In the nature of things

Airport traffic surges despite fewer U.S. flights

The Winnipeg airport has recorded an uptick in traffic this summer, despite the loss of notable U.S. flights.

‘Catastrophic’ ending to eventful Manitoba Derby

It had everything you could have wanted for the signature racing event of the season, including plenty of drama and excitement in front of a packed crowd at Assiniboia Downs.

Unfortunately, Monday night’s Manitoba Derby also served up another painful reminder of the potential perils of “The Sport of Kings” and what can occasionally happen when these magnificent animals are pushed to their limits.

Forty Twenty, a three-year-old bay colt who was one of the morning line favourites, looked to be in great shape as he approached the final turn and was near the lead in the nine-horse race.

But disaster struck as he approached the final turn and suddenly pulled up as the rest of the packed passed him.

Central remains toughest division in league

With NHL training camps set to open in just over five weeks’ time, the Central Division still looks like one of the toughest places to earn a playoff spot in the league.

With three of the top seven teams in the NHL standings last season residing within it — including the Presidents’ Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche (121 points) — it’s clear that the most likely path back to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Winnipeg Jets is by earning one of the two wild-card berths available in the Western Conference.

And since a couple of teams in the Pacific Division are on the rise, including the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks (who missed the playoffs by four points in Macklin Celebrini’s second NHL season), it’s likely going to take north of 90 or 92 points to punch a post-season ticket.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the moves that were made in the Central, realizing there are a few questions left unanswered for the Jets and the seven other clubs:

Steinbach ER nurses ask for triage help as wait-averse Winnipeg patients strain hospital capacity

Nurses at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach have called on the regional health authority and provincial government to hire an extra triage nurse for the emergency department as increased visits from Winnipeggers stress the rural hospital.

Forty nurses from the hospital’s emergency department signed an open letter stating because of the current staffing ratio, nurses are witnessing “excessive and unacceptable safety risks on a daily basis.”

“(Nurses) constantly fear for the safety of our patients and community,” said the July 28 letter, addressed to Premier Wab Kinew, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara, Southern Health-Sante Sud interim CEO Dana Human and the health authority’s board chair, Adam Monteith.

It is common for patients at the hospital to wait more than an hour before being seen by a triage nurse after they arrive, and eight hours before their conditions are reassessed, the letter states, adding the emergency department’s sole triage nurse can be responsible for up to 30 patients at a time.

Accused in amateur soccer star’s fatal 2024 Winnipeg shooting arrested in B.C.

A man who’s been on the lam since he was accused in a brazen Winnipeg shooting in July 2024, in which an amateur soccer star was slain, has been arrested in British Columbia.

Tresor Horimbere, 24, was found and arrested in Langley, B.C., a city just east of Vancouver, on July 30.

Manitoba police officers travelled to B.C. on Monday to arrest him and bring him back to Winnipeg.

He’s been charged with first-degree murder in the July 13, 2024 slaying of Mohamed Yusuf Abdullahi, 22, in the parking lot of the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on Waverley Street.

Once hailed as sign of strong bond, U.S. consulate in Winnipeg to close

There was much fanfare when the U.S. government re-established a permanent presence in Winnipeg in April 2001 as it unveiled its consulate and hailed it as a major achievement between two friendly nations.

“It is testimony not only to the importance the U.S. government attaches to our bilateral relationship with Canada but also to the increasing prominence of Winnipeg, Manitoba and the western region of the country in bilateral and multilateral affairs,” said U.S. Ambassador to Canada Gordon Giffin at a ceremony with then-premier Gary Doer.

Fast-forward to this week when it was learned the office at Portage and Main is set to close, meaning the U.S. will lose its primary advocate for American business and trade interests in Manitoba.

Dwight MacAulay was chief of protocol for the Manitoba government in 2001, calling it a time of celebration and strength between the countries.