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Happy Friday, Thunder Bay! We made it to the weekend. In today's issue: a remote First Nation keeps its clinic running 1,300 km from home, half a million federal dollars to grow the northwest's food scene, a tariff cloud over our forestry jobs, and an urgent call for blood donors. Plus your weekend events and today's forecast. 🧡
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
🩺 A remote First Nation keeps its clinic running 1,300 km from home
🥕 $500K to grow the northwest's food scene
🌲 A tariff cloud over northwest forestry jobs
🩸 Blood banks are running low — donors needed now
Trivia: What's the collective noun for a group of flamingos? (Answer at the bottom!)
Your week-ahead guide to Thunder Bay. ✅ A warm, mostly clear weekend is on the way — a good stretch to get back outside. (The regional fires are still burning, so a wind shift could always change an outdoor plan.)
Friday, July 24
JUL 24 · Jazz & Old-Fashioned Fridays ft Mood Indigo — 6–9 p.m. · 📍 2240 Sleeping Giant Pkwy (outdoor) · An easy evening of live jazz and old-fashioned cocktails · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, July 25
JUL 25 · Bay & Algoma Buskers Festival — 12–9 p.m. · 📍 Bay & Algoma neighbourhood (outdoor) · Free. World-class street performers, food and local crafters — continues Sunday 12–5 p.m. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, July 26
JUL 26 · Garden Tour 2026 — 10 a.m.–4 p.m. · 📍 Thunder Bay Art Gallery (self-guided) · The gallery's 25th annual tour — private and teaching gardens with Master Gardeners on hand · 📅 Add to Calendar
JUL 26 · Northwood Hills 5K — 10 a.m. · 📍 130 Churchill Dr W · A friendly neighbourhood run and walk · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, July 28
JUL 28 · Tai Chi in the Park — 7 p.m. · 📍 Marina Park · Free outdoor tai chi by the water — all levels welcome · 📅 Add to Calendar
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✅ NO ACTIVE WEATHER ALERTS
Environment Canada has no alerts posted for Thunder Bay. Air quality is in the normal range — though a little wildfire smoke could still drift back on a wind shift, so sensitive groups can keep an eye on it.
🌤️ Friday, July 24 — Thunder Bay
28°C
Overnight low 14°C · Wind SW gusting 40 km/h
Sun & cloud · 30% chance of showers · UV 6 (high)
A warm, pleasant close to the week. Friday brings a mix of sun and cloud with a 30% chance of a passing shower and a high of 28°C. Southwest winds pick up through the afternoon, gusting to 40 km/h. A little wildfire smoke could still drift through, so sensitive groups can keep an eye on the air. Skies settle overnight to a comfortable low near 14°C, and the weekend stays warm in the mid-20s with just the odd shower. Full forecast and any new alerts at Environment Canada.
A remote First Nation keeps its clinic running 1,300 km from home
As wildfires forced Cat Lake First Nation to evacuate 542 members all the way to Toronto, the community found a way to bring its clinic along. Health staff packed portable TytoCare diagnostic units so their own nurses could keep examining patients — throats, ears, heart, lungs — and connect them with providers who know their histories, roughly 1,300 km from home. Originally meant to save residents from flying out for routine check-ups, the tech is now keeping care going for Elders, kids and people managing chronic conditions in the middle of a displacement.
$500K to grow the northwest's food scene
The federal government is putting $499,780 into a new regional agri-food hub based at Seven Generations Education Institute in Kenora. The three-year project — dubbed FEAST — will give nearly 20 small and medium food businesses access to shared space, including a commercial kitchen, cold storage and packing areas, to develop products and scale up. Backers say it could strengthen local supply chains and food security across a region where getting fresh, locally made food to remote communities is a constant challenge.
A tariff cloud over northwest forestry
The Forest Products Association of Canada is warning that a fresh round of U.S. tariffs could hit forestry jobs hard across Northwestern Ontario. Washington is threatening 50% tariffs on roughly US$20 billion of Canadian goods starting Aug. 19, on top of existing softwood-lumber duties. For a region where mills and the forestry supply chain are major employers, the group cautions the added costs could mean fewer orders, delayed investment and real pressure on local jobs.
Blood banks are running low — donors needed now
Canadian Blood Services is putting out an urgent call after the national blood supply dropped nearly 20% since June 1, leaving only a few days' worth of some blood types on hand. The agency needs about 18,000 appointments a week to keep up with hospitals and has been falling short by the thousands. It matters up here, where hospitals cover a huge area and lean on a reliable supply for surgeries, cancer care and trauma. Eligible donors can book at blood.ca, on the GiveBlood app, or by calling 1-888-2-DONATE.
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Trivia answer: A flamboyance. A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance” — a fittingly showy name for all that pink. They aren't born that colour, either: flamingos get their rosy hue from pigments in the algae and brine shrimp they eat, and one raised without them would stay pale white.