Real-world connection could offer more fulfilment

Rail line bypass plan would make Winnipeg ‘major transportation hub’: Axworthy

After decades of calls to move railway traffic to the outskirts of Winnipeg, a plan that would benefit residents, railways and taxpayers is now on track, says the former Winnipegger leading the way.

A rail line bypass around the city, using Crown-owned land and the Manitoba Hydro corridor, would take 20 years to complete, remove 120 railway crossings that are a safety risk, and free up about 250 acres of Winnipeg land over time for development, Lloyd Axworthy said Tuesday.

Axworthy, a former federal transport minister and Manitoba MP, was tasked by Kinew in October 2024 with leading a two-year rail relocation feasibility study.

Axworthy and Premier Wab Kinew are holding a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The premier is expected to announce a three-month feasibility study that homes in on a location for a bypass around the city for major railways CN Rail, Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Canadian Pacific Kansas City.

Arcade bar to open in former downtown Keg

Smash burgers and Skee-Ball will replace steaks as the former downtown Keg transforms into an arcade bar.

Fun drop-in last chance to mentor grads of inner-city school with excellent track record

Summer break may be in full swing, but Gonzaga Middle School invited graduates back to the building for water balloon fights and academic, employment and support services this week.

Roughly 30 alumni, including teenagers and twentysomethings, stopped by the grades 6-8 school in North Point Douglas on Tuesday afternoon. They were greeted with slime-making kits, ice cream sundaes and staff ready to answer questions.

The initiative — the final grad drop-in organized this summer — is a new extension of the mentorship and holistic programming baked into the funded independent school’s mandate.

“We have 22- and 23-year-olds coming back and checking in and asking for help on their university papers,” principal Rex Ferguson-Baird said.

Signs the Carney approach is working

It was, if nothing else, a glowing review in trying times.

Matt Winkler, the editor in chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, spoke last week on Bloomberg Business News Daily about a recent Bloomberg analysis of the performance of the Canadian economy, and this country as a target for investment

“This is one of the greatest periods for overseas investment in Canada that we’ve seen in the century, and it may be unprecedented, because we have to wait for the rest of the year. … Money is pouring into Canada like we have not seen from everywhere. Stocks and bonds are the obvious beneficiaries,” Winkler said. He argued that Canada is both liked and seen as reasonable.

“The point is… Canada since Mark Carney became prime minister in 2025, has outperformed everyone in America and also the Eurozone and anywhere in the world. The 10 largest stock markets in the world, Canada appreciated the most, more than 40 per cent. … Its bond market is also doing great, partially because the inflation rate in Canada, unlike the Eurozone or America, is actually trending lower, and is outperforming both the Eurozone and the U.S.”

Student union coalition scrutinized, accused of providing minimal benefit for fees paid

Despite being labelled as “permanently closed” online and maintaining a website filled with outdated information, a coalition of student unions is defending itself as an active entity deserving of fees in spite of its low profile.

The Canadian Federation of Students and its local chapter, better known as CFS-MB, collect annual membership dues from campuses across the province to support their advocacy work.

Alan Saji Koshy’s advice to new and returning students to the University of Winnipeg? “Start asking questions.”

“We pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for practically no benefit and students don’t even know (CFS-MB resources) exist,” the recent graduate and former student association president said.

The circle of life — garden-sized

“The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.” — Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), horticulturalist

It’s a chilly day for August — more like fall — but in the garden things are progressing as nicely as if every day this summer had been the perfect combination of sun and showers.

The peonies are spent, their heavy heads with a hangdog look. Soon the petals will fall, revealing the jester-hat seedpods within. The lilacs, too, their beautiful, fragrant blossoms now transformed into brown scruff.

But the day lilies are plumping up, ready for their big reveal. And the roses are still magnificent — dozens and dozens of fuchsia, red, white and coral blooms that turn our stone circle into a heavenly scented bower. It is here where we come after a hard day’s work in the garden, newly scrubbed and wearing fresh clothes, to sit at a little bistro table and have a glass of wine and enjoy the results of our labour.