Sponsored by
I'm 63 With $1.5M. Can I Spend $10K a Month?
You’ve saved $1.5 million. Now comes the real test.
Can it produce $10,000 a month, or will that pace drain your portfolio?
Most retirees do not get a clear answer until it is too late.
The issue is not just how much you have. It is whether your portfolio was built to pay you, not just grow.
That difference can determine whether your money lasts decades or starts breaking down early.
Sequence of returns, taxes on withdrawals, healthcare costs, and whether the 4% rule still applies all play a role.
Fiduciary advisors created a breakdown showing what drives sustainable income and why the same $1.5M can produce very different outcomes.
If you have $1M or more invested, do not guess.
Sponsored By:
Happy Tuesday, Thunder Bay! A sunny, summery day is on the way — and there's a lot going on. In today's issue: a beloved lesson pony and a boarded pet are lost to a freak lightning strike, an anonymous donor gives the city's only indoor track a new lease on life, the clock ticks down for anyone thinking of running this October, and a blue-green algae bloom turns up on Dog Lake. Plus this week's events, a powwow that lifted spirits for wildfire evacuees, and a new episode of the podcast. ☀️
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🐴 A lightning strike takes two ponies at a local farm
🏃 An anonymous gift renews the city's only indoor track
🗳️ Time is running out to get on October's ballot
💧 Blue-green algae found in Dog Lake
🪶 Indigenous Community: a powwow that lifted spirits
🎧 Harbour Beat Connect: this week's podcast episode
Trivia: Which planet in our solar system has a day that lasts longer than its own year? (Answer at the bottom!)
Daily news for curious minds.
Be the smartest person in the room. 1440 navigates 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive, unbiased news roundup — politics, business, culture, and more — in a quick, 5-minute read. Completely free, completely factual.
Your week-ahead guide to Thunder Bay. ✅ A warm, mostly bright stretch — perfect for the outdoor picks below. (Regional fires are still burning, so a wind shift can change air quality fast; outdoor events have been cancelled before, so check the organizer before you head out.)
Tuesday, July 28
JUL 28 · Tuesday Group Run — 6:30–7:30 p.m. · 📍 Boulevard Lake, meet at the Rita Street parking lot · Free · A friendly 5K run or run/walk around the lake — every speed and fitness level welcome · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 28 · Tai Chi in the Park — 7–8 p.m. · 📍 Tai Chi Pad, Marina Park (outdoor) · Free · Drop-in evening sessions by the water, open to absolutely everyone · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, July 29
JUL 29 · Live on the Waterfront — Pop, Soul & R&B night — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park Festival Area (outdoor) · Free · Dirty Blonde at 6, Avery Raquel at 7 and headliner Preston Pablo at 8, plus food trucks and artisan booths · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 29 · Thunder City Speedway Race Night — 6:30–10:30 p.m. · 📍 3250 Highway 130 · Dirt-track racing across five WISSOTA classes, from Modifieds to Hornets · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, July 30
JUL 30 · Macgillivray Pipe Band concert — 7:30–8:15 p.m. · 📍 Hillcrest Park (outdoor) · Free · Pipes and drums over the harbour view from a band that's been playing here since 1917 · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 30 · Midnight Market at Goods & Co. — 7–10 p.m. · 📍 Goods & Co. Market, 250 Park Ave · The third annual one-night indoor shopping party: 20 local businesses, pop-up food, a kids' zone, a live DJ and silk performances · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, July 31
JUL 31 · Bar Polonia Friday Live Music — 8–11 p.m. · 📍 Polish Combatants' Association Branch No. 1, 209 N. Cumberland St · $10 cover · A weekly live-music night in one of the city's most enduring community halls · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, August 1
AUG 1 · South Core Roar 2026 — from 9 a.m., runs into Sunday · 📍 Fort William Business District (outdoor) · Free · The city's biggest car, bike and music festival: 100+ classic and custom cars, a Bike & Shine, live bands to 11 p.m., Indigenous and multicultural performances, a strongman contest, kids' zone and food trucks · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ ALL CLEAR — NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has no watches, warnings or air-quality statements posted for Thunder Bay for Tuesday. One thing to plan around: the UV index hits 8 (very high), so sunscreen and shade in the middle of the day.
☀️ Tuesday, July 28 — Thunder Bay
25°C
Humidex 30 · Overnight low 13°C · Winds light
Sunny · no rain in the forecast · UV 8 (very high)
The pick of the week, weather-wise. Tuesday is flat-out sunny with a high near 25°C (Humidex 30), light winds and no rain in the forecast — a clear, comfortable evening for the group run, tai chi at the water or a walk anywhere outside. The catch is a very high UV index of 8, so hat, sunscreen and shade from late morning through mid-afternoon. Clear again overnight with a low of 13°C. From Wednesday the pattern turns unsettled — 27°C with a 40% chance of showers midweek, climbing to 28°C by Friday. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
A lightning strike takes two ponies at a local farm
Sunday evening's thunderstorm ended in heartbreak at North Winds Farm. A single lightning strike landed within about 50 metres of the house and killed two ponies grazing side by side — out of 44 horses and ponies turned out in the paddock that night. Co-owner Teri Treftlin says the animals had been kept close to home in case the wildfires forced an evacuation, and that the shelter was right there: “for whatever reason, these two guys just decided, nope.” One was a boarded pet; the other was a rescued Shetland-Welsh pony her family had patiently gentled from half-feral into a trusted lesson pony. Neither will be replaced, which will leave a real gap in the farm's horsemanship program.
An anonymous gift renews the city's only indoor track
Twenty-one years of varsity meets, youth clubs and early-morning walkers have worn Lakehead University's indoor track down to the bare spots — and now an anonymous donor is fixing it. Resurfacing starts this week, with the Hangar (track, aerobic studio and weight spaces) closed July 26 to August 10 and the fieldhouse gym closed until Aug. 3 for bleacher and floor work. Summer day camps still run. Athletic director Tom Warden wouldn't share the amount, calling the donors “huge pillars of this community,” but he was happy to describe the result: same track, more cushion, easier running. It's still the only indoor track in town.
Time is running out to get on October's ballot
If you've ever thought about running for office, the window closes at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21. So far only 18 candidates have filed for mayor and council — last election 59 people ran for the same 13 seats. Six are in the mayor's race (Donald Baxter, Moe Comuzzi, Peter Diedrich, Trevor Giertuga, Clint Harris and Volker Kromm), just four have filed for the five at-large seats, and only McKellar has a contested ward race. Filing takes some legwork: a completed nomination paper, 25 signatures from eligible voters, and a fee ($200 for mayor, $100 for everything else). Forms are at tbayvotes.ca — which is also where you can check your own voter information. Election day is Oct. 26.
Blue-green algae found in Dog Lake
A blue-green algae bloom was reported July 25 in Bolduc Bay on Dog Lake, roughly 7.5 km northeast of Silver Falls Provincial Park and about 45 km northwest of the city. While a bloom is present — and for about two weeks after it clears — don't drink the water, don't use it for household purposes and don't swim in it. Keep pets well away too; their smaller size makes them more vulnerable. Blooms thrive in warm, shallow water and can make it look like green pea soup or spilled turquoise paint. If you do come into contact, wash with soap and water and rinse clean.
🪶 Indigenous Community
A powwow that lifted spirits in a hard summer
With more than 2,800 people displaced from over a dozen communities this wildfire season, Dilico Anishinabek Family Care held its eighth annual powwow at Fort William First Nation — and ran a shuttle so evacuees staying in city hotels could get there. The theme, as it is every year, was “coming together.”
Cultural services manager Aungelle Wabigwan is a member of Namaygoosisagagun First Nation (Collins First Nation), the community destroyed by fire earlier this month; its chief, Helen Paavola, is her aunt. “We wanted to make sure that the evacuees had a fun event to come attend, look forward to,” she said. “My heart is just overflowing with joy to see people come together as community.”
Dancers felt it too. Grass dancer Zander Lapensee, originally from Pukatawagan (Mathias Colomb Cree Nation), said he was “dancing as hard as I can for them.” Cedar Meeseetawageesic, a 16-year-old jingle dress dancer from Naotkamegwanning (Whitefish Bay), was once too shy to join a powwow and hoped the day gave evacuees “something to feel good about.” And Jermaine Beaver, 19, a chicken dancer from Nibinamik (Summer Beaver), put it plainly: “When you're together as one, it's a lot more powerful than just being all over.”
Dilico offers health and wellness supports for those affected by the fires. The Hope for Wellness Helpline also provides free 24/7 counselling and crisis support for all Indigenous people in Canada at 1-855-242-3310, with service available in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut on request.
Harbour Beat Connect 🎧
Build & Thrive Thunder Bay
Host: Robert Downing · Guest: [guest name — Bruno to confirm]
First-Party Data: Why Every Small Business Needs to Own Its Customer Relationships
First-party data is simply the information your customers give you directly — the email list, the booking history, the notes on who buys what — and this week Robert Downing makes the case that it's the most valuable marketing asset a small business actually owns. Rented audiences on social platforms can vanish with an algorithm change; a customer relationship you own doesn't. It's a practical, 12-minute listen for anyone in Thunder Bay trying to build something that lasts.
In this episode:
What counts as first-party data — and what you're probably already collecting
How to gather it without making customers feel surveilled
Turning that data into repeat business and real loyalty
New episodes every Monday.
Meme of the Day
Brought to you by Harbour Beat
What's faster than word of mouth? The Harbour Beat Spotlight! Keeps you updated on what's going on locally and connects businesses to our vibrant community.
Trivia answer: Venus. Venus spins so slowly that a single rotation takes about 243 Earth days, while a full trip around the Sun takes only about 225 — so on Venus, the day really is longer than the year. It also spins backwards compared with most planets, so the Sun there would rise in the west.