YEAR IN REVIEW: November 2024

THUNDER BAY — Here are 10 of the top stories we covered in November 2024, as compiled by Dougall Media Director of News, Leith Dunick. 

1. To the dismay of Fort William First Nation Chief Michelle Solomon and other opponents of the project, the Nuclear Waste Management chose Ignace as the future site of its deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel rods, ending a 14-year process. Ignace won the right to host over South Bruce, Ont.
    
2. Despite the recommendation of administration, city council voted to reject the preferred Miles Street location for the proposed temporary shelter village, forcing city officials to go back to the drawing board to find a new location for the controversial project aimed at building shelter for up to 100 people experiencing homelessness.
    
3. Canada Post workers, including 260 in Northwestern Ontario, took the picket lines in search of better working conditions, job security and higher wages. The strike has lasted more than a month, with no end in sight.
    
4. A fire at McIvor Court, led to the death of a resident. The fire broke out in a second-floor unit and Thunder Bay Fire Rescue officials said the cause was likely improperly discarded smoking materials.
    
5. A Thunder Bay man was charged with second-degree murder after the death of a 39-year-old inmate inside the Thunder Bay District Jail. Travis Jacob Loon was already facing a murder charge in the 2022 death of 37-year-old Rusty James Russow.
    
6. Charla Robinson, head of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern that the return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, along with his protectionist trade practices, could hurt the local economy. Meanwhile Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski said Canadians should give Trump a chance.
    
7. Murray Sinclair, the respected former chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, died at 73. Sinclair, in 2018, conducted an independent review of the Thunder Bay Police Services Board at the request of the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, which led to the appointment of a temporary administrator to oversee the board.
    
8. The law licence of former Thunder Bay Police Service in-house lawyer Holly Walbourne was officially suspended. Walbourne faces charges of obstructing a police officer, breach of trust and three counts of obstruction of justice.
    
9. Residents of a Hogarth-Riverview Manor finally had hot water restored after going more than a month without reliable service.
    
10. The Thunder Bay District Jail was evacuated after a boiler broke down. About 80 inmates were temporarily transferred to the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre and others to correctional institutions in other areas of Ontario.