Great grooves at folk festival Posted: 10:43 PM CDT Sunday, Jul. 9, 2023 Last Modified: 7:41 AM CDT Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2023

HSC weapons scanners effective, needed at other hospitals: nurses union

The AI weapons scanners at Health Sciences Centre have detected close to 2,000 items since they were installed at Manitoba’s largest hospital.

From March 6, 2025 to the beginning of this month, a total of 1,973 items had been flagged by the scanners and identified for further review, Shared Health said this week.

Knives, Swiss army knives and other multi-tools, drugs, alcohol, box cutters, syringes and other injection devices were detected, it said. The technology set up at entrances to the adult and children’s emergency rooms and the crisis response centre is designed to identify a wide range of objects that may require review under site safety protocols.

But Manitoba Nurses Union president Darlene Jackson said the technology isn’t available everywhere at HSC, and a sawed-off rifle was discovered in the adult ER earlier this month.

Manitoba family finalist for cattle producers environmental award

A family in western Manitoba is one of seven finalists for a national environmental award honouring beef cattle producers.

Connor and Kyla English, alongside Connor’s parents, Brian and Leanne English, are nominated for the Canadian Cattle Association’s Environmental Stewardship Award. The 30-year-old award is presented to beef farmers and ranchers who explore innovative ways to protect, preserve and enhance their operations and the environment simultaneously.

This year’s recipient will be announced on Wednesday during a banquet at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Winnipeg.

The English family’s roots near Bradwardine — about 265 kilometres west of Winnipeg — date back to 1898. Today, Connor, Kyla, Brian and Leanne manage a herd of about 320 breeding cows on nearly 445 hectares (1,100 acres) of owned and rented pasture and forage land.

Foster mom pleads guilty to assault that left six-year-old-girl paralyzed

A Winnipeg foster mother has admitted to violently assaulting her ill foster daughter and leaving her paralyzed after the girl resisted the woman’s efforts to provide her with medication, a court has heard.

Marilyn Keno, 26, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of aggravated assault.

Keno remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date following the completion of a court-ordered pre-sentence report.

The maximum sentence for aggravated assault is 14 years in prison. Crown attorney Alanna Littman and defence lawyer Jeremy Kostiuk did not disclose what sentences they will be recommending.

Trailblazing Western Scrap Metals heavy-equipment operator relishes role at massive crane’s control

Less than five per cent of heavy-equipment operators in the country are women but that number is trending upward, according to a study conducted by trade magazine Crane & Hoist Canada.

It was reported that in Ontario roughly eight per cent of jobs in the transport and heavy-equipment field are currently held by women. Furthermore, in 2024 almost 20 per cent of graduates at an Edmonton-based heavy-equipment operator training school were female, the article stated.

That brings us to Harmony Guspodarchuk, the first female crane operator in the 70-year history of Western Scrap Metals, a family-owned business at 18 Sutherland Ave.

Three years ago, Guspodarchuk literally stepped into the driver’s seat of a 27,500-kilogram, Liebherr C 924 Heavy Lift Litronic crane. The 29-year-old hasn’t looked back much since.

Men’s recovery home dedicated to ‘homeless hero’ Faron Hall’s memory

Faron Hall never got the chance to begin recovery. Once heralded as Winnipeg’s “homeless hero” after twice plunging into the Red River to save strangers from drowning, Hall told St. Boniface Street Links executive director Marion Willis shortly before his death in 2014 that he wanted help for his alcoholism.

Great grooves at folk festival

The 2023 edition of the Winnipeg Folk Festival kicked off with a torrential downpour during Thursday’s opening-night concert, but that didn’t deter fans from flocking to Birds Hill Provincial Park for the rest of the weekend. Official attendance was not available at press time but record crowds attended on Sunday, when day passes completely sold out.

Manitoba singer-songwriter William Prince had his mainstage debut cut short owing to the weather Thursday, but a last-minute cancellation saw Winnipeg act Boy Golden claim a moment in the spotlight in front of thousands of new fans Saturday evening.

Over four days, folkies old and young — body glitter has replaced patchouli and sequins have replaced tie-dye — grooved to bands from Ukraine, South Korea, Iceland, Mexico, Ireland, Louisiana and our own backyard in a celebration of world music.

Whether dancing under the stars at the Big Bluestem @ Night stage or mellowing out in the golden hour at mainstage, the vibe was Summer of Love positive, with no shortage of hugs and interpretive dancing.