The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The blinking Smoke Stack hasn't been the only source of lights spotted in the skies of Flin Flon over the years. According to records kept by UFOlogy Research of Manitoba, Flin Flon has had eight reported UFO sightings since its founding. "The most unusual was back in 1947, when a 'platter' was seen silhouetted against a stormy sky," explained Winnipeg-based research coordinator Chris Rutkowski. "It moved east to west at a high speed, and was towards the north." But it's been more than 25 years since anything strange was spotted over Flin Flon. The last UFO sighting came in 1979 when an RCMP officer reported seeing what was described as a "fireball." "Most of the other Flin Flon sightings were of odd lights or fireballs," noted Rutkowski, who receives reports from across the country, including police and military sources. The UFO buff delved into his records further to discover that Snow Lake has had one sighting, a particularly unusual one that occurred in January 1979. "Two people reported seeing a star-like object hanging in the sky," said Rutkowski. "After a while it faded and disappeared. The witnesses said their TV had a lot of static while the object was being observed." There has also been a report from Sherridon, the tiny community located about 60 kilometres northeast of Flin Flon. "On Feb. 11, 2001, someone watched an oval object with rotating lights on its bottom and a sphere attached underneath," said Rutkowski. Other northern sightings include three in Cranberry Portage, six in The Pas and one in Pukatawagan. All told, Manitobans in and north of The Pas have reported at least 20 sightings over the years. When population is factored in, that's on par with the provincial level. "It's a matter of trees falling in the forest. You need people around to see them and report them, so there are more reported in larger communities," said Rutkowski. While he believes it's possible that an advanced society has found a way of traversing interstellar distances, Rutkowski has yet to see incontrovertible proof after more than 25 years of UFO research. "My opinion is that if UFOs are not physical phenomena, they definitely are sociological or psychological phenomena," he said. "In either case, they are worth scientific study because they have, at the very least, permeated the minds and imagination of the populace, if they are not physical phenomena. See 'Culture' P.# Con't from P.# "Aliens and UFOs are part of our popular and even mainstream culture, in books, TV, radio, passing references, quotes and everyday life. This may be related to our desire to believe, but it may be something more than that." UFOlogy Research of Manitoba is a private, not-for-profit organization involved in "rational discourse, investigation and research" of UFOs and related phenomena. Despite its name, the organization, established in Winnipeg in 1975, is actually a national group. Rutkowski noted that "since the government and military are not officially interested in UFOs," sightings are often reported to the RCMP or civilian web sites such as Ufocenter.org
