Good morning:
Your forecast: Over at Head Start headquarters, an official Heat Warning from Environment Canada is preferred to an Extreme Cold Warning with Risk of Frostbite. But that’s just us. Early today, the agency released a statement advising that hot and humid weather “with generally sunny skies” continues in southern Manitoba this weekend. The temperature could reach a sizzling 35 C, with humidex values peaking around the 40 mark. For Saturday, the expected high is 32 C, but we could get a thunderstorm late in the day.
In case you missed it:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper at a party rally held in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon. (Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press)
PM zips in, zips out: He wasn’t here long but Prime Minister Stephen Harper had several hundred Tory loyalists psyched up late Thursday afternoon during a rally at the Tijuana Yacht Club. He unleashed a few zingers directed at the Manitoba NDP government for raising taxes and spent equal time criticizing Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. Harper also noted Canada’s economic strength, highlighted a list of tax breaks and rebates to families, and touted his party’s record battling ISIS, saying the Liberals and NDP aren’t up to the job of protecting Canada against terrorism. READ MORE
Testing safer ‘skeeter killer: A more environmentally friendly pesticide alternative to malathion to control adult mosquitoes could end the need for buffer zones in Winnipeg. A senior city official said Thursday if the product DeltaGard is approved for use in Canada, mosquito fogging buffer zones could disappear by 2017. Ottawa has given the city the green light to begin testing DeltaGard, a synthetic pyrethroid which tests in the U.S. showed to be almost 100 per cent effective in killing adult mosquitoes with no harmful effects on humans — raising the possibility the buffer zones will not be necessary. READ MORE
Up next:
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSOffensive coordinator Marcel Bellefeuille and quarterback Robert Marve at practice Thursday.
Bomber fan appreciation: Two CF-18 Hornets and a CC-130 Hercules aircraft will fly low over Investors Group Field before tonight’s Bombers-Argos CFL contest. It’s part of First Responders Appreciation Day. While fans will appreciate first responders, they would also appreciate back-up Bombers quarterback Robert Marve if he defies the nattering naysayers of negativity and leads Winnipeg to victory in his first pro start. Game time tonight is 7 p.m.
An app for that: In 1822, long before there was a Winnipeg, Upper Fort Garry was established near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. Last week, construction fences came down to reveal the revitalized Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park. Today at a press conference at 10:30 a.m., organizers will unveil a mobile app that recounts the colorful history of the fort, which includes being seized by Louis Riel and his Metis followers.
This ain’t no ordinary rodeo: Interstellar Rodeo kicks off its inaugural Winnipeg weekend tonight at The Forks. Yes, the event is primarily about music, but it’s also about wine. The entire festival grounds will be licensed. Musical act hit the stage all weekend, beginning today at 5:50 p.m. The headliner tonight is Sarah McLachlan (8:45 p.m.), while Steve Earle & The Dukes (6:05 p.m.) and Dwight Yoakam (9:30 p.m.) headline on Saturday. Blue Rodeo rounds things out Sunday night (9:05 p.m.) READ MORE
Around the water cooler:
Elise Amendola / The Associated Press Files
Fed up with expensive fill-ups: Everybody’s talking about the high price of gas in Winnipeg and across the country. Prices at the pump soared 20 cents Wednesday to $1.22 per litre, and one expert says we could be hit with another jump next week. The reason? Well, Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said prices were driven up by a sudden spike in the wholesale price of gasoline in North America. It started climbing after a large refinery in Illinois halted production due to an undisclosed problem, which sparked concerns of a potential gasoline shortage in North America.
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An angler’s true tall tale: Imagine being out on the lake and jigging for walleye when all of a sudden you’re fighting with a near six-foot-long sturgeon. That’s exactly what happened to Bob Wood on Tuesday morning. The resident of Pinawa Bay in eastern Manitoba was on a boat with a buddy and a guide from Pine Island Lodge when he thought he snagged his line on a rock – until he felt a strong yank on his line. He battled the massive fish for about an hour, finally easing it to the side of the boat where it was unhooked and safely released. READ MORE
Trending:
David Peterson: A female manager with the Pan and Parapan American Games alleges in a lawsuit filed Thursday she was sexually harassed by former Ontario premier and Games chairman David Peterson. The 34-year-old woman alleges when she complained to human resources and senior officials, she was first told to “let it roll off your back” and was then demoted, according to a report in the Globe and Mail. None of the allegations has been proven in court and the defendants have not yet filed their defence outlining their version of events.
#CancelWendyWilliamsShow: People began to trend the hashtag Thursday after television personality Wendy Williams made some less-than-intelligent remarks about pop singer Ariana Grande. On her nationally syndicated show, Williams said the singer looked like a 12-year-old girl and then talked about Grande’s height, mentioning she’s only four-foot-11, adding “I don’t look at her as a woman.” Body shame someone and you’re sure to feel the wrath of the Internet.
On this day in history
Subways for Winnipeg: On Aug. 14, 1958, the Free Press reported of a plan at city hall to see experts probe the feasibility of subway or monorails for the city. The plan was study all of the city’s surface transit needs for the next 15 years.
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