Prison numbers down
The population of Whanganui Prison has been on a downward trend over the past few years. The facility at Kaitoke had 466 prisoners as at October 19, 2020, figures released to the Chronicle under the Official Information Act show. The figure is down on the population on the same day in 2019, where 539 prisoners were held at the facility and down further on that day in 2017 when it had 573 inmates.
Jimi Jackson to MC
Whanganui's Sound Valley music festival has announced that New Zealand comedian/actor/filmmaker Jimi Jackson will be the event's MC. Jackson's online videos have proved to be a massive hit over the past few years, and his social media followers now number in the millions. The festival, with a line-up including Ladi6, Kora, The Black Seeds, Tiki Taane, Krisy Erin and more, will be held at Cooks Gardens on February 20.