To continue our annual Year in Review, TBnewswatch has one final list.
Using our readership metrics, we’ve completed our list of most read stories for 2022. So here are the top 10 stories as selected by you:
1. Thunder Bay eagerly waited for results on municipal election night to see who would form the next city council. TBnewswatch and TBT News hosted a live-streamed broadcast, keeping viewers updated and hearing from those in the races. Ken Boshcoff reclaimed the mayor's office, nearly 20 years after his previous term ended. A trio of returning councillors topped the at-large contest, while all of the ward incumbents seeking re-election were returned to office. Five political newcomers were elected to join the new council.
2. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled that a prospective renter in Thunder Bay with a disability was discriminated against because a property lease agreement included the provision that snow removal be done by tenants.
3. As the Omicron variant led to surging COVID-19 cases across the province, Premier Doug Ford and his government opted to delay the return to in-person learning and have students go online after the winter break. Along with pivoting schools to online, the government also implemented a number of restrictions for other public indoor settings.
4. Last year's winter extended longer than most would have liked, with at least one major storm forecasted to deliver 30 centimetres of snow in early April.
5. The search for a Thunder Bay woman who had gone missing in September came to a tragic end when her body was found on the shore of the Kaministiquia River near Silver Falls Road. Kaitlin Restall, 41, had been reported missing the previous day. Her body was found after police discovered evidence of a single-vehicle collision in the area. Her van was found submerged in the river.
6. Images emerged in July that appeared to show a Thunder Bay Police Service officer guarding the scene of a sudden death at Thunder Bay's Marina Park, allowing a bride to have pictures taken inside a marked police cruiser. A passerby captured the scene on video, which was posted to social media. In the social media post, he said he was sickened by it. A police spokesperson said no disrespect was intended, and that the bride had a connection to a retired officer and requested to have the photos taken.
7. The Freedom Convoy made a stop in Thunder Bay on its cross-country trek to Ottawa. Organizers refused to speak with local media and when asked, threatened reporters with trespassing charges, on land they did not own, after calling the reporters “dirty communists” and telling them to “go find a new country” in a verbal confrontation. When the convoy crossed into Ontario, it was estimated that the procession was 70 kilometres in length.
8. Former Thunder Bay resident and Hillcrest High School graduate Ray Lalonde went on a Jeopardy winning streak. Lalonde had accumulated more than $300,000 in winnings during his first 11 victories.
9. A Ministry of Transportation pit in Neebing was the scene of a fuel heist in in November. More than 1,000 litres of dyed diesel (also known as coloured fuel) was taken from the pit off Kivela Road West. Provincial police are investigating the theft.
10. Safety concerns about heavy truck traffic on Highway 102 and Dawson Road were reignited when a transport went off the roadway and ended up in the backyard of a Pine Grove Place home.
