Breakup letter received 30 years later

Smoke taint new reality in wine as world burns

Summer seems to come with a familiar smell these days: the pungent aroma of smoke.

The haze of smoke from wildfires in warmer months is now the norm rather than the exception. Breathing gets tougher, particularly for those whose health is compromised, and clothes pick up that unpleasant smoky smell.

But your shirt or sweater isn’t the only thing that absorbs the scent — in wildfire-affected grape-growing regions, winemakers also have to contend with the potential for their wines to develop what is called smoke taint.

Early in the growing season grapes, like most fruit, are small and green with thick skins. The berries get larger until around late July-ish (in the northern hemisphere) the bunches stop growing, the skins get thinner and the fruit begins changing colour in a process called veraison.

Wanderers centennial transcends the pitch

A local rugby club’s influence on Winnipeg’s sports scene impacts thousands of Winnipeggers every day. Their story is one of the city’s best-kept secrets.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg Wanderers Rugby Football Club. The Kildonan-based Wanderers' storied history reflects the core values of a global community, rooted in camaraderie and fuelled by a burning love for the sport.

The Wanderers’ influence on both rugby and football has built stadiums, shaped families, and pioneered the way for Winnipeg’s beloved professional gridiron football team.

Last month, Manitoba’s oldest rugby club celebrated the milestone with the communities it helped build. The club hosted a weekend of festivities at Maple Grove Rugby Park and was honoured on two separate occasions at Princess Auto Stadium.

We’re giving, they’re taking — where’s the win?

In the give-and-take of negotiations so far, Canada seems to be doing all the giving, while the United States does all the taking.

In the last few days, the Canadian government said it was backing away from a five per cent levy to be paid by American streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix after, earlier, dropping the three per cent digital services tax. Then, there was what now appears to be succumbing to American President Donald Trump over the Gordie Howe International Bridge, where Canada agreed to let the U.S. share the net revenues from the bridge, even though Canada paid for the entire construction.

Now, Prime Minister Mark Carney is signalling he won’t use energy exports to the United States as a bargaining chip in the current talks on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement, saying he didn’t “see the value” of using Canada’s energy exports to the U.S. as a trade bargaining chip.

“Canadians are reliable,” Carney said Wednesday in Red Deer, Alta. “One of the biggest commodities, arguably the best, is trust. People trust us, and so, when you’re a supplier of a key commodity, key service, you’ve got to think really hard about not supplying.”

Woman, 23, charged with fatal stabbing outside Portage Place

A 23-year-old woman has been charged with fatally stabbing a woman after they argued outside the entrance of Portage Place mall in the middle of the afternoon Tuesday.

Fatigue no excuse for Bombers’ dismal play

Visiting teams used to fear playing at Princess Auto Stadium.

At one time, it wasn’t a question of whether the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would win at home — it was a question of by how much.

From 2017 to 2025, the Blue and Gold posted a dominant 54-14 record in front of the team’s diehard fans.

Those days, however, are firmly in the rearview mirror.

Manitobans will feel pinch of feds' early retirement plan: union leader

About 10,000 federal public servants have applied for the government’s early retirement program, launched as part of a plan to cut the number of bureaucrats.

The cuts will impact services to Manitobans, with increasing workloads for those who remain, says the union representing federal employees here.

“It’s going to be increased workloads, maybe delays in services — issues getting your passport or seeking in-person support for (employment insurance),” said Krysty Thomas, Public Service Alliance of Canada regional vice-president for the Prairies.

“Those will all be affected with these early incentive retirement packages.”