Thunder Bay Today's News Roundup: Greenhouse 'Soft Opening' Welcomes Visitors, Holiday Garbage Collection Rescheduled, Weekend Nightlife Options Abound

On December 19, 2025, Thunder Bay's local news was filled with both year-end community holiday cheer: the Centennial Botanical Conservatory held a "soft opening" after renovations, and Simpson Street hosted its first community Christmas party; at the same time, practical issues around city operations were just as dense: garbage and recycling collection schedules were fully adjusted for the Christmas and New Year holidays, the police service's request for a 9.1% budget increase drew attention, and that evening's TBT Newshour packaged these top stories for viewers.

1. TBT Newshour: Evening TV news packages local highlights

TBT News' flagship evening news program 《TBT Newshour: December 19, 2025》 aired tonight and was simultaneously posted on the Local News section of the tbnewswatch website. The program continued its usual style, offering a consolidated rundown of the day's key local issues, including municipal updates, public safety information, weather and road condition alerts, and holiday event coverage, providing residents who prefer to "catch up on all the news after work" with a "TV digest" of the day's news.

2. Simpson Street's first community holiday party: Drums, Santa, and pizza light up the south-end neighbourhood

One of today's Local News highlights was the first community holiday party held at Simpson Street . According to tbnewswatch, this Neighbourhood Holiday Party, themed around "Drums, Santa, and pizza," brought residents of the south end an evening filled with music, food, and family-friendly activities, marking a new attempt at community building in this older neighbourhood.

3. Centennial Botanical Conservatory "soft opening": Opens early after renovations

After years of discussion and construction, the Dease Street at Centennial Botanical Conservatory finally had its "soft opening" just before Christmas. A Local Journalism Initiative report published today noted that the main hall and some newly renovated spaces are temporarily open to the public for a few days, letting residents get a first look at the refreshed conservatory before the official reopening.

4. Christmas and New Year holidays approaching: Garbage and recycling collection dates fully adjusted

To accommodate the statutory holidays of Christmas (December 25) and New Year's Day (January 1) , the city announced in a Local News article today that garbage and recycling collection dates for most Thunder Bay residents will be adjusted during the holiday period.

The report noted that since there is no collection on the holidays themselves, the affected routes will generally be moved up or delayed by one day. Some neighbourhoods that normally have collection on Wednesday or Thursday will instead have it on Tuesday or Friday during the holiday week. For specific dates for individual addresses, residents need to check the City of Thunder Bay's waste collection calendar or the city's website.

5. Ongoing issue: Police service's 9.1% budget increase request continues to "simmer" in public discourse

Although not published today, a report that still holds a prominent spot on tbnewswatch's homepage is the Thunder Bay Police Service's 2026 budget request. According to earlier reports, the police plan to increase their net operating budget by 9.1%for the 2026 fiscal year, which amounts to approximately $5.4 million, of which about 8.1% (approximately $5.1 million) would go directly to police operations and staffing costs.