The Paparata Farms King Country Rams had a heartbreaking loss to North Otago on Saturday being pipped 32-31 at Oamaru.   

A tough travel schedule for the Rams meant arriving late into Oamaru on the Friday night after a big travel day. 

On a fine but blustery day the Rams played for the first time at the newly built Whitestone Contracting Stadium.   

Running a restaurant post-Covid has been a tough prospect but Phill and Nora Blackburne’s passion and perseverance is paying off in accolades and awards. 

After 10 years in Scotland, and with Covid closing borders and shutting restaurants Taupō-born Phill and Latvian-born Nora returned to New Zealand with their two-year-old in 2021. 

When Taupō District Council concluded its education partnership with the Tongariro National Trout Centre in 2024, local school trips stopped going. 

Newly appointed manager Clint Green told Local Democracy Reporting the centre was in desperate need of funding, volunteers and visitors. 

Taupō Hospital will become a long-term training site for University of Auckland medical students in 2027.  

Year 5 medical students on the university's Rural Medical Immersion Programme (RMIP) will spend a year learning alongside Taupō Hospital doctors, local general practitioners and multidisciplinary health care teams.  

Once a mutual match has been made, one of the first questions is often surprisingly 

practical: what should we actually do on the date? 

Coffee remains popular for good reason. It is inexpensive, public and easy to keep short if 

the chemistry is not quite there. But once two people have decided they would like to get to 

know each other better, choosing an activity can take some of the pressure off conversation 

and reveal a little more about how you interact. The Storehouse is a great option and very 

date-friendly. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the government is not forcing amalgamation onto councils, and it is “up to you guys” what happens in Taupō. 

As part of its revamped Resource Management Act, the Government is scrapping regional councils and proposing Combined Territories Boards for district councils to manage regional issues.