing search warrants at properties in Robson and near Waneta as part of a joint drug-trafficking investigation.

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake near Harrop and Procter was felt across several Kootenay communities early Thursday morning.

A B.C. Supreme Court judgment involving Canadians who studied medicine abroad was posted last week as the province continues to require international medical graduates in its Kootenay Boundary family medicine residency stream to complete two years of service within Interior Health.

A historic mine opening near Rossland’s Kootenay Columbia Trail will be permanently sealed, with a three-week trail closure beginning Sept. 28 so crews can complete the work.

Kaslo has adopted changes to its Official Community Plan built around a provincially calculated need for 295 additional housing units by 2041.