Windsor Star
BIKE TOURISM BOOMING
Linda and Robert Hou from Ann Arbor, Mich., look for a spot to park their bikes in Sandwich during a visit earlier this month. Windsor's Sandwich and Detroit's Delray are enjoying a cross-border tourism boom thanks to the Gordie Howe International...
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More than 1,000 job seekers line up for Costco interviews
More than 1,000 people stood outside for hours waiting for job interviews for the new east Windsor Costco on Wednesday. The lengthy and ever-growing line began at the front door of the Serbian Centre, where the job fair was being held, and snaked...
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Ex-michigan governor walks across Gordie Howe bridge
The ribbon cutting is done and controversy over the Gordie Howe International Bridge has cooled — at least a little. So former Michigan governor Rick Snyder, perhaps the most crucial player in getting the instantly iconic infrastructure built, decided...
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Iconic fountain to return next fall
The countdown is on. The new Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain is set to return to Windsor's waterfront next year, with the city announcing a Sept. 21, 2027, grand reopening date for the “iconic” landmark. The City of Windsor marked the...
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SPITFIRES STUMBLE
Patience can be a tough commodity at times. Two games into the season and the Windsor Spitfires are trying to keep things in perspective after earning just a single point. “We got one out of four points, which isn't great, but put it in perspective,”...
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BEER UNDER PRESSURE
Brewer Tyler Parry works with some increasingly expensive beer cans at Walkerville Brewery. The brewery has kept beer prices steady so far, but with tariffs upping the cost of everything from aluminum cans to ingredients, the owner says something has...
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LIGHTNING STRIKE
A lightning strike caused Wednesday's fire at Chatham's Greenfield Global plant, company officials say. “Lightning struck a corn-based ethanol storage tank” at the 275 Bloomfield Rd. facility early Wednesday morning, a company release said in the...
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United Way program helps kids beat down barriers and achieve success
The United Way says one of its key youth education programs is improving grades and “life outcomes” for students in some of the region's most poverty-stricken neighbourhoods. The Prosperus initiative, a United Way partnership with more than 30 local...
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DOGGIE PADDLE
A happy golden retriever bounds into the water — which had its chemistry adjusted so it was safe for the canines — at Riverside Centennial Pool during the third annual Pooch Plunge on Sunday.
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SAILOR'S DELIGHT
The unending migration crisis in Spain's north African territory of Ceuta is inflicting potentially terminal damage on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before next year's general election, analysts say. But the Socialist, a progressive hero who has made...
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TIDYING UP TOPPLED TREES
Workers with Davey Tree Care Services remove storm-damaged tree limbs on Ford Boulevard on Wednesday. The company has multiple crews helping with the cleanup from last week's tornado. The city has received more than 1,000 requests for service after...
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Windsor-detroit still feeling impacts of 9/11 terror attack
The Twin Towers were destroyed, America was under attack and Windsor's mayor had a sickening realization. Windsor-detroit — North America's busiest border crossing — seemed like an obvious target. Mike Hurst was cruising down Riverside Drive on Sept....
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Horses euthanized after suffering suspicious injuries
An Essex County family is searching for answers after two beloved horses suffered catastrophic wounds just hours apart, forcing their owners to euthanize both animals. Essex OPP launched an investigation into what they call suspicious injuries. They...
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LABOUR OF LOVE
Members of Unifor Local 195 were out in full force Monday ahead of Windsor's annual Labour Day Parade. The parade marched along Ottawa Street to Lanspeary Park, where workers and supporters gathered for a celebration featuring speakers, entertainment...
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STORM WALLOPS REGION
A massive storm ripped through the Windsor region Thursday afternoon, tearing the roof from one house and carrying it a block away onto another home. The hardest hit area was east Windsor, where Sandra Smith pulled up to her Ford Boulevard home to...
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The Maestro's dying wish: WSO gifts concert tickets to cancer centre staff
The Windsor Symphony Orchestra has fulfilled one of Maestro Robert Franz's final wishes. On the first anniversary of Franz's death from cancer, the WSO announced Wednesday it is giving every employee at his beloved Windsor Regional Cancer Centre two...
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JAZZ CAN BUILD A BRIDGE
The Windsor members of the Borderland Ensemble — Trevor Lamb, left, Austin Di Pietro and Zach Mckinney — said they hope to make a point alongside their Detroit-based bandmates with a free performance at the Detroit Jazz Festival on Saturday, their...
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Club grown from tragedy holds vigil to remember those lost to overdoses
Joe Newman was a nurse so he knew the risks, but it wasn't enough to keep him out of danger. Newman, who died of a fentanyl overdose on Christmas Day 2020, was among hundreds of Windsor-essex residents mourned and remembered Monday on International...
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DOGGED PURSUIT
Justin Tao is tethered to his pomsky, Toki, during the Zulu Challenge at Malden Park on Saturday. “It's a family challenge. Sure, it's hard to do, but you're always going to remember who you did it with,” said the organizer. The obstacle course event...
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SPANNING A CENTURY
Ted Spodarek remembers watching builders dig into the blue clay under the Detroit River in the late 1920s to make way for the footings of the Ambassador Bridge when he was just a boy. Now 103, Spodarek returned to the city to set foot on the Gordie...
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WHEELY FUN TIMES
Antoine Boudrias helps set up the ferris wheel at Mcauliffe Park in Tecumseh on Wednesday. The annual Tecumseh Corn and Music Festival — which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year — kicks off today and runs through Sunday at the park.
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STILL STANDING
Laurie Kowtiuk stands outside her historic house at 78 Fox St. N. in Essex. Kowtiuk purchased her more than 150-year-old house in 1987 and has spent decades restoring it, earning a heritage designation.
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Poilievre calls for continued fight against `terrible' U.S. auto tariffs
Government bailouts won't be a longterm solution to keep Canada's automotive industry afloat during the trade war with the United States, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says. During a visit on Monday to Windsor, the nation's automotive capital,...
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Bridge owner offers up derelict homes
The Ambassador Bridge company says it's ready to hand over derelict houses to the City of Windsor and spare taxpayers from costly expropriations in exchange for a few “surplus” municipal roads. It's a plan the company says city council agreed to in...
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MARCHING IN MEMORY
Members of the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment march through Dieppe Park in downtown Windsor on Wednesday during a ceremony marking the 84th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid. The ill-fated attack on Nazi-occupied France claimed the lives of 907 Canadian...
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New docuseries draws attention to the creative community in Windsor
Windsor artist Jeff Denomme — the name behind The Haunted Zoo brand — is the focus of a new docuseries called The Zookeeper, providing a peak behind the curtain of what it takes to be an artist in Canada's Motor City. According to Denomme, being...
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HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
Three-year-old Shane Clayton runs through the water at City Hall Square earlier this week. The next couple of days will bring more splashpad weather, with temperatures expected to hit a high of 26C on Thursday and Friday. Unfortunately, rain is in the...
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PIPING HOT PARADE
Pipers lead a parade of followers through downtown Amherstburg during the Bagpipes in the Burg event held every Friday in July and August during summer Open Air Weekends. The pipers make another appearance Friday at 7 p.m. This weekend's Open Air theme...
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IN CRUISIN' CONTROL
A little midday rain certainly didn't damper these drivers' spirits at the Ouellette Car Cruise on Friday. The annual summer event attracted car-lovers and vehicles of all shapes, sizes and eras from both sides of the border. “I think it's that pride...
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City seeks housing proposals for old W.D. Lowe school site
Five acres of urban land present a “prime opportunity” for affordable housing — as long as the developer keeps a 103-year-old school building 's historic facade intact. That's according to Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who, on Thursday, invited...
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Province says it's keeping promise of police helicopter
Windsor police will still get the helicopter promised to them in Ontario's 2025 budget, the province's solicitor general says. “Helicopters play a vital role,” Michael Kerzner said during a visit to Windsor on Tuesday. “We will have a helicopter that...
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Michigan senator confident Canada-u.s. ties will endure
A Michigan senator who visited Windsor this week encouraged Gordie Howe International Bridge travellers to “give people a little grace” while officials sort out border officer staffing. Aware of long U.s.-bound lines at the new port of entry, Elissa...
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A PROUD DISPLAY ON A SUNNY DAY
Windsor-essex Pride Fest organizers are calling this year's Pride Parade the largest ever, as hundreds of participants and onlookers lined the street donning rainbow colours. The parade kicked off at 11 a.m. Sunday travelling down Ottawa Street,...
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DETERMINED TO ROLL
Justin Bellemore of Windsor camps out at the entrance to the Gordie Howe International Bridge multi-use path on Tuesday. Bellemore arrived more than 24 hours early to become the first cyclist to use the bridge at Wednesday morning's official opening of...
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`Share our experiences more with the United States'
For the first time in decades, cyclists and pedestrians have crossed the Canada-u.s. border over the Detroit River. Early Wednesday morning, more than a hundred people lined up at the foot of the International Gordie Howe Bridge to be among the first...
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HOWE PARTY A ONE-SIDED AFFAIR
Canadian dignitaries celebrated a new era of cross-border trade with a ribbon cutting and a ceremonial hockey game on the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge on Friday. Touted as one of the most significant infrastructure projects in North...
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Americans end up paying cost of tariffs, Dilkens says
“At this point of Donald Trump's presidency, I'm shocked by very little.” That was Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens's reaction on Tuesday to news the U.S. president planned to impose 50-per-cent tariffs on a wide range of Canadian exports, including goods...
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HOSPITAL ON HORIZON
Representatives from the Fancsy family and Windsor Regional Hospital join Ontario Premier Doug Ford and local and provincial politicians Thursday in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Fancsy Family Hospital. The acute care hospital is expected to cost...
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CREATING AL FRESCO
Elizabeth Macdonald, a member of Windsor-essex County Plein Air Artists, captured the landscape at King's Navy Yard Park during the Amherstburg Art Crawl Saturday. The annual event brings artists into public spaces for live painting, demonstrations and...
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Gordie Howe bridge set to open: Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump says the Gordie Howe International Bridge will open July 27 after his administration negotiated what he described as a “better deal” for the U.S. — though Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will still keep most of the...
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BRING THE HOUSE DOWN
The city has issued demolition orders for 17 derelict houses owned by the Ambassador Bridge, delighting area residents — though Windsor's fight with the company continues. “It's about time. It'll be a big relief to see these come down,” said Wayne...
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100 YEARS OF HELP
After a century of giving back to the animal community, the Windsor/essex County Humane Society raised $100,000 for two new rescue and relief vehicles. Earlier this year, the organization launched its Fuel the Future campaign to replace its old rescue...
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BIA installs the final strings of lights in city's downtown
The final strings of colour-changing lights have been hung along Ouellette Avenue — and even more illumination is on the way. The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association has finished installing roughly $200,000 worth of spherical decorative...
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`EXTRAORDINARY TRIBUTE'
Hiram Walker's 210th birthday was celebrated on July 4 with the opening of a new historical exhibition showcasing the famed Windsor whisky distiller's life. City officials and community members attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday unveiling...
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FORK IN THE ROAD
A powerful thunderstorm battered Windsor-essex with rain and strong winds Friday evening, toppling trees and causing power outages across the region. Environment Canada issued an orange thunderstorm warning for Windsor-essex around 7 p.m. Friday,...
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“A Friend’s Help.”
Serving the Community Since February 1998 Artist Exhibited at Langdon Hall, Cambridge, Ontario | Windsor and other exhibitions coming soon!
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Smokin' hot time downtown as city salutes Canada Day
A heat wave wasn't going to stop Windsorites from attending the city's annual Canada Day Parade on Wednesday. This year's parade theme was Our Canadian Mosaic, including many floats and displays representing the diverse nationalities and cultures...
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READY TO FLY THE FLAG
Deanna Hunt is decked out in red and white while waiting in the shade for the Canada Day Parade to make its way down Ouellette Avenue on a sunny, steamy Wednesday morning. Go online to windsorstar.com and visit Friday's paper for full coverage of the...
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What our flag means, 60 years after it was adopted
The Canadian flag means opportunity to young Christine Yousif, a recent Grade 8 graduate at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School in downtown Windsor. Across town, the flag means home to Sonny Saadat, an Iranian immigrant who makes a living...
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PLAY THE LONG GAME ON BRIDGE
While the United States is using the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge as leverage in CUSMA talks, an auto parts industry leader says making concessions to get it open is ill-advised. “That bridge will be operating beyond the lives of our...
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MAKING TRACKS
After 135 years in operation, Diane Shoes may be nearing the end of its run. Carl Weingarden has put the Ottawa Street building up for sale as he looks toward eventual retirement from the family business.
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Canada-u.s. tensions still large factor in local tourism
Fewer Canadian and American travellers visited Windsor-essex last year amid ongoing political tension between both countries. Tourism Windsor-essex Pelee Island CEO Gordon Orr announced during the organization's annual general meeting on June 18 that...
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Fireworks fans flood city's waterfront for annual show
A haze of eye-stinging smoke filled the air and briefly turned the moon red following an explosive light show over the Detroit River on Monday night. The haze resulted from the 68th annual Ford Fireworks, a cherished, booming tradition that elicited...
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Local experts skeptical about social media controls
The federal government introduced a new bill on June 10 that would prevent young Canadians from accessing social media services. Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, requires tech companies like Meta and X to comply with new safety rules to protect...
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SOCCER CELEBRATION
Cyle Larin, front, celebrates with teammate Luc de Fougerolles after scoring Canada's first goal in a 6-0 drubbing of Qatar during the first round of the World Cup in Vancouver Friday. The joy was tempered later in the game when player Ismael Kone...
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CITY SLASHES BUILD FEES
In pursuit of nearly $50 million in grants from senior governments, Windsor is prepared to slash the fees it charges developers by 70 per cent. On Wednesday, city council voted unanimously to submit an “aggressive” application for funding from the...
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SUMMER KICKOFF
Members of Windsor city council, administration and other local dignitaries attend a news conference to outline the Experience Windsor summer event schedule. Full coverage on
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HAVIN' A BALL!
Super soccer fan Yvonne Underwood is shown at her Windsor home sprucing up the decor on Monday. Underwood has decked out her home to celebrate the Canada-u.s.-mexico World Cup.
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RED & WHITE IN FLIGHT
Soccer fan Nico Testani shows his support for Canada at the Sandwich Town BIA FIFA World Cup watch party on Friday at the Dominion House Tavern in Windsor. Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina played to a 1-1 draw. Qatar and Switzerland also tied 1-1 so...
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HIGHLAND FLING
Henry Heaton heaves a weight in preparation for the Kingsville Highland Games, which return to the area after a one-year break. Colasanti's Tropical Gardens will host the even on June 27.
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BRIDGE FETE POSTPONED
Plans to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge have been postponed just days after Prime Minister Mark Carney said the crossing linking Ontario and Michigan would open by the end of this week. The Crown corporation overseeing the $6.4-billion...
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Municipalities eye infrastructure funds
Windsor-essex municipalities are scrambling to determine by June 19 whether they are eligible for millions of dollars in funding for infrastructure projects to support new housing, providing they cut costs for developers by up to 50 per...
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