- The Supreme Court dismissed CN’s James Street Swing Bridge appeal, paving the way for the span to reopen later in the year after being closed to vehicular traffic for six years after a 2013 fire. A three-judge panel found the continuing closure breached a 1906 agreement between the Grand Trunk Railway and the former Town of Fort William.
- A County Fair death was investigated as a homicide, after Tanya Andy, 27, was found unresponsive on a bicycle path by a passerby. Ashley Mary Potson, 32, and Patrick James Menson, 29, were charged with second-degree murder. It was the first of three murders in the city in March. Police arrested 22-year-old Nathaniel Austin Wesley in the killing of 58-year-old Claude Justin Kishiqueb near a North Cumberland Street business. On March 29, police discovered a body in the area of Hilldale and Melbourne roads, and later identified the victim as 21-year-old Robenson Saint-Jean of Ottawa. Thunder Bay’s Jeffrey D.R. Miller, 41, was charged with second-degree murder.
- Former murder suspect Adam Capay, who spent nearly four years in solitary confinement before being released from custody, was charged with sexual assault with a weapon and returned to jail. The 26-year-old Lac Seul First Nation man was arrested on March 5 in Sioux Lookout.
- Shaldon Wabason was sentenced to one day in custody, in addition to seven years already served, after pleading guilty to criminal negligence causing death in the 2011 killing of Robert Topping.
- The city decided to put Thunder Bay Fire Rescue under the microscope, announcing they intended to hire a consultant to conduct an operational review and develop a new strategic plan, while finding cost-containment opportunities. The department’s current budget is slightly less than $30 million annually.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid a pre-election visit to the city, holding a two-hour town-hall style meeting at Lakehead University, where he took 17 questions from the audience, ranging from the environment and education to infrastructure and the economy.
- The city decided to focus its indoor soccer efforts on securing funding for a permanent facility, with a cost estimate of $30 million. A temporary facility would have cost between $5.7 million and $8.9 million.
- A town-hall meeting was held to allow parents and family members of children with autism to speak out and voice their concerns about cuts to provincial autism services. Parents in attendance said their children deserved the same opportunities as everyone else and the province’s new plan was not nearly enough to cover the costs of the necessary therapies.
- Staff at the Thunder Bay District Jail raised the alarm about overcrowding at the aging facility, saying there were 198 inmates in custody in a building meant to house no more than 147. It led to increased tensions and more assaults, according to Mike Lundy, the co-chair of the provincial health and safety committee for corrections workers.
- Criminal charges were withdrawn in a fatal Trillium Way fire. The alleged suspect was first charged with criminal negligence causing death and criminal negligence causing bodily harm in October 2018. Kyle Stoney, 30, died in the fire.
Between now and Jan. 1, tbnewswatch.com will be presenting our annual Year in Review feature, with a look back at the top news stories each month throughout 2019. We'll culminate with our top 10 news stories of the decade on New Year's Day.
