Russian Soyuz spacecraft with 3 astronauts docks at the International Space Station

Ito in the house: Writer, translator takes new post as library’s writer-in-residence

It didn’t take Sally Ito long to settle into her new role as the Winnipeg Public Library’s latest writer-in-residence.

Alberta’s gopher museum closed until further notice as owners find new facility

A quirky Alberta roadside attraction that has delighted travellers for decades with its stuffed rodents in tiny costumes is closed until further notice. 

The World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, a hamlet about 120 kilometres north of Calgary, made the announcement online earlier this week.

Laural Kurta, museum director, said she was forced to close the doors because the two historical buildings that house the exhibits need to be replaced. 

"We have done every patch repair, staple, spackle, everything we could possibly do, and it is just at its end," Kurta said in an interview Tuesday. 

Russian Soyuz spacecraft with 3 astronauts docks at the International Space Station

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian spacecraft with three astronauts successfully docked Monday at the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Russian Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus reached the space outpost after Saturday's blastoff from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan that followed an aborted launch attempt two days earlier.

Thursday's attempted launch was halted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff. Roscosmos and NASA said the crew wasn’t in danger during the aborted launch.

The head of the Russian space agency, Yuri Borisov, said the launch abort was triggered by a voltage drop in a power source.

Province to fund livestock cop to cut down on theft

BRANDON — The Manitoba government will fund a new RCMP position dedicated to investigating livestock theft.

The province made the announcement Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said the investigative role will fill a pressing need.

“Personally speaking, I think this has been a long time waiting for this to come to reality,” the Dauphin MLA said Wednesday. “We are doing a great thing for the industry.”

Bloodvein standing firm, won’t move blockade

Indigenous leaders are accusing the province of violating treaty rights for asking a First Nations community to move its checkstop that was set up to keep drugs and alcohol out.

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson and Bloodvein River First Nation Chief Lisa Young say the province isn’t upholding its responsibilities under treaties signed between First Nations and the province, during a livestreamed press conference Wednesday.

“It’s really up to the discretion of the nations in which territory (hunters) are in, and the province needs to understand that as well,” Wilson said.

The province has said it sent a cease and desist letter to Bloodvein, located about 235 kilometres north of Winnipeg, about the checkstop, which has been in place since May 2025 to keep illicit substances out. The province is concerned it would restrict licensed hunters from legally hunting on the territory.

Canadian author Anne Carson wins literature Nobel for ‘bold and inventive’ works that blend genres

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson won the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for “bold and inventive” works that fuse the classical and the modern and blur the boundaries of poetry and prose.

The Toronto-born Carson, 76, has drawn on themes from classical Greek and Roman literature, modern influences and personal experience for genre-blending titles that have ranged from translations of ancient Greek poets to collaborations with dancers and musicians, including Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed.

The Swedish Academy that awards the prize said she won “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature.”

The permanent secretary of the academy said the author was in Iceland “listening to the wind” when the panel reached her to notify her of the honor.