Whanganui

Andrew Tripe on Tuesday voted in favour of establishing two Māori wards seats in the district, reversing the choice he made in October.

Locals fear the area will quickly become a ghost town, with one woman saying many families are already planning to leave for Australia.

The mill, which employs 230 people across two sites in the central North Island, announced it was closing due to high electricity prices.

A person has been killed and another injured after a crash at Pākaraka, west of Whanganui.

The crash was between a truck and a car in the Manawatū-Whanganui region on Monday.

A collection of freshwater gold clams were discovered after guests left a lodge in Ōwhango, in the central North Island.

Recyclables will be collected weekly at the roadside, hand-sorted and disposed of by contractors.

A community effort to create more space for whitebait to spawn in the Whanganui River came up against an unexpected snag.

The council will be cutting services over the next year to keep rates low.

A Whanganui marae leader is hailing a "brave decision" by Whanganui District Council to set aside $3.5 million in its 10-year plan for marae upgrades but says social media backlash has been "vile".

Police found the dead woman at a Whanganui property and say there's no risk to the public.

The cash withdrawals have resulted in the cancellation of a principal's teacher's registration.

A major provider of school lunches fears the government's new $3 limit for most students will see them eating more pre-packaged and processed food.

A Whanganui school lunch contractor says kaupapa Māori suppliers could be out of the picture under the government's new free school lunch model.

The three properties, worth about $4 million, will facilitate the development of a four-star hotel and carpark in the city.

All but one councillor - who abstained - voted in favour of the motion on behalf of the Palestinian Solidarity Network Aotearoa.

Whanganui council is seeking ratepayer support to sell $16 million of assets in the next year to keep its rates increase to 10.6 percent, but is not yet sure which ones.

Extremely dry conditions affecting North Island farms are not expected to improve in the short-term, the Minister of Agriculture says.

The historic hotel at the base of Mount Ruapehu has been closed since last February and is costing taxpayers more than $2 million a year while it sits empty and in disrepair. Audio

Drainage work needs to be carried out at Te Oreore between Whanganui and Raetihi.