Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Kelowna news
Fewer rentals available in Thompson-Okanagan as prices rise
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – It's getting harder to find an apartment to rent in most Thompson-Okangan cities, and those that are available cost significantly more than they did one year ago. Kelowna and Kamloops saw minor adjustments in rental availability rates this year compared with the B.C. average. Between April 2014 and April 2015, the provincial average...
Big air and local talent featured in extreme mountain bike movie
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Ever wondered what it’s like to do a 70-foot front flip on a tricked out mountain bike? Now you can get an idea without risking reconstructive surgery or a lengthy hospital stay. An extreme mountain biking movie, unReal, is premiering in Kamloops and Kelowna next week. UnReal is a movie that does for...
Pianos in the Park take social media by storm
KELOWNA – Less than a week after they were set up, Kelowna’s Pianos in the Park are filling the downtown streets with beautiful music. Videos of people playing the pianos have flooded social media, including one by local musician James Elser, who covered Elton John’s Your Song in front of Rotary Centre for the Arts....
RCMP: 19-year-old who caused rollover accident on Benvoulin was high
KELOWNA – RCMP say the young man behind the wheel of a blue Pontiac was under the influence of drugs when he crossed the oncoming lane of Benvoulin Road Tuesday and was hit by another vehicle that rolled over into the ditch. Cpl. Joe Duncan says the driver,19, was arrested after investigators found evidence of...
Filmmaker captures awe of Okanagan Valley
OKANAGAN - The essence of what makes the Okanagan Valley breathtaking has been captured by a filmmaker from Summerland in a short video entitled Born To Wonder. Steve Cogbill, 19, says he just finished several months of work on the video and he hopes it will motivate both locals and would-be tourists to take a...
Luck changes for Las Vegas contest grand prize winner
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Elizabeth Christie used to say she never wins anything. Her story has changed since winning the InfoNews.ca grand prize of a trip to Las Vegas. “I guess I can’t say that anymore,” Christie laughs as she picks up her prize. “I tried a couple of other contests the same week and nothing.” She...
City moves to revamp public sign bylaw
KELOWNA - In the face of changing tastes and technology the City of Kelowna could soon deal with signs in a different way. City council is directing staff to revamp its sign bylaw, but they expect plenty of consultation with business owners and other stakeholders. “Signage is important to everyone really. The city gets a...
BREAKING NEWS: SNELSON GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER
FINALLY, JUSTICE FOR JENNIFER KAMLOOPS - A jury has found Neil George Snelson guilty of manslaughter in the 1993 killing of an Okanagan College student in Kelowna. The seven-woman, five-man jury began deliberations this afternoon and had a decision by 9:15 p.m. tonight, June 16. Crown prosecutor Iain Currie declined to say what he will...
Kelowna women rescues dog being pulled behind moving vehicle
"WE ALMOST THREW UP WE WERE SO SCARED." OKANAGAN – Four friends from Kelowna were driving on Road 22 in Oliver last Friday night when they saw something they couldn’t believe: A puppy, less than two months old, being pulled behind a moving vehicle. “It was one of those really small lane roads,” says one...
UPDATE: Benvoulin Road reopens after rollover
KELOWNA - Benvoulin Road was shut down this evening between Cooper Road and Springfield Road at the north end and Byrns Road at the south end because of a bizarre two-car accident. It happened in the 2300 block around 6 p.m. A witness told infonews.ca a southbound blue Pontiac nudged a white vehicle in the...
Kelowna bell-ringing ceremony to honour missing and murdered aboriginal women
KELOWNA - The bells will be ringing in Kelowna this weekend, 1,122 times to be exact. A request by The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels on Sutherland Avenue to ring its bell multiple times this Sunday has been approved by city council. The symbolic ringing of the bell on June 21, National Aboriginal...
‘None of us can make any sense of this:’ Murder victim’s friend
HOMICIDE ON BERNARD AVENUE KELOWNA - A friend and co-worker of the man found murdered in his home on Bernard Avenue Sunday night says he was a generous and caring man who loved nature and loved to talk. Traci Savel met Warren Welters only a few years ago, but says since then she came to...
Witnesses to Kelowna crash sought
KELOWNA - A two-vehicle crash at Highway 97 and Spall Road last week has RCMP asking for witnesses to come forward. On June 11, around 9 a.m., RCMP responded to a crash between a white Ford van (Norelco Cabinets) and a grey Honda pickup (Western Gasco Cylinders Ltd.) Both drivers were uninjured but RCMP are...
Police confirm homicide on Bernard Ave; victim identified
KELOWNA - A suspicious death Sunday night has been deemed a homicide but RCMP are not yet saying what caused the death. Warren Welters, 51, was found deceased around 8:30 p.m., June 14, at 941 Bernard Avenue. Cpl. Joe Duncan says police remain on scene and ‘are investigating any and all leads.’ He also notes...
Kelowna firefighters sign seven-year labour agreement
KELOWNA - Firefighters and adminstrative staff with the Kelowna Fire Department will enjoy a series of raises after signing a new collective agreement with the City of Kelowna. Firefighters have been without a contract since the end of 2012 but on Monday, June 15 the local firefighters union and the City of Kelowna ratified an...
SNELSON TRIAL: Lawyers present final arguments in manslaughter trial
KAMLOOPS - Motive, opportunity and his own lies all point to Neil George Snelson as the person who strangled and beat 19-year-old Jennifer Cusworth to death over 20 years ago in Kelowna, court heard from the Crown during final arguments today, June 15. Cusworth, an Okanagan Community College student was found in a ditch on...
Kelowna seeks federal cash to upgrade City Park promenade
KELOWNA - A section of the popular promenade through City Park could be in line for a serious upgrade should the city successfully secure a grant from the federal Canada 150 community infrastructure program. Parks planning manager Terry Barton recommended to city council today, June 15, an application be made for the maximum grant of...
Annual Naked Bike Ride gets the reaction it was looking for
KELOWNA - Organizers of the second Annual Naked Bike Ride in Kelowna are calling the event a success with much more media coverage and more positive reaction from the people they passed in the streets, even if their numbers were about the same as last year. “Last year we had zero media, we flew under...
UPDATE: No arrests after suspicious Kelowna death
KELOWNA – Investigators remain on the scene of a suspicious death in Kelowna after the body of a 51-year-old Kelowna man was found in a Bernard Avenue home last night. RCMP say the body was found at about 8:31 p.m., June 14, at 941 Bernard Ave. and the scene is currently being processed by forensic...
Two arrested following Kelowna crime spree
KELOWNA - A day-long crime spree in Kelowna and West Kelowna ended after two men were arrested in a stolen pickup truck earlier this month. Several people and businesses were hit during the one day crime spree on June 3, Cpl. Joe Duncan says in a media release. The spree started with the theft of...
Another warm week for the Okanagan
OKANAGAN - After a week filled with record and near-record temperatures, things are set to cool down in the Okanagan this week, but only slightly. With temperatures reaching the mid-30s, Kelowna, Vernon and Penticton hit records this past week and while Environment Canada is not calling for temperatures quite that hot this week, the mercury...
Kelowna church asks for noise bylaw exemption for bell-ringing marathon
KELOWNA - If Kelowna city council gives the okay, the bell at The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels will toll over 1,000 times, once for each of the missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. The church is asking the city to temporarily set aside its noise bylaw beginning 11:30 a.m. on...
Star Trek Ultimate Voyage concert coming to Okanagan
KELOWNA – Paging all Star Trek nerds and music lovers, Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage concert tour is making a stop at Prospera Place next spring. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, June 12, for the Kelowna stop on the tour which will launch following an engagement at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, on...
Kelowna man says police arrested him for nudity they had tolerated many times before
KELOWNA - A Kelowna man says RCMP, anxious to keep a lid on the party scene at Mushroom Beach, arbitrarily arrested him for public nudity after walking by ignoring the sunbathers many times before. Mushroom Beach is the nickname for what the city calls the Lake Avenue beach access and has become increasingly popular with...