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Local firefighters pulled off some impressive feats at the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge recently, with Frankton volunteers becoming the first local team to win a grand trophy for their fundraising, placing third in their 6 to 9-member category nationally.

Queenstown ski resort The Remarkables will become New Zealand’s largest, with a proposed $150 million-plus expansion into the Doolans Basin. The highly-anticipated project, which has been years in the making, will see the ski resort increase significantly in size to 711 hectares from its current 449 hectares, and will feature NZ’s longest gondola (2.7km long).

Burglars who targeted 11th Avenue in Frankton, hit twice in the past week, were “pretty determined”, those caught on security camera even bringing empty plastic milk containers to fill from the beer taps, co-owner Gino Mendoza says.

The return of a new Queenstown Winter Festival-inspired event – Snow Fest – has officially heralded the start to winter, with event organisers toasting its success. Snow Fest concluded on Saturday after a two-day programme of sold-out community events that gave a nod to the much-loved former Winter Festival, which ran annually from 1975-2023.

A couple of alleged, teenage poachers – one from Lake Hayes and one from Cromwell, were spoken to by Police who executed search warrants early yesterday after two prize breeding stags, worth between $US30,000 and $US50,000, were shot and killed on a Bendigo farm.

The 2026 NZ Bird Conference and Birds New Zealand AGM will be held in Wānaka on King’s Birthday weekend at the Lake Wānaka Centre. About 200 ornithologists and bird enthusiasts are registered to attend Aotearoa New Zealand's largest annual conference on birds and bird research, which has been held in a different location every year since 2005 (except 2020).

Police say it’s extremely fortunate that they weren’t dealing with a fatality in a three-car vehicle collision late yesterday afternoon (20 May) at Arrow Junction, where there have been a number of accidents recently.

Battle lines are being drawn over the country's energy future, with Labour promising to pull the plug on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal if it wins the next election. MPs and leaders from six parties clashed over fossil fuels, blackouts, power prices and whether the country's biggest electricity companies should be broken up at an energy debate in Queenstown on Monday afternoon.

People head into council offices for many reasons: to register a dog, attend a meeting, report an issue, or get advice in person. But which location best suits the future needs of our community, and why?

The two victims of an alleged grievous assault at a Hallenstein Street address just after 11pm on 8 May – one who was in a critical condition and one serious, have both been discharged from hospital, one facing further surgery, Police say.

Weeks before ski field lifts usually start spinning, Queenstown's Coronet Peak has flipped the switch on a $2 million "snow factory" to lay down the first coat in Autumn. Crews have started producing snow from a high-tech fridge-like machine housed in shipping containers that can operate in temperatures of up to 20 degrees.

The fast-track referral of a sprawling gondola and housing proposal - despite council warnings about missing details and limited benefit - is being described by a Queenstown councillor as a real disappointment.

An expansion to Lakes District Hospital's emergency department in Queenstown will begin within months as part of a $180 million boost to healthcare in the Otago Central Lakes area.

Emergency services are warning motorists to take extra care heading into the season of “frosty mornings and slippery roads” after a concerning number of traffic crashes around the Wakatipu recently before winter even arrives.

From speeds clocked at up to 140km/hr to festival-going drink drivers allegedly well over the legal limit, some driving only a short distance to get home, Police say they were out in force “with a razor-sharp focus” these past few weeks.

Kiwi Park Queenstown is delighted to announce and celebrate a new arrival! A baby kiwi hatched at our site on 26 March. This is the first successful hatching at our park for two years.

Brazen thieves have continued to hit local tradies hard targeting expensive tools, this time in nighttime smash-and-grab-style vehicle break-ins on work vehicles parked outside their homes.

Five local men have been arrested by the Queenstown CIB on alleged cocaine charges in the last two weeks, with Police warning such activities will not be tolerated. Sergeant Blair Duffy says the five men were arrested for the alleged sale and supply of cocaine – a Class A drug.

With a spate of property fires around the Wakatipu Basin in recent months, the most recent destroying a tiny house at Glenorchy last Wednesday, Fire and Emergency NZ staff are warning people to take basic precautions.

Construction is progressing well on Coronet Peak’s new SnowFactory as NZSki gears up for a guaranteed early start to winter. While temperatures in Queenstown reached freezing levels this week, Coronet Peak and TechnoAlpin crew have been busy up the mountain installing the $2million-plus SnowFactory, which will eventually be capable of producing 200 cubic metres of snow each day. For perspective, the SnowFactory could cover an entire rugby field with 10cm of snow in just over three days.