Good morning!
Premiums possible: Premier Brian Pallister says the province will seek the public’s input on whether to introduce premiums to help fund the health-care system. Groups on the left and the right were stunned by Wednesday’s announcement. “It’s most certainly a tax increase. There’s no doubt of that,” Pallister says. Larry Kusch and Jane Gerster report. READ MORE
Your forecast: Today will be mainly cloudy with a high of 18 C, wind from the north at 20 km/h and a 30 per cent chance of showers in the afternoon.
In case you missed it
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSPolice presence remained heavy in the area Wednesday. Police vehicles were parked in the middle of Alfred, while crime scene tape cordoned off several locations.
Police shooting probed: The 23-year-old man shot dead by police in the North End early Wednesday was under a lifetime weapons prohibition. A witness told the Free Press Adrian Lacquette was holding a gun in a back lane as he embarked on a string of violent incidents that ended in his death. The Independent Investigations Unit of Manitoba is investigating the police shooting. Alexandra Paul reports. READ MORE
New edition for bookseller: McNally Robinson Booksellers is opening a second Winnipeg location at The Forks, Gordon Sinclair Jr. reports in his latest column. The boutique, 900-sq.-ft. store will be on the second floor, overlooking the area known as the Common, a success other cities are hoping to learn from. READ MORE
Fuel station a first: The gas station at the Real Canadian Superstore on Sargent Avenue is among the first four sites in the country to be rebranded, introducing the Mobil fuel brand to Canada. There will be eight more Mobil stations in Winnipeg as the conversion continues. Martin Cash reports. READ MORE
Around the water cooler
MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILESSteve Kirby, seen here performing with the band Jazz on Wheels in 2015 in Winnipeg, has been hired by the Berklee College of Music.
Plum position: Steve Kirby, a professor who recently left the University of Manitoba’s faculty of music under a cloud of concerns described as “sexual in nature,” has been hired by the Berklee College of Music. The Boston institution — one of the most prestigious music schools in the world — said Wednesday “the college just recently learned of these reports.” Kevin Rollason reports. READ MORE
Study up on season: Before the Winnipeg Jets begin their seventh season since moving from Atlanta, the Free Press examines seven key questions about the team, including the goaltending plan and whether they can fix their poor penalty killing. This season should be a defining one. Jason Bell and Mike Sawatzky report. READ MORE
Up next
Ode to obits: Free Press reporter and frequent obituary writer Kevin Rollason will introduce a screening of Obit at Cinematheque at 9 p.m. In her review, Alison Gillmor calls the documentary, which profiles obituary writers at the New York Times, “vivacious, funny and effortlessly entertaining.”
Trending now
Seth Wenig / The Associated Press FilesFormer Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli
Martin Shkreli: The man who made headlines as a pharmaceutical investor who hiked up the price of a life-saving drug was sent to jail after a U.S. federal judge deemed him a danger to society for offering to pay a bounty of $5,000 to anyone who could get a lock of Hillary Clinton’s hair. READ MORE
On this date
On Sept. 14, 2000: The Winnipeg Free Press reported that the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia had officially begun. In Winnipeg, the nomination of a “convicted tax cheat” for councillor in a civic byelection sparked a heated debate about the need to limit terms at city hall; five councillors had been at the job for 17 to 21 years. The CTV network and the Globe and Mail newspaper were set to merge. READ MORE
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