Mike Sanford

Police are treating a house fire in Gore as suspicious and want witnesses to come forward. Emergency services were called to Lawrence Street around 5am on Friday June 12 after the property caught fire. No one was injured. Southland Area Response Manager Senior Sergeant Gary Iddenten said the fire has

New Zealand now has 26 billionaires, eight more than last year, with the tech sector driving most of the growth. The National Business Review's annual rich list found the country's wealthiest people are collectively worth $129 billion, up from $102 billion in 2025. Zuru Toys co-founders

Invercargill Airport is getting a new café operator. Jerin Nadar, who runs Salt restaurant and previously operated Main Street Café and Eat on Windsor, will take over the terminal café from Sunday June 28, 2026. The space will be rebranded as Hangar 106 with a refreshed look and updated food

Invercargill and Southland mayors are clashing over how the Oreti River should be managed under proposed council reforms, with both citing the waterway as crucial to their preferred governance models. Invercargill Mayor Tom Campbell says his council cannot accept Southland District Council's two-council model because it would separate

SIT has signed up a new Indonesian university partner with 44,000 students. A delegation from Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta visited Invercargill on Sunday May 24 to explore academic partnerships with Southern Institute of Technology. The Indonesian university is one of the country's leading private institutions, offering programmes from

Para cycling champion Hannah Pascoe is swapping her tandem bike for a typewriter. The Invercargill mother and retired athlete will launch her debut novel at the city library on June 20, capping off a writing project 26 years in the making. Falling Amidst Waves, Book One is the first of

PowerNet is installing solar panels at its Invercargill and Balclutha offices. More than 280 panels will generate about 158 MWh of electricity each year and avoid around 11 tonnes of emissions annually. PowerNet Chief Executive Paul Blue said the projects were a practical way to reduce emissions while gaining first-hand

Southland council workers are being abused, threatened and hit by flying objects while doing their jobs. A mystery object smashed through a council vehicle's windscreen on a highway, showering the driver with glass. Environment Southland cannot explain what caused it. "As there was no traffic near the