Man charged with murder, Fentanyl-sniffing dogs at border, have patience when flying from Detroit, and record-low ice coverage reported on the Great Lakes: Top Windsor stories this week

Here's a look at the top stories on ctvnewswindsor.ca this week.

American man charged with attempted murder after woman 'intentionally' struck with vehicle: Windsor police

An American man is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, after he allegedly struck a woman with his vehicle in downtown Windsor, Ont. on Saturday night.

According to the Windsor Police Service, shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 23, officers were called to the area of Riverside Drive West and Ferry Street for a report of collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.

Upon arrival, police located the pedestrian, a 21-year-old woman, who was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver had left the scene prior to police arrival, but was located and arrested at a Windsor hospital.

Detector dogs could help sniff out more fentanyl, firearms at border, review suggests

Detector dogs who work at Canada's border agency could play a bigger role in sniffing out deadly fentanyl and illicit firearms, suggests an internal evaluation that found room to boost enforcement measures. A border services officer watches his dog sniff through shipping boxes at a Canada Border Services Agency warehouse, Tuesday, April 21, 2009 in Montreal. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson)Detector dogs who work at Canada's border agency could play a bigger role in sniffing out deadly fentanyl and illicit firearms, suggests an internal evaluation that found room to boost enforcement measures.

The Canada Border Services Agency has dozens of canines trained to detect smuggled currency, drugs, guns, and food, plant and animal products.

A recently published evaluation by the agency says the detector dog service has helped reduce threats by effectively intercepting such regulated and prohibited goods at the border through "efficient and non-intrusive examinations that save time."

The border agency program employs Labrador retrievers, beagles and other breeds, with dogs typically 11 to 16 months old when training begins at a centre in Rigaud, Que.

Flying out of Detroit? Here's why you will need to pack your patience

Detroit Metro Airport. (Courtesy DTW / Facebook)

If you’re planning on flying out of Detroit, you will need to give yourself more travel time as a multi-year construction project on the airport’s roadway tunnels is slated to get underway next week.

According to a news release, customers heading to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) will need to allow extra drive time due to upcoming construction.

Later this month, the Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) will begin the first of a multi-project construction program in order to rehabilitate roadway tunnels on Dingell Drive.

The projects will therefore impact the flow of traffic on Dingell Drive from approximately the Evans Terminal to the Eureka Road exit and entrance ramps near the McNamara Terminal.

Record-low ice coverage reported on the Great Lakes

GLIER reports record-low ice coverage across the Great Lakes with 0.3 per cent coverage across the basin; Lake Erie reporting 0 per cent ice coverage as of Jan. 3, 2024. (Source: Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research)The Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER) based in Windsor has reported the lowest levels of ice coverage on the Great Lakes recorded in the last 50 years.

As of Wednesday, there is less than 0.4 per cent of ice coverage across all five of the Great Lakes and 0 per cent ice coverage on Lake Erie, according to GLIER.

“It’s strange,” said Mike McKay, the director of GLIER. “[The ice coverage is] well below the historical average of about 10 per cent at this point of winter.”

The mild winter Windsor-Essex and much of Ontario has experienced thus far in the season, hasn’t allowed for ice to form and McKay blames climate warming for the change, and he adds the phenomenon is becoming more familiar.