Tariff Tiffs & Frozen Cliffs

🌊 Monday, February 23, 2026

All the news that's fit to get wet

☁️ Weather — NY Side

Well, folks, February is doing exactly what February promised it would do: absolutely nothing pleasant. Niagara Falls, NY is waking up to temperatures hovering around 22°F (-6°C) with a wind chill that makes it feel more like 10°F (-12°C). The kind of cold where you go outside to start your car and immediately reconsider every life choice that led you here. There's a chance of light snow flurries this afternoon — not enough to cancel anything, just enough to make the roads exciting.

Hey, a high of 38°F on Friday! Get the flip flops out. (Don't get the flip flops out.)

📍 Full forecast from National Weather Service Buffalo

🍁 Weather — Ontario Side

Good morning, Niagara Falls, ON — or as the wind chill is currently describing it, good morning, surface of the moon. Temperatures are sitting around -8°C with a wind chill dragging it down to -18°C, which is technically "a bit fresh" in Canadian. There's a light snow advisory in effect for parts of Niagara Region this morning, because of course there is. The Horseshoe Falls, for the record, remains unbothered. It has seen worse.

Zero degrees on Thursday — practically patio weather. The Niagara-on-the-Lake wine crowd is already polishing their glasses.

🍁 Full forecast from Environment Canada

🗽 NY Side News

Rainbow Bridge Traffic Slowdowns Continue as U.S.-Canada Tensions Linger at the Border

Cross-border commuters heading into Canada via the Rainbow Bridge are reporting extended wait times this week, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirms it has increased inspection protocols in response to ongoing federal trade policy directives. The backup is stretching into downtown Niagara Falls, NY, which local business owners describe as "not ideal" — a phrase that, in Niagara Falls, covers everything from mild inconvenience to a dump truck in your living room. If you're crossing this week, pack snacks, a podcast, and the patience of a saint. (Niagara Gazette)

Niagara Falls City Council to Revisit Downtown Development Plan

Niagara Falls City Council is expected to take up discussion this week on stalled downtown revitalization proposals that have been kicking around longer than some of the potholes on Main Street. The agenda includes review of incentives for mixed-use development along the Third Street corridor, which city planners hope will attract the kind of foot traffic that doesn't just show up to photograph the Falls and leave. Residents, as always, have opinions — and a Facebook group in which to express them loudly. (Niagara Gazette)

Niagara County Looks to Expand Mental Health Services with State Grant Application

Niagara County officials announced over the weekend that they are pursuing a new round of New York State funding to expand community-based mental health and substance abuse services across the county. The application, which could bring in several hundred thousand dollars, targets underserved rural communities from Youngstown to Lockport that have seen growing demand for crisis intervention. It's the kind of story that doesn't get enough coverage but absolutely should, so here it is. Good luck, Niagara County. You've got this. (Lockport Journal)

Wheatfield Pot-Hole Repair Crews Brave the February Freeze

In a feat of either heroism or bureaucratic stubbornness, Niagara County highway crews are reportedly attempting pothole repairs in Wheatfield and the Town of Niagara this week despite temperatures that make asphalt patching roughly as effective as filling a swimming pool with warm Jell-O. Officials insist the cold-patch method used in winter is "temporary but functional," which is also how most of us would describe getting through February. Spring repaving is allegedly on the schedule. We'll believe it when we see smooth pavement. (WGRZ)

Artpark Announces Early Spring Programming Lineup

Artpark & Company in Lewiston has begun releasing details of its early spring 2026 lineup, with community arts programming and smaller venue events set to kick off in March ahead of the big summer amphitheater season. The beloved Lewiston institution — which somehow makes a hillside above the Niagara Gorge feel like the most civilized place on earth — is also expected to announce several concert headliners for the summer season in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, and maybe start budgeting for lawn chairs now. (Artpark)

🏒 Buffalo Sabres: Still Chasing the Playoff Dream (Bless Their Hearts)

The Buffalo Sabres continued their improbable late-season playoff push over the weekend, with the team currently sitting just outside a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with a stretch of winnable games ahead. Head coach Lindy Ruff's system is generating more buzz in Western New York than it has in years, and even the most seasoned Sabres pessimists are allowing themselves — carefully, guardedly, with one hand on an escape hatch — to feel something resembling hope. Tage Thompson remains an absolute force of nature. Don't jinx it. Don't you dare jinx it. (Buffalo News | WKBW)

🍁 Ontario Side News

Niagara Region Transit Expansion Study Moves to Public Consultation Phase

Niagara Region has opened a public consultation process for its long-awaited transit expansion study, which would look at improved bus frequency and potential rapid transit corridors connecting Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland. The idea of convenient, reliable public transit across Niagara Region is so exciting that residents are being cautiously optimistic — which in municipal planning terms means "expecting to still be driving everywhere in 2040 but enjoying the survey." Have your say before the March deadline. (Niagara Now)

Niagara Falls, ON Considers New Short-Term Rental Regulations

Niagara Falls City Council on the Ontario side is continuing debate over proposed short-term rental regulations that would require Airbnb and VRBO operators to be licensed, pay fees, and meet safety standards — a move aimed at bringing some order to a market that has exploded alongside tourism. Advocates say it protects neighbourhoods and housing stock; operators say the fees are steep. Meanwhile, the tourists will keep arriving regardless, dragging roller bags past confused raccoons at 2 a.m. (Niagara Falls Review)

Niagara-on-the-Lake Winery Season Prep Underway as Ice Wine Harvest Wraps

Several Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries confirmed this weekend that the 2025-26 ice wine harvest has officially wrapped up, with growers reporting a solid — if slightly compressed — freeze season. The harvest window, which requires sustained temperatures of at least -8°C to freeze grapes on the vine, produced what vintners are calling "concentrated, expressive" results, which is wine-speak for "really, really good." Tasting rooms are beginning to prep for the spring tourist rush, which arrives approximately the moment the word "March" appears on a calendar. (The Lake Report | Niagara This Week)

Fallsview Casino Resort Reports Strong February Revenue Despite Slower Tourist Traffic

OLG and Fallsview Casino Resort released preliminary February figures suggesting the property has had a solid winter month, driven largely by regional visitors and bus-tour packages from the GTA and southern Ontario rather than international tourism, which remains softer than pre-pandemic peaks. Management noted that the gaming floor and hotel occupancy have benefited from aggressive promotional packages — the kind where you receive a dining credit, a show ticket, and a coupon for free parking, and somehow still leave $200 lighter. It's a gift, really. (Niagara Daily News)

St. Catharines Brock University Researchers Publish Niagara River Water Quality Study

Researchers from Brock University's environmental science department have published new findings on water quality monitoring in the Niagara River corridor, identifying seasonal microplastic concentration patterns that vary significantly between the upper and lower river. The study, which gathered data throughout 2024-25, recommends enhanced monitoring at several outflow points and is already being cited in conversations about municipal stormwater management. In other words: the river that powers the most famous waterfall on earth deserves better, and Brock is making the case. (CBC Hamilton/Niagara)

Pelham Winterfest Wraps Up to Strong Community Turnout

The Town of Pelham's annual winter festival wrapped up its final weekend events with what organizers are calling one of the strongest community turnouts in recent memory, with outdoor skating, local vendors, and live music drawing families from across Niagara Region. Pelham — the quiet, slightly smug gem of the region that everyone discovers and then immediately tells no one about so it stays nice — apparently throws a very good winter party. The hot chocolate line was, by all accounts, worth it. (Niagara This Week)

📅 Events — Both Sides of the Border

• Mon, Feb 23 | Open Skate — Gale Centre — Gale Centre Arena, Niagara Falls, ON. Public skating sessions available throughout the day. Check schedule for times. Great way to pretend you are coordinated. (Gale Centre)

• Tue, Feb 24 | Trivia Night at Syndicate Brewing — Syndicate Restaurant & Brewery, St. Catharines, ON. 7:00 PM. Weekly trivia with prizes. Know your Niagara history, your hockey stats, and your Canadian geography or be humbled publicly. (Syndicate)

• Wed, Feb 25 | Fallsview Casino — OLG Stage Live Entertainment — Fallsview Casino Resort, Niagara Falls, ON. Check OLG Stage for current show listings and ticket availability. (OLG Stage at Fallsview)

• Thu, Feb 26 | Niagara Falls City Council Meeting (NY) — City Hall, Niagara Falls, NY. 6:30 PM. Open to the public. Come for the development debates, stay for the pothole discussions. (City of Niagara Falls NY)

• Thu, Feb 26 | Live Music at The Exchange — The Exchange, Niagara Falls, NY. Check venue listings for this week's performers. The scrappiest, most authentic music room on the NY side. (The Exchange)

• Fri, Feb 27 | First Friday Arts — Lewiston, NY — Downtown Lewiston, NY. 5:00–8:00 PM. Gallery walks, studio openings, and wine at various locations along Center Street. Lewiston being impossibly charming, as usual. (Artpark & Lewiston Arts)

• Fri–Sun, Feb 27–Mar 1 | Niagara Falls State Park — Winter Walking Tours — Niagara Falls State Park, Niagara Falls, NY. Guided walks along the gorge with ice formation viewing. Dress like you are going to actual Antarctica. (Niagara Falls State Park)

• Sat, Feb 28 | Niagara-on-the-Lake Winery Weekend Tasting Events — Various wineries, NOTL, ON. Multiple wineries hosting winter tasting sessions. Ice wine, barrel samples, and the best excuse to drive slowly through pretty countryside. (Wine Country Ontario)

• Sat, Feb 28 | Buffalo Sabres vs. TBD — Home Game — KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY. Check schedule for opponent and puck drop time. Wear navy. Believe. Always believe. (Buffalo Sabres)

• Sun, Mar 1 | Lewiston Council of the Arts — Winter Exhibition Closing Weekend — Lewiston, NY. Final days of the current winter gallery exhibition. Small-town art that punches well above its weight class. (Lewiston Council of the Arts)

🌉 Across the Border

There's something very Niagara about this particular Monday: on one side of the bridge, crews are patching potholes in the frozen dark and council is debating what downtown could become; on the other, vintners are bottling the last of the ice wine and surveyors are asking whether two cities and a dozen towns might someday share a proper transit system. The trade tensions hovering over the Rainbow Bridge are real, and the wait times are annoying, but they've never once stopped the river from flowing north, and they won't stop the people on both sides from crossing when it matters. The Falls don't care about tariffs. The mist rises the same on both sides. And somewhere in between — right there in the middle of the gorge, where neither country officially claims the water — that's where Niagara lives, bilingual and cold and quietly magnificent. Bundle up, drink something warm (or something from a Niagara vineyard), and have a Monday that's at least as resilient as this region always has been.

🌊 The Falls — "We cover both sides so you don't have to cross in this weather."