Sagkeeng First Nation member named WAG curator of Indigenous and contemporary art

Amazon in the weeds over damage to tall grass reserve

Patricia Dutchak was devastated when she first saw the wide swaths of crushed grass and upturned soil at Winnipeg’s Rotary Prairie Nature Park, a municipal heritage site.

“This is a very rare ecosystem, a remnant of tall grass prairie, there’s barely any left in the world, and to come here and see all this damage was heartbreaking,” Dutchak, chair of the Transcona Rotary Club’s parks committee, says.

The club is responsible for maintaining the protected green space, which was significantly damaged this summer when a fence between the park and the neighbouring Amazon distribution centre was relocated.

The 20-acre nature preserve is situated on a narrow tract of land on Regent Avenue West in the commercial heart of Transcona. The park received its municipal heritage designation in 1992 and is, today, surrounded by high-traffic streets, industrial warehouses and car dealerships.

The election of our discontent: City at a crumbling crossroads, grumbling residents say in poll

There’s an undercurrent of unhappiness running through the Winnipeg electorate as the municipal election day approaches.

One-half of Winnipeggers believe the city is heading in the wrong direction, according to a new Abacus Data poll, with nearly one-third unsure if Winnipeg is regressing or progressing.

Only 21 per cent of residents believe the city is on the right track, the Free Press-commissioned poll found.

That discontentment extends to how the city spends its tax dollars, with four in 10 Winnipeggers believing they receive poor value for what they pay in property taxes.

Hydro Québec faces issue we should avoid

You might be tempted to call it a canary in an electric power generation coal mine.

Waiver wire pickup leads Jets to victory in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH – Now that’s a positive first impression.

The Winnipeg Jets swept a two-game road trip, thanks in part to Clay (Mud) Stevenson making 30 saves in his debut with the team that claimed him off waivers one week earlier.

Stevenson was excellent in a 3-2 victory for the Jets over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

“He obviously made some big big stops, right up to the end of the game there,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “He was real solid and confident and looked comfortable. It was great to see a kid come in here like that, a new organization late in training camp. He came as advertised.”

Sagkeeng First Nation member named WAG curator of Indigenous and contemporary art

Jaimie Isaac has been named the new curator of Indigenous and contemporary art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Over the past two years, Isaac — who is of Anishinaabe and British heritage and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation — made an impact during her time as the WAG's Aboriginal curatorial resident. During her residency, she curated four exhibits that explored everything from treaties and residential school experiences to reconciliation. She is also a member of the WAG's Indigenous advisory circle, which leads the development of Indigenous-focused exhibitions, education, community outreach, partnerships and programming.

"In her short time so far at the WAG, Jaimie Isaac has assembled some of the gallery’s most thought provoking and unique exhibitions, built important new partnerships and engaged new audiences with art," Stephen Borys, the gallery's director and CEO, says in a release. "I have no doubt that she will continue to drive dialogue in our community— educating, critiquing and celebrating the complexities of Canadian identity, Indigenous culture and issues that motivate art production today. There is perhaps no better moment than now to analyze, document and exhibit Indigenous contemporary art in Canada, and we are excited to continue working with Jaimie in this regard."

Isaac, too, is excited to continue developing programming and partnerships, as well as acquire Indigenous and contemporary art for the WAG's collection.