In partnership with
Sponsored By:
📣 Sponsored by: this slot is open. Own a Thunder Bay business and want more of the city hearing about it? This line — and the Thursday Local Business Spotlight — are available. Hit reply, or start here →
Good morning, Thunder Bay — and welcome to issue one hundred and thirty-four. Rain easing near noon, then cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and a high of just 7°C. It's Thanksgiving Monday, so enjoy the long weekend's last day. In today's issue: six mayoral candidates trade ideas on fixing Thunder Bay Transit; Lakehead engineering students pull a bus for Big Brothers Big Sisters; and an OPP officer hears a brand-new excuse for distracted driving. Plus seven things to do between now and Friday.
In this Harbour Beat Issue…
📝 A quick correction: Issue #133 was written for Monday, Oct. 12 but went out a day early, on Sunday morning, so it read as Thanksgiving Monday a day ahead of time. Today's issue is the one for Monday, October 12 — sorry for the mix-up.
Trivia: Which lake holds the record as the world's deepest — Baikal in Russia, Tanganyika in Africa, or Lake Superior? (Answer at the bottom!)
Smart starts here.
You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.
Thunder Bay Events
From a Thanksgiving Monday dinner to the symphony's season opener, here's what's on between now and Friday. Haunted Harbour also runs Thursday through Saturday, but it is nearly sold out (see the story below).
Monday, October 12 (Thanksgiving)
OCT 12 · Dew Drop Inn Thanksgiving Dinner — 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. · 📍 Dew Drop Inn, 294 Red River Rd. · A traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings; the Dew Drop Inn expects 700 to 800 meals, its busiest day of the year. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Tuesday, October 13
OCT 13 · Tuesday Group Run — 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. · 📍 Boulevard Lake, Rita Street parking lot · A friendly 5k run or run/walk around the lake; all speeds and fitness levels welcome. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Wednesday, October 14
OCT 14 · At-Large Candidates' Meet-and-Greet — 6 p.m. · 📍 County Park branch, Thunder Bay Public Library (County Fair Mall), large programming room · The final public meet-and-greet before the Oct. 26 vote, moved from the Waverley branch. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 14 · Westfort Prosvita Catch the Ace — 7 to 8 p.m. · 📍 Westfort Prosvita, 721 West Gore St. · Weekly progressive draw at The Proz — you don't need to be there to win. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Thursday, October 15
OCT 15 · Mayoral Candidates' Forum — 6 p.m. · 📍 County Park branch, Thunder Bay Public Library (County Fair Mall), large programming room · The last public forum for mayoral candidates ahead of the election, moved from the Waverley branch. · 📅 Add to Calendar
OCT 15 · The Ruby Celebration: Hospice Northwest's 40th Anniversary — 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., $100 · 📍 The Auditorium · Hors d'oeuvres, a signature Ruby cocktail, live music, guest speakers, an auction and a 50/50 draw to mark 40 years of hospice care. · 📅 Add to Calendar
Friday, October 16
OCT 16 · Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra: Looking Forward, Looking Backward (Masterworks #1) — 7:30 p.m., tickets from $72 · 📍 The Auditorium, 1 Paul Shaffer Dr. · The season opens with Violet Archer's Poem for Orchestra, Fauré's Pelléas et Mélisande and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. · 📅 Add to Calendar
✅ NO WEATHER ALERTS IN EFFECT
Environment Canada has no alerts posted for Thunder Bay as of Sunday evening. Expect rain easing near noon, then a cloudy afternoon with a 40 percent chance of showers, a brisk northeast wind gusting to 40 km/h, and temperatures holding steady near 7°C.
🌧️ Monday, October 12 — Thunder Bay
7°C
Overnight low 4°C
Periods of rain ending near noon, then cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers. Rain returns tonight, with the wind easing after midnight. UV index 2, low.
Tuesday is cloudy with a 60 percent chance of showers, a high of 8°C and a low of 5°C. Wednesday is cloudy with a high of 12°C, the week's mildest day, and a low of 5°C. Thursday is cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers, a high of 11°C and a low of 4°C. Friday turns windy and cold: cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers, a high of 7°C and an overnight low near minus 6°C. Saturday brings sunshine and a high of 8°C. Forecast from Environment Canada.
Six mayoral candidates trade ideas on fixing Thunder Bay Transit
Transit was the topic at a mayoral debate hosted by the Lakehead University Student Union last Wednesday, with about 200 people in the audience and six candidates on stage: Moe Comuzzi, Peter Diedrich, Trevor Giertuga, Volker Kromm, Wolfgang Schoor and Doug Vincent. Answers ranged widely. Comuzzi called for listening to riders and updating bylaws for e-bikes and scooters, Giertuga pointed to the city's transit renewal plan and the driver shortage behind cancelled routes, and Diedrich said the basics, like long booking times for accessible transit, need fixing first. Vincent floated free fares on select routes, while Kromm and Schoor both asked for more data on who rides and when. Driver shortages came up several times, so if you ride the bus, it's a fair question to put to your ward candidates before the Oct. 26 vote.
🗳️ Your call: transit was a big topic at the debate. What would make you ride more?
What would make you ride Thunder Bay Transit more?
————————————————————————————
Lakehead engineering students pull a bus for Big Brothers Big Sisters
The Engineering Student Society at Lakehead University held its 44th annual bus pull for charity on Friday, with teams signing up, donating and then hauling a bus about 100 metres along the access road outside the Agora. Every dollar goes to Our Kids Count's Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and this year there was a trophy for the fastest pull that stays with the winning team's department for the year. Our Kids Count executive director Jackie Knough says about 15 to 20 kids, many of them boys, are currently waiting to be matched with a mentor. If you've ever thought about becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister, that wait list is where your time would help most.
————————————————————————————
An OPP officer hears a brand-new excuse for distracted driving
An OPP constable driving beside a truck on Highway 11/17 in Thunder Bay filmed the driver on his body camera and saw her using a cellphone. When he pulled her over, she said she had actually been grabbing her can of Klik, an excuse the officer noted in a social media post that he hadn't heard before. It didn't help: she was fined $615, given three demerit points and faces a three-day licence suspension upon conviction. A phone in your hand behind the wheel costs $615, three demerit points and a licence suspension, so keep it out of reach.
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: Lake Baikal. Its deepest point is about 1,640 metres (roughly 5,400 feet), more than four times the maximum depth of Lake Superior, at around 406 metres.
Know someone in Thunder Bay who'd love this? Forward it to them — they can sign up free here.