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Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and twenty-one. Cloudy with showers and a risk of an afternoon thunderstorm today, high of 19°C. In today's issue: the Shuniah truck inspection station goes 24/7 as another stretch of highway twinning gets underway; voter letters land this week with an online-voting PIN and a free bus ride to the polls; free rabies shots for pets on World Rabies Day, though every slot is already taken; and an Air Force Cyclone helicopter drops in on the college hangar. Plus First Nation chiefs back an Indigenous-led search unit, this week's Harbour Beat Connect episode, and seven things to do between now and Saturday.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: The Caesar, often called Canada's signature cocktail, was invented in 1969 in which city — Calgary, Winnipeg, or Halifax? (Answer at the bottom!)
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Thunder Bay Events
From Sabaton at the Auditorium and a Truth and Reconciliation Day run around Boulevard Lake to Come From Away and Thursday-night open-mic comedy, here's what's on between now and Saturday.
Tuesday, September 29
SEP 29 · Sabaton: Legends On Tour — 7 p.m., from $76.50 · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · The Swedish heavy metal headliners bring their history-inspired anthems to town, with Pop Evil and Wings of Steel opening. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, September 30
SEP 30 · Honouring our Children Run — 8 a.m. to noon · 📍 Boulevard Lake, Lyon Blvd. W. · A 5K and 10K walk/run raising money for the Mazinaajim Children's Foundation. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, October 1
OCT 1 · Come From Away — 7:30 to 9 p.m., $36 · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium · Badanai Theatre's run of the acclaimed 9/11 musical continues, with more performances through Oct. 10. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 1 · Open Mic Comedy at Campfire Comedy — doors 7 p.m., show 8 to 10 p.m., free · 📍 117 Cumberland St. N. · A weekly no-cover night with touring comedians and rising stars; sign-ups at 7:30. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, October 2
OCT 2 · Come From Away — 7:30 to 9 p.m. · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium · Another night of Badanai Theatre's production of the 9/11 musical. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 2 · Friday Live Music at Bar Polonia — 8 to 11 p.m., $10 cover · 📍 Polish Combatants' Association Branch No. 1, 209 N. Cumberland St. · Live music every Friday night; everyone is welcome. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Saturday, October 3
OCT 3 · Come From Away — 7:30 to 9 p.m. · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium · A Saturday-night performance of Badanai Theatre's production of the 9/11 musical. · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has nothing posted for Thunder Bay as of Monday evening. A cloudy, showery Tuesday, with a risk of a thunderstorm in the afternoon.
🌧️ Tuesday, September 29 — Thunder Bay
19°C
Overnight low 12°C
Cloudy, with a 40 percent chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon, then a few showers and a risk of a thunderstorm later in the afternoon. South wind becoming 20 km/h near noon. UV index 3, moderate. Showers end this evening, with a 60 percent chance of showers or drizzle overnight.
Wednesday is cloudy with a high of 19°C. Thursday turns to a mix of sun and cloud near 16°C, with the overnight low dropping to about 3°C, and Friday looks similar at 15°C. Saturday cools to 14°C with a 40 percent chance of showers. Forecast from Environment Canada.
The Shuniah truck inspection station goes 24/7 as another stretch of highway twinning gets underway
The province will staff the Highway 11/17 truck inspection station in Shuniah around the clock, Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria announced Monday. Municipal leaders and opposition critics have pressed Queen's Park to keep the $30-million facility staffed regularly ever since it opened in 2024. Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association president Rick Dumas called the move "an important and practical step toward safer highways," noting new enforcement officers have been recruited and trained so 24/7 staffing can start before winter driving season.
Sarkaria also formally announced the next phase of twinning the Trans-Canada Highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon: a five-kilometre stretch from Coughlin Road in Lyon Township to McGuire Road in Red Rock, including two new bridges over the Black Sturgeon River, on a route northwest of the existing two-lane road.
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Voter letters land this week with an online-voting PIN and a free bus ride to the polls
Watch the mailbox: the city says voter information letters start arriving the week of Sept. 28. Each one carries a personal identification number for internet voting, advance-voting dates and locations, election-day polling places, accessibility details, the voter help line and a pass for a free transit ride to and from any poll on advance or election days. Online voting runs around the clock from 10 a.m. Oct. 19 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26, and is also offered at internet voting locations, polls and a kiosk in the city hall lobby.
In-person advance voting is Oct. 19 at the Thunder Bay Centennial Botanical Conservatory and Oct. 21 at the 55 Plus Centre, both 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. No letter? You may have moved recently or just turned 18 — the city clerk's office and a series of pop-up locations can update your information. Those with accessibility concerns can reach the city's municipal accessibility specialist at 807-625-2240.
🗳️ Your call: how are you planning to vote in Thunder Bay's municipal election?
Your call: how are you planning to vote in Thunder Bay's municipal election?
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Free rabies shots for pets on World Rabies Day, but every appointment is already taken
The Ontario SPCA and Humane Society is marking World Rabies Day with free rabies vaccinations for pets in several communities, including a six-hour clinic at the Northwest Animal Centre on Rosslyn Road today. A spokesperson says every appointment slot was already filled by Monday morning, so this one is for pets already booked in. Boehringer Ingelheim donated 500 vaccine doses for the event.
The reminder that comes with it: rabies is fatal, can infect any mammal, including people, and is preventable with vaccination. "By making this essential preventative care accessible, we're helping protect pets, the people who love them, and our communities," said Dr. Joey Tang, the SPCA's medical director.
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An Air Force Cyclone helicopter drops in on the college hangar to pitch aviation careers
A CH-148 Cyclone, the Royal Canadian Air Force's ship-borne helicopter, stopped at Confederation College's hangar on Monday on its way from British Columbia to Shearwater, Nova Scotia, so more than a dozen aviation students could climb aboard. It was one of 15 college stops on the recruitment tour. Sgt. Anne St. Cyr said the pitch is subsidized education: students in the Armed Forces' aircraft maintenance program earn a salary and benefits, with tuition, tools and books covered, and can start applying while still in high school once they're on track to finish Grade 12.
For Superior CVI Grade 12 student Odin Adeleke, the cockpit was the highlight — though his big takeaway was that aircraft are "very difficult to keep in the sky."
Indigenous Community Feature 🪶
Chiefs back an Indigenous-led search unit for missing First Nation people
This story refers to missing and murdered Indigenous people.
Chiefs of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nations across Treaties 9 and 5, voted at their Keewaywin Conference to back a pilot search-and-rescue program for their own communities, after five people reported missing were found dead in Thunder Bay this spring, three of them from NAN communities. The proposed "NAN SAR" would provide search co-ordination, trained search personnel and volunteers, family support and crisis response whenever a NAN member is reported missing. NAN can't run it itself as a political-territorial organization, so it has committed to supporting a designated operator.
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said communities can no longer rely entirely on police and need a body that uses culturally safe search methods. Thunder Bay police Chief Darcy Fleury said he would welcome it as another resource. No timeline has been set. Wednesday is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and the Honouring our Children Run is on the events list above.
Support is available 24/7 through the national crisis line for missing and murdered Indigenous people at 1-844-413-6649.
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Harbour Beat Connect 🎧
Build & Thrive Thunder Bay
Host: Robert Downing
AI Agents for Small Business: What Happens When AI Starts Doing the Work, Not Just Giving Advice
This week's episode asks what changes when AI stops merely offering advice and starts taking on operational tasks itself. It's a short listen, under nine minutes, aimed at Thunder Bay owners weighing what that shift could mean for their own business.
In this episode:
The move from AI that advises to AI that acts
What it means for local small businesses
Practical opportunities worth a closer look
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: Calgary. Bartender Walter Chell is credited with creating the Caesar there in 1969, blending vodka with clam-and-tomato juice.
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