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Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and twenty-five. Increasing cloud with showers late morning and rain by late afternoon, and a high of 15°C. It's Saturday, and the symphony wraps its free pop-up concerts at Intercity this afternoon. In today's issue: a four-week Beverly Street closure for the Multiplex; that symphony pop-up; Lakehead's upgraded nursing lab; and a new pedestrian bridge on Oliver Road. Plus how you voted in this week's polls, and eight things to do between now and Wednesday.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
Trivia: Velcro was inspired by seed burrs that clung to a Swiss engineer's dog after a walk in the Alps. Which plant do those burrs come from — burdock, thistle, or goldenrod? (Answer at the bottom!)
Ask Harbour Beat: With the municipal election on Oct. 26, how many wards is Thunder Bay divided into?
Answer: Seven — Current River, McIntyre, McKellar, Neebing, Northwood, Red River and Westfort. Voters also choose councillors-at-large and the mayor citywide.
Got a Thunder Bay question? Hit reply. We answer one here every Saturday.
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Thunder Bay Events
From a free symphony pop-up and Come From Away to Sunday's Run for the Cure and a Wednesday-night Catch the Ace draw, here's what's on between now and Wednesday.
Saturday, October 3
OCT 3 · TBSO Free Pop-Up Concert — 2 p.m., free · 📍 Intercity Shopping Centre, near the food court · The symphony's final pop-up to welcome its 66th season, with a taste of each series. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 3 · Come From Away — 7:30 to 9 p.m., $36 · 📍 Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · Badanai Theatre's production of the Gander musical, with more performances Oct. 8 to 10. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 3 · Karaoke at The Proz — 8 p.m. to midnight · 📍 Westfort Prosvita, 721 West Gore St. · Weekly Saturday-night karaoke. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Sunday, October 4
OCT 4 · Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure — 10 a.m. to noon · 📍 Legion Track, Fort William Stadium, Victoria Ave. · A 5K and 1K run/walk raising money for breast cancer research and patient support. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 4 · Family Art Days — 1 to 4 p.m., free · 📍 Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1080 Keewatin St. · Free all-ages creative activities and a wander through the gallery's exhibitions. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Monday, October 5
OCT 5 · Hospice Northwest Volunteer Information Session — 6 to 7 p.m., free · 📍 On Zoom (Hospice Northwest, 63 Carrie St.) · Learn how a few hours a month can bring companionship to someone living with a life-limiting illness; no commitment. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, October 6
OCT 6 · Tuesday Group Run — 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., free · 📍 Boulevard Lake, Rita Street parking lot · A friendly 5K run or run/walk around the lake, any speed or fitness level welcome. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, October 7
OCT 7 · Westfort Prosvita Catch the Ace — draw at 7 p.m., $5 a ticket · 📍 Westfort Prosvita, 721 West Gore St. · Weekly progressive draw; tickets are sold at the bar through the week and you don't need to be there to win. · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has nothing posted for Thunder Bay as of Friday evening. A cloudier day with showers possible from late morning, turning to steady rain late in the afternoon.
🌦️ Saturday, October 3 — Thunder Bay
15°C
Overnight low 6°C
Increasing cloudiness with a 40 percent chance of showers late in the morning and in the afternoon, and periods of rain beginning late in the afternoon. Wind becoming east 20 km/h late in the afternoon. UV index 3, moderate. Rain ends near midnight, then cloudy with a low of 6.
Sunday is a mix of sun and cloud with a 30 percent chance of showers and a high of 14°C. Monday is sunny at 13°C, Tuesday reaches 18°C with a 30 percent chance of showers, and Wednesday climbs to 19°C with the same shower chance. Forecast from Environment Canada.
Beverly Street closes for four weeks starting Monday for Multiplex work
Beverly Street will be closed between Newton Street and the eastern Darwin Crescent intersection from Monday, Oct. 5, for four weeks while crews do underground infrastructure work for the Tbaytel Multiplex indoor turf facility.
Vehicles and pedestrians will detour via Newton Street and Darwin Crescent. Thunder Bay Transit's Route 15 won't run along Beverly Street and will detour via Oliver Road instead, with service alerts posted online.
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The symphony's free pop-up concerts wrap up at Intercity this afternoon
The Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra finishes its three-stop run of free pop-up concerts today at 2 p.m. near the food court at Intercity Shopping Centre, after earlier stops at Hilldale Lutheran Church and Confederation College. Each one samples a different series from the 66th season, and staff will be on hand with brochures and answers.
The first full concert of the season is Oct. 16. This year's Masterworks series is a notable one: each of the five candidates in the search for the orchestra's next artistic director will conduct one.
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Lakehead's refreshed nursing lab lets students practise before they reach a patient
Lakehead University showed off its updated nursing specialties lab on Friday, with new gear that includes a high-fidelity infant simulator, a pre-teen manikin named Gwen with Down syndrome, and an Anatomage Table for exploring human anatomy. School of Nursing director Kristen Jones-Bonofiglio says third-year students spend many hours at the lab's stations before heading into clinical placements.
Students say the manikins are realistic enough to practise intubating, bagging and running a code-blue scenario, which builds confidence for the real thing. Some say they may never get to try those skills in a placement.
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A $650,000 pedestrian bridge goes in over the McIntyre River
A prefabricated, three-metre-wide pedestrian bridge was lifted into place over the McIntyre River beside Oliver Road on Wednesday, linking two sections of a new multi-use trail between Balmoral Street and Golf Links Road. Project engineer Mike Vogrig says it replaces a choke point at an existing culvert on the road's north side and keeps walkers and cyclists out of the way of busy Oliver Road traffic.
The bridge costs roughly $650,000. Paving the approaches is still to come, with the trail expected to open by the end of the 2026 construction season.
🗳️ Your call: the city just spent about $650,000 on one pedestrian bridge. Where should the next active-transportation dollar go?
Your call: the city just spent about $650,000 on a pedestrian bridge for a new Oliver Road trail. Where should the next active-transportation dollar go?
Scrollback 🗳️
Readers would audit city spending before freezing taxes, and most plan to vote early
Two of this week's "Your call" polls, 13 responses each — a small sample, so treat it as a friendly temperature check rather than a verdict.
Seven mayoral candidates split on a tax freeze: which approach to city spending do you want? (13 responses)
🥇 🔍 Audit every service first, then decide what to cut — 38% (5)
🛣️ Keep funding roads and water, even if taxes rise — 31% (4)
🏘️ No freeze — grow the tax base with more housing — 23% (3)
🧊 Freeze taxes in 2027 and force the city to find savings — 8% (1)
Takeaway
Only one reader backed a flat freeze. The biggest group wants an audit of every service before anyone decides what to cut, with keeping roads and water funded close behind. The mood is closer to "show us where the money goes" than "stop the increases."
💬 What Readers Are Saying
One reader urged the city to put residents on fixed incomes, especially seniors and single-parent families, ahead of waterfront and tourist spending. Another, who picked the audit, said a freeze would only push the problem down the road and doubted any politician would streamline operations.
How are you planning to vote in Thunder Bay's municipal election? (13 responses)
🥇 Online, from home — 46% (6)
🥇 In person at an advance poll — 46% (6)
In person on election day (Oct. 26) — 8% (1)
Haven't decided / probably not voting — 0%
Takeaway
The readers who answered are voting early: 12 of 13 plan to go online or to an advance poll, and just one is waiting for Election Day. A newsletter audience is likely keener than the average voter, so don't read this as a forecast for turnout.
Final Thoughts
Online voting runs Oct. 19 to 26, advance polls are Oct. 19 and 21, and Election Day is Monday, Oct. 26.
Meme of the Day
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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: Burdock. In 1941 Swiss engineer George de Mestral studied the hooked burrs that stuck to his dog's coat under a microscope, which led to the hook-and-loop fastener he patented in 1955.
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