Year in Review: August 2022

THUNDER BAY – TBNewswatch takes a month-by-month look back at the top stories of 2022. Here are 10 of the stories that made headlines in August:

1. After two years without a show, the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition returned in full force in August, with long lines and record-breaking crowds looking forward to the Midway, the entertainment, the food and the gambling.

2. Several months after the incident, an 84-year-old resident of a local seniors’ facility was charged with manslaughter. Police say the charges were the result of a physical altercation that killed a 91-year-old resident.

3. The search for missing Indigenous man Kacey Yellowhead was conducted after the Indigenous man went missing on August 2, with police and family members combing the town to locate him. Unfortunately, his body was discovered at the end of the month and identified by police in early September.

4. When the nominations ended, 59 candidates were running in the October municipal elections, including five running for mayor. The total was down slightly from the 2018 election. Ken Boshcoff, who would later win the mayoral race, was the most prominent candidate to submit nomination papers.

5. Like CLE, RibFest returned to normal, with huge crowds flocking to the tasty event to sample the offerings from the professional (and local) ribbers brought in for the weekend. The pandemic has reduced RibFest 2021 to a drive-through event.

6. A murder suspect was arrested after a brief standoff. The defendant was wanted in connection with the murder of Charlie Joseph Finlayson at McMillan Street and led to the arrest of Justin Randy Dave Coaster, 32.

7. Mayor Bill Mauro, who had already said he would not seek a second term, announced a few weeks earlier that he would be stepping down from office to take a job in the private sector.

8. Damage to the restored horses on Chippewa Park’s famous 107-year-old carousel meant it was closed a few weeks ahead of schedule.

9. More than a century after the sinking, divers discovered the wreck of the James P. Donaldson near the Welcome Islands. In 1921 she became the second ship to be acquired by Paterson Steamship Lines.

10. A state riding boundary change that would merge kenora riding with Thunder Bay-Rainy River was announced, drawing criticism from opponents of the idea. The plan would also create a massive northern riding arena, Kiiwetinoong-Muhkegowuk, that would stretch from the Manitoba border to Timmins.