Julie Whittet

Running 10 kilometers straight is a proud feat for the average person. But today in Kelowna 800 people asked for more. They took on a 10-kilometer obstacle course sprinting up and down the mountain side, scaling barriers, plunging into ice cold water, jumping over tires and finally crawling in the mud. As part of the...

"Career preparedness” isn't the most enticing pair of words to your average 20-year-old but Kelowna tech expert Kristin Garn is on a mission to change that. Her solution is Mathtoons, a free mobile app she developed and it has gained her recognition as one of Canada's top 20 female entrepreneurs. The app provides young students from...

A trip to Mike McLoughlin's campaign headquarters feels a lot like a visit to the doctor's office. That's because for the past few months local conservatives candidates have been working out of a medical clinic. McLoughlin says he opened the Rutland clinic with his wife in 2008, along with a clinic at the Real Canadian...

WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE... With Kelowna Secondary School dropping its mascot logo last week after complaints of copyright violation, it wouldn't be the first time a not so original motif found its way into the city.  While the school was caught infringing on the trademark belonging to Philadelphia's Temple University, some of Kelowna's most iconic...

Commuters driving past Kelowna General Hospital this morning were slowed down to dig into their pockets. As part of the 10th annual Have a Heart Radiothon, roadside "change bandits" beckoned to vehicles to donate their spare change.  Sun FM, EZ Rock and AM 1150 were hosting the fundraiser for Kelowna General Hospital to improve their...

Yesterday's ice showers were a distant memory with the sun-soaked hint of summer on Kelowna's downtown waterfront this afternoon. Busker Eldon Blanchard came out from Winfield to set up his speakers and strum country tunes with fellow guitarist Roberto Rivera. "We just started last week," he says. "We'll be here pretty well every afternoon Wednesday...

Up until a couple weeks ago Tish Lakes didn't have an election campaign on her agenda. But a surprising turn of events ousting Kelowna-Mission's former NDP candidate has Lakes strategizing how she will govern the next four year term. Having ran as a federal candidate for Lake Country in 2008 gives her an advantage. Many...

The injuries to Buddy Tavares after being kicked by former RCMP officer Geoff Mantler are well-known, but until the Monday sentencing hearing, we knew far less about Mantler. Since the video of the incident went viral on YouTube in 2011, with backlash spreading across social media sites, Mantler has left his life in Kelowna behind....

A former Kelowna RCMP officer caught on video kicking a man during an arrest will be sentenced in Provincial Court this afternoon but it appears he won't be looking at time in jail. The Crown is requesting a suspended sentence for officer Geoff Mantler, for him to complete an 18-month probation period and to undergo...

The Okanagan Car Share Co-op will be getting three free parking stalls from the City of Kelowna. The one-year pilot project is set to launch at the end of May, giving prospective commuters the option to buy into a shared car service membership. Two of the parking spots are located in the memorial arena parkade...

A century old building in South Central Kelowna may soon open its doors to a new generation of tenants. Kelowna city councillors are considering an application that would designate the Elliott Street Copeland House a heritage site while also re-opening the building's rental apartments. The two and a half storey wood-frame house sitting at 784...

BUT PROJECT IS ALREADY $2.4 MILLION OVER BUDGET AND HASN'T STARTED YET The big-budget expansion of Kelowna's library parkade will house more than vehicles. The latest design plans for the $6.4 million expansion call for architecture that melds with public art and ground level shops along the building frontage on Ellis Street. The project now...

Kelowna RCMP are looking for a local man who went missing two weeks ago after picking up his paycheck from his employer. The 39-year-old man is identified as Christopher Shawn Kuhnke and went missing Sunday, April 14. Apparently Kuhnke went to collect his paycheck from a Kelowna construction company he was working for, but has...

From business owners to road workers and fruit growers, Mike Nuyens says he knows his Lake Country constituents well. While often portrayed as a 'union guy' in the media, he says that's only part of his story. His first job was working alongside his father on their orchard in Lake Country, where he was born...

As the Okanagan's fruit trees begin to blossom, pest control officers will soon be checking their traps for codling moths. Officers will squish the moths, looking for the red dye that marks their sterile breed. Since the introduction of Kelowna's area-wide pest management program, the once devastating insect is now sequestered to smaller areas of...

Norm Letnick: Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country You might know him as a college professor, a former city councillor or as the current Minister of Agriculture, but on May 14 Norm Letnick just hopes to be elected Liberal MLA for another four years. The father of three says if that doesn't pan out, he's open...

Despite announcements last month Ballet Kelowna would be closing its doors, things are suddenly looking up for the dance school. Under the guidance of a new board of directors the 2013-14 artistic season is going ahead. Ballerinas graced the Kelowna Community Theatre stage last night for the benefit concert Dancing with Friends. Initially the school...

The Kelowna Fire Department has their training officer Glenn Paley back in action. Paley was out Thursday night fighting house fires in Kelowna, but just over a week ago he was making fire calls in Lima, Peru. Last Saturday Paley returned from a two-week mission to train Peru's volunteer fire service – the bomberos. He...

Police have video footage of two separate suspects caught stealing in the Kelowna area last March. Kelowna RCMP received a complaint from the Save-On-Food supermarket on Cooper Road when a woman was caught on camera leaving the store with a handful of stolen merchandise. The woman made a run for it when confronted by a...

Kelowna-Mission candidates came out to Anne McClymont Elementary School last night to talk about education with their local constituents. In attendance were Liberal MLA Steve Thomson, Conservative candidate Mike McLoughlin, NDP candidate Tish Lakes and Independent candidate Dayleen Van Rysywk. The forum was open to all members of the public and hosted by the Central...

Carole Gordon: Westside-Kelowna NDP Candidate It's her first time running for MLA but with 22 years of teaching under her belt Carole Gordon has plenty of experience with Kelowna's citizens. Having lived and worked in the Okanagan her entire life, she feels a strong investment in her community. “I've taught all the way from Peachland...

UPDATE:  AM 1150 news reader back on air after election 4:50 p.m. April 25 Mark Burley of AM 1150 says news reader Wendy McLeod will be back to her regular broadcasts after the May election. When asked if McLeod would be fired for doing volunteer work with the B.C. Liberal party Burley said, "Absolutely not,...