Never a long face to be seen at the Middlemarch pub
The new owners of a rural Otago pub are not horsing around when it comes to the importance of having a thriving local watering hole. Donna Hall and Jim McDougall bought the Strath Taieri Hotel in August and next month will host the finale of the Goldfields Cavalcade as 400 riders converge on Middlemarch. Ms Hall and Mr McDougall bought the pub, building and all, outright in August 2025, and say they have never looked back. "The Middlemarch community is amazing — they support the pub and the pub supports the community groups, so it just works really well." It has been estimated it would be the biggest event in the town since the Middlemarch Singles Ball 25 years ago.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 16:28 UTC
Arsenic, cyanide and the science
Understanding the fundamentals — arsenic, cyanide, water, tailings — and suddenly the noise is a lot less convincing. While most arsenic stays locked in place; the small soluble fraction is captured and chemically turned back into a long-term, stable solid before entering the tailings facility. Cyanide: controlled, treated, below drinking-water limitsThe word "cyanide" tends to appear where the technical understanding ends. Before anything reaches the tailings facility, it runs through a dedicated destruction circuit, cutting cyanide to below 50ppm, the strict limit for discharge. What a tailings facility actually is (and is not)The phrase "tailings dam" still gets thrown around like it’s the Clyde Dam waiting to fail.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
Trio of American PGA Tour winners heading to NZ
PHOTO: ODT FILESThree more heavy hitters have signed up for the New Zealand Open. PGA Tour winners Kevin Na, Nick Watney and Kyle Stanley will all be heading to Millbrook next week. Korean-American Na, 42, was a five-time PGA Tour winner before joining LIV Golf in 2022, and has two top-10 finishes at majors. Washington golfer Stanley, 38, has won twice on the PGA Tour and returns to New Zealand 15 years after his last visit. "To have three proven PGA Tour winners of this calibre commit to the New Zealand Open is fantastic for the tournament,” Glading said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
Kerr gets jump on aspirants to take supreme award
The Olympic and world champion high jumper was crowned the supreme winner at the Halberg Awards in Auckland last night. The 29-year-old, who was born in Dunedin, also secured the Diamond League crown in Zurich and was awarded the Lonsdale Cup by the New Zealand Olympic Committee. Kerr held off athletics team-mate Geordie Beamish, freeskier Luca Harrington, footballer Chris Wood and golfer Ryan Fox to win the sportsman of the year title. They held off strong competition from Auckland FC, world champion rowers Ben Taylor and Oliver Welch, the Kiwis, the Black Sox and the men’s team pursuit track cycling squad. Black Ferns rookie and World Rugby breakthrough player of the year Braxton Sorensen-McGee, golf champion Cooper Moore, BMX junior elite world champion Lily Greenough, freeski halfpipe world champion Finley Melville Ives and Zoe Pedersen, for an exceptional year across swimming and surf lifesaving, were finalists.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
Person injured in single-vehicle crash
One person was taken to hospital after a single-vehicle crash near Purakaunui in the Catlins. PHOTO: SUPPLIEDOne person was taken to hospital with moderate injuries after a single-vehicle crash near Purakaunui in the Catlins yesterday morning. A police spokesman said they were alerted to the crash about 11.45am in Purakaunui Bay Rd, near the site of a popular beachside campsite. Meanwhile, driver fatigue is thought to be the cause of a crash near Lake Hayes on Sunday in which two Australian tourists were injured. The crash was a reminder to all drivers to take regular breaks during long trips, or to change drivers if possible, he said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
So near and yet so far
PHOTO: AFP VIA GETTY IMAGESAlice Robinson finished a whisker away from a memorable medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics yesterday. She finished 0.8sec behind winner Federice Brignone and just 0.18sec off the silver medal position in an exceptionally tight competition. Only racers who completed their first run got to take a second run, so there was no margin for error. At the end of the first run, Robinson was sitting in 10th place with a time of 1min 4.32sec, 1.09sec behind Brignone. "Last Olympics were really challenging for Alice and I’m so happy that she’s back to skiing well again.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
Tribunal finds teacher guilty of slapping his student
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGESA dispute over a missing jar of lollies has resulted in a former Invercargill secondary school teacher being found guilty of serious misconduct. Mr McKenzie no longer lives or works in Invercargill. The decision by the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal about the incident was released last week. The pair argued for a time and then Mr McKenzie "quickly open-handed slapped Student A with his right hand across the left side of Student A’s face". Mr McKenzie provided a statement to the tribunal in which he reflected about the incident and expressed his deep remorse for his actions.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:34 UTC
Master, apprentice both impress
Dane Menzies, of New Zealand, in action during the Milano Cortina Olympics men’s snowboard slopestyle qualification at the Livigno Snow Park in Livigno, Italy, yesterday. PHOTO: REUTERSA headline act and a rising star shone for the New Zealand team in snowboard slopestyle yesterday. Both Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Dane Menzies finished qualifying in top spot at the Livigno Snow Park. "I didn’t expect the judges to score that high, but they’re liking my selection of rails, so that’s good. In the women’s qualifying rounds, defending Olympic champion Sadowski-Synnott made an immediate statement, posting an opening score of 81.73 to move into second place.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 15:32 UTC
'De-facto annexation': Israel approves West Bank land registration
Photo: ReutersIsrael's cabinet on Sunday approved further measures to tighten Israel's control over the occupied West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a "de-facto annexation". Defence Minister Israel Katz said land registration was a vital security measure while the cabinet said in a statement it was an "appropriate response to illegal land registration processes promoted by the Palestinian Authority." Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now said the measure could lead to dispossession of Palestinians from up to half of the West Bank. US President Donald Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building. The Gaza health ministry says that at least 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 08:25 UTC
Housing market 'a tale of two islands'
Image: RNZNew Zealand's housing market is a "tale of two islands", one economist says - as the fortunes of sellers and house hunters in the South Island rapidly diverge from those of their northern counterparts. National median prices were up 0.4 percent between January 2025 and last month to a median $753,106. "The North Island market, if you put all those parts of the country together, is operating at quite a different pace from the south. "The correction in national house prices ended in April 2023. "If you look at house prices, we've got a projection that we get a national average rise this year of 5 percent.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 08:11 UTC
Farmer clears path for trapped vehicles with tractor
Photo: SuppliedCars blocked by a slip in rural Taihape are now free after a local farmer cleared a path for them with his tractor. Watson previously said he understood it was a local farmer who raised the alarm, calling emergency services to report what he could see. Watson said some of the roads the cars took would normally only see "half a dozen" cars a day, he said. Many other local roads were also closed. Winiata Marae opens to stranded travellersAbout 80 people are sheltering at Winiata Marae, in Taihape, which has opened to stranded travellers.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 07:49 UTC
ODT quiz: February 16
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Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 07:11 UTC
Flooding possible in Christchurch, Banks Peninsula
Christchurch and Banks Peninsula residents are being urged to prepare for possible flooding as the wild weather hammering the North Island tracks south. This could cause flooding in some areas of the district, with Banks Peninsula looking likely to be the most affected. The peninsula is under an orange heavy rain warning from 8am today until 6pm tomorrow. "The upper Heathcote flood storage basins will be functioning as they should during this event, so people may notice fluctuating water levels in the river," Smith said. "Given the amount of rain forecast, Little River residents should prepare for possible flooding, and other parts of Banks Peninsula should be aware of the potential for slips and road disruptions.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 06:41 UTC
Lower potato yield could keep prices high
Some growers are harvesting early varieties now, with the main harvest getting under way in a few weeks. Potatoes New Zealand chair Paul Olsen said his crop in Manuwatu was looking good, but further north in Pukekohe, growers had had a lot of rain. Olsen said if the national crop did end up being smaller, prices could remain higher, as demand for potatoes had been solid. He hasn't made money on potatoes for 18 months, so getting higher prices would be good for cash flow. "It's getting to the stage now where growers have decided, well, it's not worth growing anymore, so they got out of it."
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 06:13 UTC
Support for major parties slumps in latest poll
Photo: RNZSupport for both major parties has dipped - while New Zealand First is up on double digits - in the latest 1News Verian poll. Between November 29 and December 3, 2025, 1007 eligible voters were polled by mobile phone (500) and online, using online panels (507). Party support percentages have been rounded up or down to whole numbers, except those less than 4.5%, which are reported to one decimal place. Undecided voters, non-voters and those who refused to answer are excluded from the data on party support. The results are a snapshot in time of party support, and not a prediction.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 16, 2026 06:11 UTC